61% women in agro-industries face abuse

• Majority face verbal abuse from supervisors
• One in nine report sexual harassment
• Long hours, overtime pay rarely provided
• Childcare, maternity facilities remain inadequate

Nearly three in five women working in factories that make food and non-food items from farm, fisheries and forestry products face verbal or emotional abuse, according to a new study.

Besides, one in nine reported physical or sexual harassment, according to the study by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). 

The survey covered 510 women in Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Dhaka, Cumilla and Chattogram districts.

Most respondents said their supervisors were responsible for the abuse, pointing to a serious misuse of authority at work.

The study was unveiled yesterday at a session titled "Labour Market, Agriculture and Energy" in Dhaka on the second day of the BIDS Conference on Development 2025.

It found that 61.37 percent of women employed in agro-based enterprises had faced verbal and emotional abuse. Of this group, 10.98 percent reported sexual or physical harassment, and 2.55 percent mentioned cyber harassment. Supervisors accounted for 64.4 percent of all reported incidents.

Researchers also highlighted punishing work hours with little reward. Women work an average of 51.6 hours a week. Nine in ten said overtime is compulsory, yet only 6.3 percent receive the legally required double overtime pay.

The session featured four studies that highlighted systemic inequalities across cities, farms, factories and households. The study on the working conditions and economic empowerment of women in agro-based industries was presented by Kashfi Rayan, research associate at BIDS.

It also found that essential facilities remain rare. Only 21 percent of enterprises provide childcare rooms, and just 31 percent offer full paid maternity leave.

Despite the rising participation of women in agro-industries, the study said empowerment remains limited due to restrictive household decision-making, weak representation at work and low awareness of labour rights.

Rayan called for tighter enforcement of labour laws, gender-responsive facilities and stronger grievance and reporting systems to ensure safety and dignity at work.

In the same session, Badrun Nessa Ahmed, senior research fellow at BIDS, presented findings on wage disparities between cities and rural areas in her paper titled "One size does not fit all: urban heterogeneity and labour market inequalities in Bangladesh".

Drawing on Labour Force Survey data, she said workers in metropolitan areas earn 2.6 times more than those in rural areas. Between 2013 and 2022, rural wages grew by only 4.2 percent, compared with 10.7 percent in big cities.

An instrumental variable analysis showed a 21.6 percent wage premium in metropolitan areas, while smaller towns offered only 5.2 percent.

"Urban Bangladesh is not homogeneous. The advantages are heavily concentrated in big cities," Ahmed said, pointing to factors such as agglomeration, productivity clustering and better job matching.

She recommended strengthening secondary cities, improving urban services and formalising labour markets to reduce widening spatial inequality.

Another study, presented by senior research fellow Mohammad Golam Nabi Mozumder, warned of ecological pressures linked to rapid mechanisation in agriculture.

Titled "The irresistible shift from agriculture to agri-venture: technology, habitus, and the looming threat of ecocide", the study examined how rising wages and persistent labour shortages are turning farming from a livelihood into a profit-driven agri-venture that risks upsetting ecological balance.

Based on interviews in 14 districts, the study recorded heavy use of hybrid seeds, synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, along with inefficiencies when machines are used on small, fragmented plots.

It also found irregularities in the subsidised machinery market, ranging from counterfeit equipment to dual-branded machines and contract terms that vary widely.

Mozumder warned of a "pesticide treadmill" that is degrading soil and threatening aquatic life, calling it a looming "spectre of ecocide". He urged policymakers to regulate machinery distribution, set quality standards and promote agro-ecological models to protect the environment.

SM Zulfiqer Ali, research director at BIDS, moderated the session.