Gender budget expands, yet women's economic participation continues to lag

Bangladesh has proposed its largest-ever gender-responsive budget for FY2026-27, allocating Tk3,26,059 crore – 34.8% of the national budget and 4.8% of GDP – to promote women's development and empowerment.

Yet despite years of expanding allocations, women continue to lag in economic participation, with experts pointing to poor implementation and persistent structural barriers.

According to the finance ministry, the proposed gender budget marks another increase from the revised allocation of Tk2,63,588 crore in FY2025-26.

However, government spending records show a recurring pattern of underspending, with substantial portions of allocated funds remaining unused.

In FY2024-25, actual expenditure reached Tk2,03,949 crore against a revised allocation of Tk2,48,434 crore. In FY2023-24, spending stood at Tk1,99,557 crore compared with a revised allocation of Tk2,38,264 crore. In FY22-23, actual spending stood at Tk1,90,850 crore against a revised allocation of Tk2,21,650 crore.

The gap between allocation and utilisation has coincided with slow progress in women's economic empowerment.

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, Bangladesh ranks 87th globally in economic participation and opportunity, trailing regional peers such as Vietnam (24th), Malaysia (39th) and Sri Lanka (62nd), though remaining ahead of India (117th) and Pakistan (106th).

The report attributes Bangladesh's weak performance to the low presence of women in senior management, limited female entrepreneurship, inadequate childcare services, unsafe public transport and workplace insecurity.

Experts say increasing allocations alone will not improve outcomes unless funds are effectively implemented and accompanied by reforms that address labour market barriers.

Professor Tania Haque of the Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka said budgetary commitments have yet to produce meaningful changes in women's working lives.

"Women have progressed, but they have not achieved genuine empowerment," she said. "The desired progress in ensuring equal pay, workplace security and equal rights has not been achieved."

She said policymakers should focus not only on increasing allocations but also on ensuring that gender-responsive spending translates into measurable improvements in women's employment, wages and working conditions.

Rasheda Begum Hira, a reserved-seat member of parliament, said eliminating wage discrimination requires stronger policy interventions.

"If women receive lower wages despite performing the same work, it is a clear form of discrimination," she told TBS, adding that she is prepared to raise the issue at the policymaking level through evidence-based initiatives.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), said women continue to face multiple disadvantages in the labour market, particularly in low-paid and informal employment.

"Women representatives have played a limited role in addressing issues such as employment, wage discrimination, workplace violence and labour rights," he said, arguing that stronger advocacy could help accelerate meaningful reforms.

The report, however, highlights one area where Bangladesh has performed comparatively well. Women account for 16.28% of parliamentary membership, placing the country among Asia's stronger performers in female political representation. Bangladesh outperforms India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka on this indicator.

Experts caution, however, that political gains have yet to translate into broader economic empowerment. They argue that unless the expanding gender budget is fully utilised and targeted at removing barriers to women's participation in the workforce, Bangladesh's growing investment in gender equality is unlikely to deliver its intended economic impact.