Women do 3 to 4 times more household work than men

Women do four times more household work compared to men. The burden of such work is particularly high on women aged 15 to 24 as they spend about 20 hours a week on household chores, whereas men of the same age group spend only five hours a week.

However, women in joint families tend to have a comparatively lower workload, giving them more opportunities to engage in productive work.

This was revealed at a seminar titled “Care Responsibility and Women Work in Bangladesh,” organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in Agargaon, Dhaka on Monday.

Sajeda Amin, Senior Research Adviser of Sajeda Foundation, presented the keynote paper attended the event while UN Women’s Deputy Country Representative Navnita Sinha was present as the special guest with BIDS Director General AK Enamul Haque in the chair.

In her presentation, Sajeda Amin said that women in joint families get two extra hours for productive work, and they spend nearly three hours less on household chores, allowing them more opportunities to engage in work outside the home.

BIDS director general AK Enamul Haque said that women in the garment sector often have to walk more than a kilometer to reach their workplace.

Because of the long commute, they cannot take their children with them. As a result, many childcare centres at factories remain unused. If workplaces were closer to home, these centres would be more useful.

Former BIDS Research Director Rushidan Islam Rahman said that demand for women’s work needs to be created.

At present, employment opportunities are limited, and the few that exist are largely taken by men. Therefore, more opportunities for women must be created in modern sectors such as technology.

Researchers of BIDS and officials of Sajeda Foundation were present at the event.