SHANITA-Thesis FINAL.pdf

8/14/2019 SHANITA-Thesis FINAL.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/shanita-thesis-finalpdf 1/55

P a g e | 1

1.0 Introduction

‗Education is the backbone of a country‘- a very ancient and prominent saying to inspire

the entire nation for education. The statement is cent percent true at all time. Education is

of course the vehicle to move the nation through the path of development. The question

comes, who will be the passenger of this vehicle? In other words, who will get this

education, either only male or only female or both? Education equality is one of the

major dimensions of gender discrimination argument. The development concern is

working on this for a long ago throughout the world. Thus, the success is also very

visible especially in case of developing countries like Bangladesh

Since it‘s born in 1971, Bangladesh is still striving to move to the developed level fromthe developing level. Consequently, the country has achieved a remarkable success in

various fields of development, which has uplifted the overall development of the

country. Education equality is one of those successful fields where Bangladesh has

ensured a satisfactory percentage of female students compare to the male students. Even

in the rural aspect, the country has almost equal percentage of both male and female

students. The success is surely marked with the contribution of government and non-

government participation.

The first step of development is done by ensuring education equality. Now, the question

comes how these educated females will contribute to the society as like males? The first

and foremost reply to this question is ‗through her job‘, but for this she needs to get a job

or a space where she can apply her education and skill. She needs a position which

would enhance her knowledge and qualification. Thus, the society will be able to grab

the contribution from her. Here emerges the question of employment equality which is

another dimension of gender discrimination. Unfortunately, Bangladesh is still behind to

ensure this equality in terms of gender discrimination.

In most of the developing countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, females is

fortunately getting proper education. Even if they get an education due to the

development process, their education is not properly valued. The situation in Bangladesh

depicts that, most of the organizations expected and recruited females for only secretariat

or receptionists or public relation posts. No matter, how much qualified or skill that the



P a g e | 2

female has or no matter whether that female employee is efficient for some other

complicated job.

Interestingly, females are asked to have a BBA/graduation or even MBA/masters to

apply for secretariat or front desk job or public relation jobs. Accomplishing a

BBA/graduation for 4 years or MBA/Masters for 2 years is not an easy task. A student

gathers knowledge of various aspects and put her honest effort to turn that knowledge

into skill. Thus a graduate or masters passed female becomes eligible for any impactful

job. Unfortunately, their skills are not valued above their gender and thus they are

encouraged to apply for secretariat or front desk job or public relation jobs. Sometimes,

the situation also forces the females to be encouraged and apply to these jobs ignoring

their qualifications.

It is not argued that, the secretariat or front desk jobs are insignificant or indecent. In fact

these jobs very much challenge where employees have to work on nerve in most of the

time. The argument is that, these jobs don‘t need any involvement of conceptual skill or

logical reasoning skill. Thus, the employer can ask for a bit low level of education like

SSC or HSC and should ask applications from male as well. Why only females are

encouraged to apply for these jobs? Why only females are expected to go for public

relation or front desk or secretariat activities? Why the employers‘ websites erase the

statement ―only Females are Encouraged to Apply‖ and take applications in these jobs

irrespective of gender?

The research aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the discussed issue. This will

lead it to go through the observation of the employers‘ activities and trends. The research

will also go through some real stories which will open up the real practice of

discrimination. In this way, the research will be able to find out the answers of the above

questions.



P a g e | 3

2.0 Background

There are certain hurdles over the idea of equal opportunities for male and female

employment. The thoughts given by a woman while choosing a suitable employment for

herself are mainly the consequence of their socioeconomic status in a country. One of the

formidable challenges for women in this respect is their restricted access to productive

resources. From their childhood, the girls are made to feel inferior to the boys leading

them to believe in inequality and discrimination which last even up to their professional

life. In industrial and other works women are mostly found doing the entry-level jobs. It

happens seldom that they can be marked out in any managerial or even mid-level

positions. Even if a woman is highly educated and efficient enough to run the

organization, she is deprived of an opportunity to prove that.

Employment opportunity bias is a general trend to be noticed in most of the employers‘

attitude. Sex segregation in employment opportunities is much observed in corporations.

Women are perceived as too emotional, gentle, illogical and sensitive to succeed in the

corporate environment. Sometimes in public service this gap is highly observed. Even in

countries like the USA, government has been guilty of unlawful denial of promotion of

women. Raymond F. Gregory writes in Women and Workplace Discrimination:

Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality that Angie Gobert, a woman employed in a

government department could not prosper in a higher position when her competitor left

the said position. The position was declared closed for any fill in rather than employing a

woman there. Private industries have also acted with equal boldness in denying

promotions to female workers.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid, former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva, is written

in the law page of the Daily Star on 13th March, 2010, that out of 4,419 civil servants

only 673 are women, according to the establishment ministry. There is only one woman

DIG of police and four female additional DIGs in the police force. Faruq Hasan writes in

My Friend the Misogynist published in the Star magazine on March 5, 2010, that one of

his friends who own a garment factory has no women in the management. He professes

that women aren‘t smart enough to lead yet.



