Women and Trade Unions in Bangladesh: Exploring the State of Participation and Leadership

Abstract

This paper explores gendered participation in trade unions, focusing on membership and leadership, and examines how gendered power structures shape women’s decision-making within unions. This research encapsulates how gender identity and the gendered structure of trade unions influence women’s marginalization within a masculine culture. Moreover, this paper identifies how gendered organization and masculine behaviours, or practices, restrict women’s access to leadership and decision-making power. Understanding the challenges women face in participation, this research demonstrates how women’s underrepresentation in trade unions may affect women workers’ needs and rights. Using a qualitative research methodology, this study employed In-depth Interviews (IDIs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) as research methods. This study concludes that without changing the structural bias and giving attention to gender sensitivity, trade unions may not act effectively towards safeguarding women’s rights.

Social Science Review [The Dhaka University Studies, Part-D], Vol. 43, No.1, June 2026, pp. 141-157.