Socio–Demographic Factors of Female Labor Force Participation in Slum Areas of Bangladesh: Insights from a Cross-sectional Study

Raihan Ahamed and , Ferdaus Hasan

No w9s7e_v1, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Introduction Nearly half of the workforce worldwide is women, still they have less participation at work compared to men. Women from marginalized communities, especially in slum areas, face deprivation of basic needs and limited access to the workforce. At work, they are restricted to low-paying, insecure jobs, have extensive working hours and no health or financial benefits. This study aimed to understand the factors that influence slum women in the workforce in Bangladesh. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect primary data using a semi-structured questionnaire from slums in the Mymensingh district. Around 400 primary data were collected for this study. Chi-square and Binary logistic regression analysis were used to determine the associated factors that influence female labor participation. Results The result showed that around (33%) of females participate in work and (67%) do not. Almost 78.03% of women earned 5000tk or less per month. 89.39% of women agreed that they earn insufficient money. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association with age (p<0.001), respondent’s education (0.002), and husband's education (p<0.002). Binary logistic regression revealed that Females aged 25-34 years have 3.24 times higher odds of working (CI: 1.95 to 5.38, p < 0.001) compared to those aged 15-24 years. Female-headed households showed 3.45 times higher odds of working (OR: 3.45, CI: 1.57 to 7.61, p = 0.002) compared to male-headed households. Conclusions This study examines the determinants of women's employment in Bangladeshi slum communities and offers an insightful analysis of why women face challenges in accessing employment in such environments. Necessary steps from the government should be taken, and a collaborative approach (both govt. and private) is also necessary to improve female labor force participation and protection of their human rights. Keywords: Slum, Socio-demographic Factors, LFPR, Odds ratio, LMIC

Date: 2025-07-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iue
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://osf.io/download/686cde0a5621920a1ffd2c56/

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:w9s7e_v1

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/w9s7e_v1

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by OSF ().