P a g e | 4

Even with improvements in labor statistics, the latest (1989) Labor Force Survey still

excludes housework from the definition of economic activity. On this definition, women

carry out fewer hours of unpaid family labor on average than men. Although highly

educated women in Bangladesh expect to achieve gender equality, compared to highly

educated men, but women are under-represented in managerial and executive position.

There is a generous quota system for women's representation in official public bodies.

But quotas are not generally met and where they are, the women are regarded as token

appointees and adopt a passive role in the bodies concerned.

From existing data, there are two clearly discernible gender differentials in

unemployment and underemployment. Firstly, the unemployment rates of female

graduates are strikingly high (17 percent) compared to those of male graduates (2.3

percent) (BBS, 1993). The high level of unemployment of female graduates requires

further investigation. The Secondly, the overall level of under utilization of the labor

force is 83 percent for women compared to only 15.4 percent for men, indicating much

higher female than male underemployment.

Even after achieving significant success against gender discrimination, still the job

circulars of different organization force a female to be discriminated. It has become a

common practice in almost every organization have a female in the front desk position.

So that, the customers can get an attraction to communicate with that particular

organization. Surprisingly, these organizations ask graduation/BBA qualification for

these sorts of positions. Where as a female, with a graduation/BBA certificate, is able

doing much more sophisticated and managerial task.

Gender discrimination is blocking female prospects in banking. Bangladesh Bank study

finds women trailing males in this sector. The news published in Financial Express on

Sunday, 23 September 2012 by Rezaul Karim reveals this scenario.

The gender discrimination in the banking sector appears to be standing in the way of

next-generation banking in the country, a latest study conducted by Bangladesh Bank

(BB) said. "The batch of younger, entry level female employees need to be groomed to

become part of the next-generation bank management," it mentioned.



P a g e | 5

It also said the female participation in the country's banking sector is still very low due to

the absence of appropriate steps. According to a BB data, around 13.08 per cent of

women work at entry level in the banking industry, but less at mid-level --- 8.58 per cent,

and 4.44 percent work at senior management level. In the banking sector, about 15.57

percent of women employees are there in the below-thirty age group. The percentage of

female Board Members totalled came to only 9.73 per cent in 2011, the data shows. It

also pointed out that the 'female attrition' levels need to fall further despite the 'turnover

ratio' of departing males is higher than that of females, with SCBs showing the higher

ability to retain the female staff.

However, the gender discrimination remains a core problem in many countries and is a

key constraint to economic growth and improvements in social indicators. One key

sphere where gender issues directly impact productivity and growth relates to the low

levels of female participation in the labor force. In the PCB (private commercial banks)

sector, there is a new hope that more employment transparency and purely merit-based

job opportunities are getting boost day by day. This change is already becoming visible

in the some foreign banks.

The foreign banks believe female workers are sincere to put in great efforts in their work,

and many times are better qualified to perform the job than their male counterparts. The

general perception of the banking sector recruiting authorities appears to be that women

are more diligent in their duty, and show a much smaller incidence of being involved in

corrupt and fraudulent activities against the interests of the bank.

Although the situation is quite different in NGOs and other foreign organizations, but

some local organizations and government organizations are still practicing this approach.

It is not like that, women are completely ignored in any respective position. In fact

nowadays many organizations recruit females in many crucial positions. Surprisingly,

there are many cases in Bangladesh, where one organization has recruited a female in a

higher level position with sophisticated responsibility and at the same time same

organization has circulated its preference for a female in a secretariat or front desk job.



P a g e | 6

3.0 Research Problem

Various educational and motivational programs have been successfully working in

Bangladesh. Subsequently, women have broken out the common social problems like

illiteracy, early marriage, etc. For example, Bangladesh has already achieved gender

parity in education levels. Many women are getting proper family support, achieve

higher education, and gain more respect in family life. However, in case of working life,

a huge number of highly educated women are not positioned according to their

educational qualification. Despite of the progress in gender discrimination, still now

females are encouraged to apply for any secretariat rather than males.

The secretariat or front desk jobs are not considered inferior but it should not be confinedto females only to welcome clients with their beauty. If welcome of a client needs a

humble approach then it can be done by a male as well. Unfortunately, the organizations

publish their official circular with a written statement ―females are encouraged to apply‖

for the position of secretary or receptionist or front desk job. Moreover, the employer

also looks for an above average level of education for these sorts of positions not to

utilize her education just to maintain the standard of HR.

