Paper short abstract:

This paper compares strategies against workplace sexual harassment (WSH) adopted by female Bangladeshi workers in informal and formal workplaces. It examines how women's understanding of WSH and agency interact with gender norms and workplace factors to enable or constrain their voice and action.

Paper long abstract:

Bangladesh is undergoing rapid urbanisation (annual 3%) and women are increasingly entering the labour force, in both formal and informal work. While this provides scope for new livelihoods for women and opportunities for challenging existing discriminatory gender norms, it also brings to the fore how sexual violence and harassment act as barriers and disincentives to women's mobility and participation in the workforce. Women's opportunities for paid work in urban areas are still limited with low paid and informal work being the most accessible for poor women. The research presented by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development explains the experiences of sexual harassment among young women engaged in domestic work and in agro-processing factories, and their agency and voice in negotiating and challenging workplace sexual harassment and violence. The analysis of restrictive social and gender norms shows how the articulation and discussion of experiences of workplace sexual harassment are difficult and has resulted in intricate strategies of avoidance and protection, which depend on family support, informal social networks, and workplace structures, all of which are also affected by the urban context. The paper will discuss the similarities and differences between workers in isolated settings (informal domestic workers) and workers in a factory context that is partially formalised, where formal mechanisms are however inaccessible and not trusted. It will examine how women's knowledge/understanding of workplace sexual harassment and agency interact with gender norms and workplace factors to enable or constrain them from voicing/speaking out and taking action.