Cultural norms, economic incentives and women's labour market behaviour: Empirical insights from Bangladesh

This paper examines the roles of cultural norms, economic incentives and women’s labour market behaviour in Bangladesh. It highlights the positive impact paid work has had for women’s positions in the family and community, but notes that although women’s labour force participation has risen slowly over the years, a sizeable majority of women in the labour force also engage in unpaid family labour. They find that some norms pertaining to men’s role as the family breadwinner and women’s restrictions regarding mobility in the public domain hold; married women continue to be found in more home-based activity than single/divorced/separated/widowed women regardless of their child care and domestic responsibilities thereby restricting their labour market options.