Encouraging women to take on new occupations, with a ‘do no harm’ approach, is essential for promoting women’s economic empowerment. In Bangladesh only 3.7% workers are women in the light engineering sector and a mere 0.1% are women in the furniture-making sector, despite the staff shortage in certain locations.
B-SkillFUL partnered with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to sensitise owners and communities to take on more women workers and promote an enabling work environment. The programme is offering workplace-based trainings for new women recruits to develop their skills in suitable occupations.
Like Ismat, many women are now becoming skilled to work in the light engineering and furniture-making sector with the Swiss-funded programme.