Bangladesh recognises unpaid household, care work at 18.9% of GDP
Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), welcomed the report, saying it would increase appreciation for women engaged in both productive and reproductive work, while helping shift societal attitudes toward unpaid labour.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has released the country's first official estimates of unpaid household and care work.
The Household Production Satellite Accounts (HPSA) report values this labour at Tk6,70,000 crore, or 18.9% of GDP.
Women contribute Tk3,40,000 crore of the total Tk4,00,000 crore generated by unpaid household labour, bringing long-overdue recognition to work that has historically gone uncounted.
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Activities such as cooking, cleaning, caregiving, and household management, mostly carried out by women, sustain families and the broader economy, yet were previously excluded from official statistics.
In a press release, Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), welcomed the report, saying it would increase appreciation for women engaged in both productive and reproductive work, while helping shift societal attitudes toward unpaid labour.
MJF noted that the data validates years of advocacy through its "Equality through Dignity" campaign, launched in 2013, which has aimed to enhance women's status, reduce discrimination, and highlight the economic value of unpaid care work.
The foundation urged the government to act on the report's recommendations, including establishing an inter-ministerial mechanism, integrating unpaid work into laws and policies, allocating budgets for care, and monitoring progress through regular data collection.
