Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), in collaboration with the ProGRESS Project of ILO, Country Office for Bangladesh, organized and conducted a daylong validation workshop (hybrid mode) on “Identifying Barriers to Women’s Entry and Retention in the Labour Market” on the 23rd September 2024 at its Gulshan office. The workshop aimed to share and validate the facts and findings of the Baseline Assessment on current gender-related issues impacting access to and retention of women in the workplace. It also aimed to inform the value addition and innovation interventions to contribute to improve gender situation in industry sectors.
Mr. Farooq Ahmed, Secretary-General & CEO, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), welcomed the guests and participants to attend the session. Mr. Md. Aziz Taher Khan, Director General [Additional Secretary], DTE and Project Director of ProGRESS project of ILO, made his statement as the chief guest. Mr. Pedro Jr. Bellen, Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), ProGRESS Project, ILO Country Office, offered his welcome remarks and the objectives of the workshop. Mr. Tahmid Ahmed, Vice-President, BEF, and Mr. Gunjan Bahadur Dallakoti, Head of Programmes and SME Development Specialist, ILO Country Office, Bangladesh, also offered their statements.
Later, Mr. Joha Rahman, Head of Training, BEF, and Mr. Md. Mohebur Rahman, Monitoring Officer, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, delivered a presentation on the key findings and recommendation on Baseline Assessment conducted under ProGRESS project at the selected 10 different ProGRESS districts in Bangladesh. This presentation was followed by two experience sharing sessions and an open forum. A summary of the discussion and way forward was offered by Ms. Masreka Khan, National Programme Officer, ILO. The event ended with a vote of thanks from BEF.
A total of 34 participants (Female-09, Male-25) including Government officials and representatives from workers’ organizations, employers, Industry Skills Councils (ISCs), and NGOs attended the program.
