The ‘She Power Project- Sustainable Development for Women through ICT’ aims to create a competent female workforce and group of entrepreneurs in Bangladesh’s ICT sector
As soon as this nation was born, its leadership saw potential in the working population of this fledgling country – a population that was equal parts, man and woman. It knew that ignoring almost 50% of its available brains and growth potential would only hinder the country’s growth and development. Therefore, with school enrollment rates, or with primary and secondary education, or even its manufacturing industry, especially ready-made garments, women always found encouragement and support, without discrimination in this country. Bangladesh has always taken women empowerment very seriously. The country knows, however, that it is time to up the game. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Development Program and in keeping with The Digital Bangladesh Vision, Bangladesh has recognized the importance of women in the technological world now. It has acted through various tech initiatives to engage and integrate its expertise in the ICT sector to milk the industry thoroughly. Under this roadmap, an initiative known as the ‘She Power Project – Sustainable Development for Women through ICT’ was approved in 2017 and has continued to encourage female participation in the field of information and communication technology ever since
When this project was introduced in 2018, the government had a modest training target and included 10,500 women in the ICT sector.
The Information and Communication Technology sector enjoys a market of roughly $1.1 billion in Bangladesh and is one of the most powerful tools of the country, at least socioeconomically speaking. Many countries worldwide, including Bangladesh, have realized that this sector can increase GDP growth and economic progress in countries, and reduce poverty, if not alleviate it altogether. Surprisingly enough, however, only about 25% of female university students actively pursue their studies in this field. Even then, some 13% of these women eventually join the workforce – a very dismal statistic, to be sure. While this scenario is true for Bangladesh and the wider world, this was not always the case. The ICT sector had attracted many women across the globe in the past, but its reputation as a clerical and ‘masculine’ job had women dropping out in large numbers. Women have been known to be inclined towards people-based jobs, whereas men towards object-based professions. Also, the job is time-consuming and demands almost 12 hours per day, so women who handle families alongside work have a more difficult time retaining jobs in this sector. Finally, the issue is also cultural – women usually look up to their parents and families when it comes to finding their professional calling, whereas men tend to follow their passion. In order to squeeze the maximum gain out of the ICT sector and all that it promises for the country, women participation in the industry needs to rise, and these initial hesitations need to be smoothed out. The She Power Project is one initiative rolled out to provide women with the necessary training and initial support to expand their skill set, encouraging them to rejoin the sector to retain gender balance in the industry.
Eligibility
Roughly, there are three kinds of training programs under this initiative – Women Freelancers to Entrepreneurs, Female IT service providers and Women as Call Centre Agents. In order to be eligible, the women must be local residents, have at least elementary knowledge of ICT, must be between 18 to 40 years of age, be fluent in the English language and be quick learners.
The Program
The training programs are divided into three tiers or levels, and upon completion of all the three levels, participants receive certificates and a sum of Tk. 20,000 as capital to buy themselves a laptop. The trainees are also guided by the ICT division on future career opportunities.
For the training program on freelancing, coursework contains website, graphics designing, Google translation, software development, mobile app design and development, and data entry, among other things. In the first two levels, there are training months and then a two-month-long nominally paid internship program. In the third level, the training spans only for a couple of weeks and then the participant enjoys the status of a professional freelancer and entrepreneur.
In the Gender Equality Forum this year, the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has pledged that participation of women in the ICT sector will be further raised to 25%, be it in startups or tech commerce, and to 50% by 2041 through some stringent policy measures.
For the IT Service Providers training program, coursework includes training on troubleshooting or repairing a laptop, desktop, printer, smartphone, etc. Similar to the first training program, there are training months, a two-month-long nominally paid internship program. In the third level, the training time is spread out over only a couple of weeks before the participant enjoys the status of a professional IT Service Provider.
For the training program on call centre agents, coursework includes document management, account management, database management, document scanning, e-publishing, ingoing and outgoing call management. The training and internship time and the internship remuneration remain the same as the previously mentioned training, and then the trainee emerges as an independent entrepreneur. The training programs are held in 21 upazilas of Bangladesh – Savar of Dhaka, Faridpur Sadar, Tangail Sadar, Jamalpur Sadar, Mymensingh Sadar, Hathajari of Chittagong, Comilla Sadar (South), Noakhali Sadar, Rangamati Sadar, Sylhet Sadar, Poba of Rajshahi, Pabna Sadar, Bogra Sadar, Naogaon Sadar, Rangpur Sadar, Dinajpur Sadar, Fultola of Khulna, Jessore Sadar, Kushtia Sadar, Barisal Sadar and Patuakhali Sadar.
When this project was introduced in 2018, the government had a modest training target and included 10,500 women in the ICT sector. Out of these, 4000 women would be trained to become independent entrepreneurs. Another 4000 would be trained to be IT service providers, and the remaining 2500 women would be trained to work in call centres. This modest target has been gradually increased through the years, and until 2019, around 6700 women had completed training and were on paid internships. They also received honorarium payments at the end of their successful training period. About 3000 women were employed as freelancers after being trained from this project. Women have claimed to have earned as much as $8000 in 8 months, roughly $1000 per month as freelancers, and some have received their first freelancing entrepreneurial projects while still in training. Subsequently, this arrangement has inspired others to become trainers under this program.
Bangladesh has accelerated its growth in leaps and bounds in the previous years. It recognizes that the ICT sector will continue to be a propellant in reaching the middle-income status goal that the country has set for itself. The ICT sector of the country has developed in the past decade and is now one of the largest hubs of women employment in the country, offering both well paid and high skilled jobs. In the Gender Equality Forum this year, the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has pledged that participation of women in the ICT sector will be further raised to 25%, be it in startups or tech commerce, and to 50% by 2041 through some stringent policy measures.
The country has set an ambitious goal – training 25000 entrepreneurs in the ICT sector, and the She Power Initiative will be leading it. The bold target is directly aimed at training women with clear potential and interest as visionary entrepreneurs and qualified employees in the sector to fill the available jobs. The who’s who of the ICT sector seems to think that a lot can be done to motivate women into entering this promising line of work if more awareness is created regarding the nature and the opportunities provided by this sector. They recognize that travelling for work, lack of child care facilities, harassment from co-workers and family pressure are some common hurdles holding women back. If opportunities such as a good salary, better career opportunities and more training and development can be put forward as incentives, thereby building positive awareness for the work in the ICT sector, this goal can be achieved.
