Gender Streaming in Bangladesh Civil Service: A Critical Study of Women Quota Utilization

Abstract

Limited or unequal access of women to public employment is a common phenomenon in the developing countries.The issue of empowering women and bringing them to the mainstream has already found a place in our policy agenda. Over the last four decades, emphasis has been given on mainstreaming gender issues through various policies and strategies to ensure gender equality in public service. Recently women’s employment has increased in Bangladesh but compared to men, the number of women in the 27 cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service is still negligible in spite of 10 percent women quota. This study intends to see the position of women civil servants in terms of number as a lens of measuring women quota utilization effectiveness. It uses policy implementation theories and models to study the factors affecting women quota utilization i.e. the effectiveness of women quota policy implementation. The data are collected using triangulation of methods, questionnaire, in depth interview and informal discussion, and also documentation. The findings are based on the analysis of the results of 240 questionnaires received, 40 key informants’ interviews and informal discussions with 20 respondents as well as the examination of the status of women in Bangladesh and the civil service through documentation. The study assumes that quota policy implementation depends on the policy characteristics, implementing agency’s characteristics, political condition and social condition. But it finds that there are some other factors (which were not included in the study) which may facilitate or impede women quota utilization. Many internal and external factors hinder the process of implementation. At the personal level, socio economic background, educational achievements, parental encouragement, spouse’s support and to some extent the quota policy facilitate women to enter the civil service. While potential barriers to their entry are spouse’s career, and their disinterest or negative attitude towards civil service jobs because of the very nature and characteristics of the jobs. Fifteen percent of the women respondents admitted that women quota favored them to get jobs while 32.71 percent females supported that women are not motivated to pursue career in civil service. Posting to remote locations and different places of posting of spouse were mentioned as greatest barrier to women’s joining and continuing in the service by the respondents. At the organizational level, women are denied equal opportunities through complex distribution of quotas, limited opportunities of political networking, absence of women in important decision making bodies, gender biased selection process, discriminatory organizational practices and lack of women friendly work environment. The findings has revealed that women quota utilization is hampered because of the existence of certain gaps in the process of implementation. The masculine cultural norms, values, and perceptions about the role of women in society, low level of gender development and gender empowerment are the major societal factors that adversely affect women's entry in the civil service. Two major barriers counteracting women’s career aspirations to civil service are work family conflict and institutionalized discrimination. The study reveals that women quota utilization does not depend only on the four variables i.e. policy characteristics, implementing agency’s characteristics, political conditions, and social conditions addressed in this study. There are some other factors which prohibit women to enter in the civil service. The study makes several policy recommendations to facilitate women aspiring for careers in civil service which include capacity development of women, gender supportive workplace, institutionalized child care facilities, changes in stereotypical thinking and mindset of both men and women about women’s career, balanced representation of women in decision making bodies and proper monitoring of the implementation of quotas. Consideration of these issues in case of designing strategic plan and in implementation process can bring a positive change towards gender mainstreaming in Bangladesh Civil Service.