Beyond Gender Parity

During the 2000s, Bangladesh observed rapid growth in female labor force participation (LFP), potentially reflecting increased employability of females as female education attainment catches up with their male counterparts. However, only a small share of the labor force comprises of skilled female workers; the reality is that most women are still unable to complete the level of secondary and post-secondary education necessary to obtain decent work and actualize improved livelihood outcomes. As a result, even though Bangladesh has observed gender parity in enrolment in early grades, the lack of improvements in secondary school completion continues to inhibit opportunities for improved labor market outcomes for the majority of the country's female population. This report aims to take stock of the education outcomes realized by Bangladeshi children and youth, particularly females, and analyze the extent to which public investments in female education have succeeded in actualizing the desired medium-to-long term outcomes and results of said investments. The remainder of the report is organized as follows: Chapter 2 describes current policies and identifies gaps in policy formulation in the view of ever changing environment; Chapter 3 analyzes the current state of education, focusing on gender-centric accomplishments and existing drawbacks to universal enrolment and grade completion; Chapter 4 explores the various roles that economic, social and institutional factors play in explaining current gender-centric trends in education uptake and actualizing the benefit of gender parity; and Chapter 5 concludes this report and highlights the key findings and related policy recommendations.