Bangladesh Pushes Gender-Focused Budgeting for Skills Training

ILO Bangladesh Country Director Max Tuñón said gender-responsive budgeting is about ensuring public resources lead to measurable improvements in women's participation, course completion and employment outcomes rather than simply increasing funding.

Bangladesh is stepping up efforts to make technical and vocational education and training (TVET) more inclusive by strengthening gender-responsive budgeting, with policymakers and education experts exploring ways to ensure public spending creates better opportunities for women and girls. The discussion took place during an expert lecture session in Dhaka organised by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) and the Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED), with technical support from the International Labour Organization's (ILO) ProGRESS project. Representatives from 21 government ministries and agencies, employers' and workers' organisations, development partners and TVET institutions attended the event under the Gender and Skills Taskforce framework.

Better budgeting can remove barriers to opportunity

Participants said public investment should not only expand skills training but also address the barriers that prevent many women from accessing education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. ILO Bangladesh Country Director Max Tuñón said gender-responsive budgeting is about ensuring public resources lead to measurable improvements in women's participation, course completion and employment outcomes rather than simply increasing funding.

Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary Daud Miah stressed that the success of public spending should be measured by its impact on the lives of women and girls. Experts explained that gender-responsive budgeting helps governments identify and respond to challenges such as limited transport, childcare responsibilities, social expectations and the underrepresentation of women in higher-paying technical fields, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Survey identifies progress and areas needing attention

The session also reviewed the results of a survey conducted among members of the Gender and Skills Taskforce. The findings showed that 67% of participating institutions already have dedicated budget allocations for gender equality or social inclusion initiatives. At the same time, many organisations still lack comprehensive systems to monitor employment outcomes, retention rates and dropout patterns, while 60% of institutions reported they had not carried out a gender analysis during the previous two years.

Participants agreed that stronger data collection, regular gender impact assessments and greater investment in STEM, ICT, transport and childcare support would help create a more inclusive skills system. The Gender and Skills Taskforce will now prepare a practical roadmap to integrate gender-responsive budgeting into TVET planning and budgeting, with the proposal to be submitted to the National Steering Committee for further consideration. The initiative is supported through the ILO's ProGRESS project with funding from the Government of Canada.