Socio-economic constraints in re-entering the labour market during COVID-19 and the resilience of female informal workers living in urban informal settlements

ABSTRACT

During COVID-19, female informal workers living in urban informal settlements in Bangladesh have faced greater challenges in re-entering the labour market than their male counterparts. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study, which has explored how the pre-existing socio-economic constraints around gender norms, gender roles, occupational sex-segregation, lack of education and skills, informality and restricted mobility have made the re-entry process extremely difficult for these workers during COVID-19 in Dhaka city. The paper also illustrates that these workers have adopted strategies catered for short-lasting crises to cope with the challenges arisen from their struggle to secure livelihoods.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• urban female workers
• informal livelihood
• labour market
• gendered vulnerability and resilience

Acknowledgments

This paper is a short version of a master’s thesis, which was submitted by the first author to BRAC University, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Development Studies. The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their insightful observations that helped substantially to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jahid Nur

Jahid Nur is a Trainee Research Associate at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) under the qualitative stream of the Young Researchers’ Fellowship (YRF) programme. He has a keen interest in the issues of gender, livelihood, capital, capabilities, and intersectionality. He aspires to wander in both the realms of research and policymaking.

Huraera Jabeen

Huraera Jabeen, PhD is an academic and development professional. Her key research focus is urban resilience, gender, and the built environment, specifically focusing on the intersection of gender and climate change in cities. She has undertaken in-depth fieldwork exploring the gender dynamics of adaptation to climate risks in informal settlements in different urban areas of Bangladesh. Her scholarly research experience on climate change adaptation and risk reduction of urban households are contributing to her emerging international profile from presenting and publishing for academics, professionals, and policy-makers. She has wide experience working with civil society organizations, donors, and community members. Currently, she is working with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development as a Senior Research Fellow and a consultant to the Global Practice for Social Urban Rural Resilience Unit of the World Bank in Bangladesh.