Lack of legal clarity, secure payments holding back women freelancers: Speakers

Slow participation, the lack of clarity around a digital labour law, absence of secure payment mechanisms, and gaps in family and social awareness are preventing women freelancers in Bangladesh from building skills and scaling up at the expected pace, speakers said at a stakeholder discussion.

The discussion was jointly organised by Bytes for All Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN) at Creative IT Institute in Dhaka on 17 February, as part of a study titled "Contribution, Rights and Challenges of Women Freelancers in Bangladesh". Participants said without addressing these structural barriers, women's freelancing will not progress at the desired speed.

Monir Hossain, chairman of Creative Business Group, said women's participation and capacity are not growing as needed, and urged the government, private sector and the media to take a more proactive role. He said boosting participation would be difficult without coordinated action on training, market linkage and visible role models.

Abdullah Titir, head of research at Digitally Right, said existing labour laws do not provide a clear framework on the rights and protections of digital freelancers. He noted that many who work for domestic clients secure jobs through platforms such as Facebook, leaving workers without legal protection or reminders. He said many are deprived of due wages even after completing work, and called for an effective framework for labour protection and dispute resolution.

Entrepreneur and graphic designer Emrazina Islam said no marketplace can provide escrow services under current local legal provisions, which allows some buyers to disappear after getting work done without paying. She said an escrow system would allow remuneration to be deposited before work begins, reducing the scope for fraud. She added that global marketplaces such as Upwork offer escrow facilities, keeping fraud risks comparatively low. Participants said a sustainable and safe work environment cannot be ensured for women freelancers without secure payment systems.

The discussion also highlighted the impact of family and social attitudes, lack of mentorship and structured support, the need for women-friendly training environments, and challenges in moving from small gigs to high-value projects. Participants said women's freelancing is not only an income opportunity but also a key pathway to economic empowerment and social mobility.

Bangladesh currently has an estimated 650,000 active freelancers. Industry sources said a significant share are women, who contribute to foreign currency earnings through digital marketing, graphic design, UI/UX, content development and software services. The research team said it will analyse data from an online survey and two rounds of FGDs to develop a set of policy and institutional recommendations for women digital freelancers.

Others who spoke included Ziauddin Mahmud, COO, Creative IT Institute; Shakilur Rahman, AGM, Creative IT Institute; Nazib Rafe, CEO, WIT Institute; Yasin Ahmed and Muntasir Hasnat, instructors at Grameenphone Academy; Arif Moinuddin, managing director, Decode Lab; entrepreneur Kazi Mamun of Team Mavin; trainers Rokaiya Haque and Ridha Tamanna; Promi Nahzid, treasurer, BDOSN, and research associate Labiba Bashar; women freelancer Tanjila Akter; and IT writer Rahitul Islam, among others.

The ongoing study is being conducted in three phases. A separate discussion with women freelancers was held on 4 February, while an online survey is now underway to gather experiences and views from women digital freelancers nationwide. The full report will be published after analysis, and recommendations will be shared with policymakers, platforms and other stakeholders. The discussion was moderated by Munir Hasan, president of BDOSN.