On 22 August, 2020, a webinar titled, “Gender and Youth Inclusiveness in Technology in Bangladesh” was jointly organized by South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and ActionAid Bangladesh. The Chief Guest of the webinar was Mr. Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, MP, Honorable Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Chaired by Ms. Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh and moderated by Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, Research Director, SANEM and Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, the webinar was attended by around 70 researchers, academicians, development practitioners, journalists, students and tech-entrepreneurs. The webinar hosted an expert panel consisting of Mr. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i Program, Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh, Mr. Ayatul Islam, Joint Secretary (Technical), Technical and Madrasah Education Division, Ministry of Education, Mr. Md. Sayed Ali, Deputy Secretary (Youth), Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ms. Farhana Rahman, Senior Vice President, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). The paper on the title of the webinar was presented by Mr. Mahtab Uddin, Research Economist, SANEM and Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. Special Remarks were delivered by Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director, SANEM. An interactive open discussion followed after the expert panel discussion

Professor Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha inaugurated the session by warmly greeting everyone for their participation. She pointed out that youth, technology, and gender are the three important aspects of the discussion. From her purview, if Bangladesh wants to reap the benefit of the demographic dividend, then the current skill level of the present youth has to be increased. Moreover, their skills have to leveraged to ensure maximum output. However, to attain these objectives, access to and use of technology is quintessential. And, the fourth industrial revolution has raised the necessity of using technology further. But we can notice there exist a stark gender divide and digital divide in case of using technology which is bridling our economic development. Professor Dr. Selim Raihan emphasized the point of inclusiveness in technology. But inclusivity is connected with societal inequality. Then, he described how students of different economic backgrounds are facing challenges to attain education through digital media in the advent of the Covid-19 crisis. Students of poor households can’t access and affordable online education. More importantly, Dr. Raihan pointed out that even with a decline in the price of technology, inclusivity is not ensured. Sometimes, the quality of the internet connection restrains access. Even if the price of the internet is lowered significantly, for how many it would be affordable, is still a matter of question. Hence, the government needs to step up to secure quality access to technology for the vast majority of the population. 

Mr. Mahtab Uddin started the main presentation by delineating the historical perspective of the industrial revolution and the benefits of the equal access to technology in society. The Government of Bangladesh rightly adopted the Digital Bangladesh agenda in 2009.  However, whether access to technology has been equally ensured across gender, age cohorts, regions (rural/urban), or across income groups, is a matter of concern. Hence, the research conducted by SANEM is a comprehensive investigation of the current scenario of youth and gender inclusivity and accessibility to the technology. There is a significant digital divide in Bangladesh. The digital divide refers to the separation between those who have access to ICT and those who do not. The research shows a stark digital divide across age, gender, and region.  80% of male youth in the rural and urban areas own mobiles, whereas only 40%  of the female youth do so. The research clearly points that around 72% of the male youths in the households belonging to the poorest income decile own a mobile phone compared to 92% in the top income decile. On the other hand, 24% of the females from the poorest income decile own mobile phones, while the rate is 73% for the richest income decile. It is evident that the male-female gap is 44 percentage points in the poorest income decile and 19 percentage points in the richest income decile. Through the research, an “Intra-household Gender Parity Index” has been constructed, Mr. Mahtab Uddin explained. The closer the score of the index towards 1, the more gender parity; the closer the score to zero, the more gender inequality. While in this index the score stands at 0.41 In rural areas and .56 in urban areas, the national score stands at 0.46, which indicates gender inequality in technology. The research points out three important aspects. Firstly, the percentage of mobile holding for the males is almost similar for poor and non-poor categories. Secondly, the share of female youth’s ownership of a mobile phone for the poor households remains almost the same (around 34%-37%) across all age groups. Lastly, irrespective of poverty status, youth females’ average mobile holding is significantly lower than the average mobile holding of the males. There is also a digital divide observable in case of computer and internet access. In Bangladesh, only 6% of households have access to computers and less than 4% of females ever used a computer. The regional disparity also exists in this case. Computer ownership is disproportionately higher in Dhaka and Chittagong, compared to other divisions. In case of access to computers, Bangladesh lags behind other South Asian countries.  More importantly, the household with access to the internet is only 50% in urban areas and less than 30% in rural areas. And nationally only 10% of women have ever used the internet. Moreover, on the basis of mobile internet speed, Bangladesh ranks 134 among 143 countries.  Not only access to the internet but also the quality of the internet connection is questionable. 

However, the demand side constraints can be mitigated if there exists a substantial supply of training, ICT education, etc. Overall, it has been observed that participation rates in training are extremely low.  Also, a clear gender difference in participation in training is noteworthy: only 3% of females, compared to 5% of males. In the case of technological training, some serious challenges have been highlighted in the research paper, Mr. Mahtab Uddin explained. There are 71 Technical Training Centers (TTCs), 49 Government polytechnic institutes, 64 technical schools and colleges, and 511 private polytechnic institutes. In total, 10,452 institutes in the country provide diploma courses or certified courses on different trades. Given the size of the population, even the existing numbers of technical training and education institutes are not adequate. However, the demand for vocational education/training is extremely low. In 2019-20, 135,000 seats remained vacant at the 624 public and private institutes offering diploma courses in technical trades. In the 511 private polytechnic institutes, 127,976 seats remained vacant out of 185,055 seats. In the case of 49 Government Institutes, and 64 technical schools and colleges, 7,127 seats remained vacant. However, the quality of the instructors and the course curriculum is questionable. 