The NGOs and other foreign organizations are showing a different approach with the

concept of ―equal opportunity employer‖. However, the local companies are still far

away from this concept. The reason can be many including lacking from both employers

and female employees. Throughout the analysis the research will dig into the particulars

of the issue.

On the basis of the background of the study, the research problem of this study is

“Why the employer prefers females with above average education rather than

males for Front Desk/ Secretariat/ Customer Service jobs in Bangladesh?”

This would entitle the name of the research as- Gender Preference in Jobs-Employers‟

and Employees‟ Perspectives.



P a g e | 7

4.0 Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the situation and the reason of preferring highly

educated females for secretariat or front desk position in our country. The research aims

to find out the trend or pattern of the employer in our country who do not prefer a male

for the secretariat or front desk position and demand only females with graduation/BBA.

In addition to this broad purpose, the research aims to find out some specific purposes

too. These are as follows-

Reviewing the existing literature on both gender discrimination in Bangladesh

summarizing the comparative situation of women in Bangladesh, with particular

reference to their social, economic, political and legal status

Depicting the present scenario of gender discrimination in employment

opportunity in Bangladesh

Specifying the loopholes from the aspect of female employees

Identify the particular needs of women in relation to employment, income,

workload, work preference, facilities and benefits

Determining the role of Government Organization (GOs), Non-Government

Organizations (NGOs), and International Non-Government Organizations



P a g e | 8

5.0 Scope

This research aims to identify the reason behind the female preference for ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist‘ position even with a higher education degree. To this purpose, the

research has limited its perimeter within a specific and defined scope. Basically, this

research is intended to indicate another dimension of gender discrimination. To be more

specific, the research deals with the gender discrimination in employment opportunity.

However, gender discrimination itself is a wide concept indeed and reflection of

employment concepts in it, enlarges this wideness a bit more. This is why, the research

has decided to confine the discussion within the mentioned perimeter. It will only search

the reason for which employers preferred only female to ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘

positions instead of the male even with a higher education.



P a g e | 9

6.0 Literature Review

6.1 Gender Discrimination or Gender Inequality

Gender inequality means disparity among human beings on the basis of gender. Gender

is differentiated basically in two ways generally, firstly social perception about the status

of gender secondly on the basis of biological aspects through body differences as human

chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences of the human body. Gender

inequality means differentiation, whether pragmatic grounded or social. Today gender

roles are knitted by culture and tradition but it seems that Islam influences the status of

women conservatively in society and this influence slows down the progress of women,

and limits the policies designed for women. This influence narrows the economic

opportunities for women claimed by Robert M. Hathaway, Wilson Lee ©2004.

Gender equality or equality between men and women entails the concept that all human

beings, both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and make

choices without the limitations set by stereotype, rigid gender roles and prejudices.

Gender equality means that the different behavior, aspirations and needs of women and

men are considered, valued and favored equally. It does not mean that women and men

to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not

depend on whether they are born male or female (ILO, 2000).

At the core of the sociological analysis of gender is the distinction between biological

sex and gender: sex is a property of the biological characteristics of an organism; gender

is socially constructed, socially created. This is a powerful and totally revolutionary idea:

we have the potential capacity to change the social relations in which we live, including

the social relations between biologically defined men and women. Sometimes in the

media one hears a discussion in which someone talks about the gender of a dog. In the

sociological use of the term, dogs don‘t have gender; only people living within socially

constructed relations are gendered. This distinction raises a fundamental question in

sociological theory about what it means to say that something is ―natural‖. Gender

relations are generally experienced as ―natural‖ rather than as something created by

cultural and social processes. Throughout most of history for most people the roles

performed by men and women seem to be derived from inherent biological properties.

After all, it is a biological fact that women get pregnant and give birth to babies and havethe capacities to breastfeed them. Men cannot do this. It is biological fact that all women



P a g e | 10

know that they are the mothers of the babies they bear, whereas men know that they are

the fathers of particular children only when they have confidence that they know the

sexual behavior of the mother. It is a small step from these biological facts to the view

that it is also a fact of nature that women are best suited to have primary responsibility

for rearing children as well, and because of this they should be responsible for other

domestic chores. The central thesis of sociological accounts of gender relations is that

these biological facts by themselves do not determine the specific form that social

relations between men and women talk. This does not imply, however, an even stronger

view, that gender relations have nothing to do with biology. Gender relations are the

result of the way social processes act on a specific biological categories and form social

relations between them. One way of thinking about this is with a metaphor of production:

biological differences rooted in sex constitute the raw materials which, through a specific

process of social production, get transformed into the social relations we call ―gender‖.

