Banking industry of Bangladesh remains man-dominated as the banks are not recruiting woman employees following Bangladesh Bank's (BB) circular, the observers say. According to a recent study conducted by Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), instead of increasing overall women's employment and their participation in important decision-making roles dropped to 12.91 percent in 2016 from 13.73 percent a year earlier.
The report also found a negligible ratio of female executives in senior positions, a meager 8.56 percent in 2016, of which 5.37 percent for departmental heads and 8.62 percent as branch managers. The study titled Human Resource Management of Banks 2016 was conducted on 25 banks out of 57 and looked into various aspects of human resource management in the banking industry in Bangladesh.
The study found that banks spent on training only 0.50 percent last year as a percentage of total operating expenses. In 2016, the average training expense per employee was Tk 3,000 which is similar to previous year. The survey also unveiled that 71 percent banks did not carry out any psychological test in 2016. It shows that per employee operating income dropped to Tk 1.11 million in 2016 from Tk 1.51 million in 2015. Diversity at the workplace had become a hot topic all over the world over the last few years. An increasing number of companies and industries were making a conscious effort to ensure greater participation of women and of other less representative groups in their workforce.
Seeking anonymity, a BB official told The Asian Age, "Many new banks are not recruiting women employees following Bangladesh Bank's order. That's why the ratio of women bankers is not increasing." He further said, "The drop out female staff from entry-level to senior-level was also significant as banks were usually reluctant to promote women due to male-dominated attitude." Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Former Managing Director, Pubali Bank Ltd and supernumerary professor of the BIBM said,
"The number of female bankers is increasing, but they are not in line with the number of their male counterparts." SK Sur Chowdhury, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, told the Asian Age, "The ratio of woman employees in banking sector may dip one year more but the number may increase next year. He said, "We have already given order to banks for recruiting women as per Bangladesh Banks circular. But if the ratio of women bankers slashed in broad, we will sit with the bank authorities to resolve the matter again."
Latest News