Empowering women in business and all other areas is a must for sustainable socio-economic growth and the government has taken various measures for women empowerment to achieve it including access to finance.
Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker, Jatiya Sangsad said it while speaking as chief guest in a meeting titled "Women in Business: Empowering Bangladesh Forward" organized by American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) in a city hotel on Monday.
Among others Helen LaFave, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Dhaka as guest of honor, AmaCham President Syed Ershad Ahmed as session chair were present.
A panel discussion was also held that was moderated by Rubaba Dowla, Country Managing Director of Oracle Ltd for Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Meherun N. Islam, President & Group Managing Director of CEMS Ltd were among others present.
The speaker said women around the world are doing business in different fields and the Bangladesh government is encouraging our in doing business.
Access to finance is a major hindrance but the government has taken a good numbers of initiatives including collateral free loans and budgetary allocation to help women in business.
The parliament speaker said currently women are contributing to the national economy and hopes they will contribute more in the coming days.
The AmCham president Ershad Ahmed said Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs conducted a survey based on different components finds Women Labor Force Participation is placed 2nd from the bottom in Bangladesh showing it very poor.
He said in Bangladesh, only 36 per cent of working-age females are engaged in workforce compared with 81 per cent of men. He said women's financial inclusion, support for SMEs, and women's tertiary education rate is ranked at the bottom of the table among all countries.
He also referring International Labor Organization said women's business ownership has slightly changed from 2019 to 2020, from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent. He said these findings show the actual scenario of women's struggles in Bangladesh regarding entrepreneurship is very poor.
Syed Mohammad Kamal, Vice President-AmCham and the Country Manager, Mastercard gave vote of thanks and among others members of the chamber body including the executive committee members, executive director, former presidents, foreign dignitaries, business leaders, media representatives and other distinguished guests attended.
