During the last four decades the socio-economic condition of women in Bangladesh has changed significantly. Women’s employment has increased substantially, from 8.4 percent in 1983 to 34 percent in 2010. Notwithstanding this dynamics of change in the labour market composition, the contribution of women in the national income has continued to remain insignificant when compared to men. Major reasons for under-representation of the women’s contribution in the national income accounts are: (i) women’s presence is most prominent in the unorganized sector where pay is little or there is no payment at all; and (ii) the traditional method of national
accounting does not include unpaid work performed by women. According to International Labour Organization, worldwide women account for about one-third of the workforce in the unorganized sector. In Bangladesh only 3.25 percent of employed women are working in the
government sector and 8.25 percent in the private sector. The remaining 89.5 percent are employed in the informal sector with varying and often unpredictable earning patterns or as it so often happens, work without any payment.