Furthermore, Bangladesh Ranks poorly at 124 on the Global Comparison (among 141 countries) in quality of vocational education and training despite the adoption of two landmark policies: National Skills Development Policy (2011) and National Training and Vocational Qualifications Framework (NTVQF). The research has used “Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition” the technique to see gender discrimination against women in Technology inclusiveness. It has been found that factors such as location (Rural households, households from Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet), the proportion of female members in the household, sex of the household head, etc. increase gender discrimination. But factors like migrant household members, household income status, average years of schooling of the household, as well as the location (Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal) etc. helps to reduce the discriminating behaviour towards female youths. Mr. Mahtab Uddin concluded the discussion by offering some policy recommendations. The research advocated formulation of “Gender Inclusive ICT Policy”, “Gender Inclusive ICT Action Plan” and “ICT-friendly fiscal policy”. The Government can also think of tax rebates or reductions in the existing tariffs for the telecommunication industry. Most importantly, the research underpins the need for formulating special schemes for females. For instance, the provision of a VAT refund for female students while purchasing computers or mobile phones can be useful. Among other recommendations, the study also firmly recommends creating a joint task force on ‘Technology inclusiveness’ combining all the relevant ministries (Ministry of Youth, ICT Division, Ministry of Education, amongst others). Mr. Anir Chowdhury shared findings from a2i’s research and explained that despite efforts from the government to spread education through digital platforms, it has been difficult to include the poor, females, disabled, internally displaced, and hard to reach areas. He discussed the unemployment scenario in Bangladesh and pointed out that due to the advent of automation 5.5 a million jobs will be lost in five sectors. However, 4 million new jobs will also be created by the 4^th Industrial Revolution. It is essential for Bangladeshi youth to be prepared to cater to those jobs. Mr. Chowdhury sheds light on the ongoing projects of a2i and their relevance to the issues of youth and gender inclusiveness in the technological sector. He also emphasized the need for quality real-time data and expressed hope that collection of data will be more efficient eventually.

Md. Ayatul Islam shed light on the Ministry of Education’s efforts to expand technical and vocational training and spreading its reach among the youth and women. Honorable Deputy Minister Mr. Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, MP said that ICT and TVET were not prioritized before 2009. The present government has developed a comprehensive education policy that was also absent prior to 2009. He pointed out that gender discrimination in technology is often a result of patriarchal and conservative culture. When women use technology they often have to face stigma and digital harassment, which also contributes to creating the gender gap in technology. Without a change in mentality it would be difficult to overcome this discrimination, he observed. He further said that there are opportunities for women to pursue technical education, which many of them have not been able to avail due to a lack of societal and familial support. However, he pointed out that enrolment in TVET has increased to 17% from 0.9%, which shows significant advancement. Mr. Chowdhoury also discussed the growing online presence of ideas pertaining to fundamentalism, misogyny, and anti-Bangladesh War of Freedom. He called on all to work together to overcome the stigmas and uphold social values and tolerance. Honorable Deputy Minister shed light on the importance of quality of training of teachers in TVET and remarked that while training may look good on paper, it might not be so in reality. He emphasized on the necessity of data and data-driven policy. He also informed the audience of the initiatives taken by his ministry in that regard. In a populist move, illegal regimes in Bangladesh in past expanded general education and higher education without taking into consideration the nature of Bangladesh’s economy and its needs, he observed. This has created 50 lakh graduates whom the economy cannot accommodate. He affirmed the government’s commitment to building the skill of the people of Bangladesh. The government wanted to do away with the age barrier of enrolling tin TVET, which has not been possible due to pressure from the professional groups. This mentality has to be changed, he urged. Praising the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said that under her leadership the country has come forward a long in achieving gender parity and other digital milestones. In his discussion, Mr. Md. Sayed Ali pointed out that many privately-run polytechnic institutes do not have the required capacity to train efficiently. He remarked that religious leaders can motivate all in promoting technological inclusivity. He shed light on his ministry’s initiatives in ensuring the youth’s development. A Youth Council is in the making which would be useful in reflecting the youth’s voice and demands, he informed all.Ms. Farhana Rahman pointed out that while there were hardly 10 companies led by women in 2008-09, due to effective policy support from the government, there are now more than 60 tech-companies that are led by women. However, there is still room for improvement. She further explained that training programs are not enough for a woman to become an entrepreneur; support in investment and most importantly familial support is essential. She also said that private organizations are hiring based on the candidates’ skills and not only prioritizing their certificates. Those who are receiving training on technical education should also be informed of the relevance of their skills, she commented. In the Chair’s speech, Ms. Farah Kabir said women have to face stigma from their birth. They often feel threatened when they want to participate in the technological mainstream. Thus, the gender gap stems from family and society. The media may play an effective role in increasing awareness in this regard, she said. She proposed an app that would track malpractice against women in online space and facilitate necessary legal measures. She also said that while women are advancing despite all the obstacles, affirmative actions must be taken to further facilitate their progress. Along with the provision of technical education, stipends, they should be offered consultation on their career plans. Ms. Kabir called for coordination among the Ministry of ICT, Ministry of Women, Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Youth. She pointed out that social stigma and gender-based violence have greatly affected women’s advancement. She called for greater cooperation among all in this regard.

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