Experts urge labour reform as women expose deep inequalities in informal sectors

Bangladesh's vast economy, where women make up most of the 85% working in informal and marginalised formal sectors, took centre stage in Dhaka today (10 December), as workers confronted policymakers with the realities of exclusion and the promise of change.

Women from domestic work, tea gardens, fisheries and home-based garment production stood before government officials and civil society leaders at the "From Shadows to Leadership" event, laying bare entrenched inequalities while signalling a power shift.

Organised by Oxfam in Bangladesh with 33 civil society partners and co-funded by the EU under the Empowering Women Through Civil Society Actors in Bangladesh (EWCSA) project, the event presented stark baseline findings: barely 0.73% of women had formal contracts, 85% lacked awareness of their rights, and most had never engaged with a CSO. 

These figures reflect deep policy gaps and the long-standing invisibility of women who keep the economy running. Yet over five years, EWCSA has begun to reverse this, with thousands of women organising collectively, claiming leadership roles and engaging institutions that once overlooked them.

Domestic worker Putul Akhter from Barisal said, "I never knew my own identity until this project showed me I had one. Once humiliated and unseen, we now demand legal recognition, contracts, and the dignity every worker deserves."

From Sylhet, tea worker Shila Kurmi added, "We demand a living wage, labour law implementation, safe healthcare, decent workplaces and education, not as favours but as rights."

Speakers throughout the day stressed that structural change will remain elusive without legal reform. Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of BILS and former head of the Labour Reform Commission, said, "Women workers in these four sectors have little legal protection. For this, we all need to work together. True change requires both organisation and movement."

In a video message, Adviser at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Farida Akter, noted that tea garden workers, fisherfolk, domestic workers and home-based RMG workers remain marginalised, and their contributions must be formally recognised through identification, policy reform and a shift in public mindset. "We must expand media engagement so rights move from paper to practice," she said.

Michal Krejza, head of development cooperation at the EU Delegation to Bangladesh, praised the EWCSA women for their "outstanding impact," adding that while progress is evident, it is still incomplete. "Lasting change demands stronger enforcement, wider social protection, sustained women's leadership and locally owned reforms to ensure every woman can stand in the light," he said.

EWCSA's outcomes show how collective organising shifts entrenched power structures: domestic workers have secured compensation, tea workers have taken on leadership roles, fisherwomen have gained commitments for formal identification, and home-based garment workers are helping drive national reforms on wages and safety.

Ashish Damle, country director of Oxfam in Bangladesh, said, "When people awaken, there is much to say and even more to do. We are now in a phase of possibility — integrating technology and building on this awareness to empower communities with sustainable, independent futures. True sustainability means moving from support to self-reliance for workers."

Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of CAMPE, stressed that forums, partnerships and meaningful engagement with political actors are essential, especially now, to ensure women workers' rights are reflected in national manifestos.

Oxfam Programme Director Mahmuda Sultana presented the event's findings, and a photo storybook featuring 10 women from the four sectors was unveiled. Representatives from the government, development partners, NGOs, CSOs, media and worker groups attended.

The day's collective call was clear: Bangladesh must enforce labour protections, strengthen local governance accountability, ensure identity and social protection coverage for excluded groups, and embed women's associations within institutional frameworks so their leadership endures well beyond the project's lifespan.