Now, this way of thinking about sex and gender leaves entirely open the very difficult

question of what range of variation in gender relations is stably possible. This is a critical

question if one holds to a broadly egalitarian conception of social justice and fairness.

From an egalitarian point of view, gender relations are fair if, within those relations,

males and females have equal power and equal autonomy. This is what could be termed

―egalitarian gender relations.‖ This does not imply that all men and all women do exactly

the same things, but it does mean that gender relations do not generate unequal

opportunities and choices for men and women (Gerson, 2009).

6.2 Gender Discrimination in Bangladesh- Social, economic and

religious aspect

A study by ICDDRB (International Centre for Diarrhea Disease Research, Bangladesh

has found gender inequality to exist every sphere, especially in rural Bangladesh (TheDaily Star, 2008). Bangladesh, is a typical developing country with a high level of

illiteracy and over – population, is not free from the problem of gender disparity. The

various elements of the social system thus interact to make women dependent on men or

at risk when deserted and to produce a rigid division of labor and highly segregated labor

market by gender (World Bank, 1992). The household is the primary production and

consumption unit. Men generally own and manage family land and income and women

contribute a great deal to the economy and to the family. Not only do they participate in

agriculture and industrial labor but also they are entirely charged with cooking, cleaning,



P a g e | 11

collecting firewood and water and washing. In addition, they assume full responsibility

for rearing children and caring for the old and infirm (Gita, 2001).

Gender inequality prevails in all countries of the world. Although it is a common

phenomenon all over the world, its position is somewhat acute in Bangladesh. Women

are disadvantaged in Bangladesh in terms of all well-being indicators (Khondkar, 1999;

Kabeer, 1989; Mahmud and Mahmud, 1985).

Different forms of inequalities

In the following sections briefly describe various factors that influence women‘s lives

and are interrelated with their status through prevailing culture, traditions and customs

of the country.

Gender inequality in Family

Differential treatment of female begins at birth. While a son is welcomed to the world

with a loud audible prayer of ―God is Great‖ in the presence of members, a daughter

receives only the ―whisper of Quranic prayer‖. Bertocci (1974) notes that, this kind of

response regarding the sex of a newborn baby influences the roles and behavior patterns

that she or he will learn and ―act out later in life‖.

According to the convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW) and the constitution of our country, every man and women have

equal rights to get equal opportunities in their family. But a good number of studies have

shown that discrimination against the girl child women starts within the family. Women

get a smaller share of household expenditures on education and health care relative to

men. Women‘s have less opportunity to visit health center, go to a movie, visit outside

the village, and visit friends and relatives. Most of the women are discriminated by their parents at first and then by their husband in the family. Usually parents expose different

attitude between their boys and girls after birth. Women in our family have always been

considered subservient to men. Men mostly own the lands owned by the households and

women are deprived of this right. In the family, as women are responsible for child

bearing and rearing, they have less scope to go out home for employment, hence most of

them are confined to the domestic chores, which are not counted in the accounting

procedure of the country, however, there is a clear discrimination with family affairs



P a g e | 12

falling under personal laws governed by religion, where the state is reluctant to become

involved (Mamun AA, 2007).

Women and Marriage

Marriage is a near universal phenomenon in Bangladesh. By the age of 15 to 19 about 70

percent of the females in Bangladesh are married (Population Crisis Committee, 1988).

Muslim marriage laws, however, protect a woman partially through the custom of Mahr

(money, property, jewelry or clothing to be given to the bride) to which the wife is

entitled upon divorce. The significance of Mahrs has been gradually reducing more of a

ritualistic custom than to actual practice (Kabeer, 1985; Smock, 1977). Most women,

especially those from the lower socioeconomic classes, may not have a written kabin

name. Because of the fear of litigation, even women who do know the details of the

contract may forego the right of enforcement (Alamgir, 1977).

Women and Fertility

A woman becomes well integrated into her husband‘s family only with the birth of

children, but barrenness may become grounds for polygamy and divorce (Miah, 1992).

Moreover, the overriding cultural emphasis on lineage maintenance, early marriage, and

economic benefits of having children translate primarily into high fertility for women.The total fertility rate in Bangladesh was 4.8 in 2010 (Population Development and

Evaluation unit, 2010). Rearing children and cooking for all members of the family is

one of the major roles of a woman. Thus, the effect on fertility, which ties women mainly

to unpaid household work.

Women and Religion

A local religious practices in Bangladesh have a significant influence on a wo man‘s

status, especially among Muslims (Miah, 1992). It is popularly known that Islam does

not directly advocate the lower status of women, but some of its practices lead to sexual

segregation, as manifested in purdah. Furthermore, religious justifications lead to

behavioral restrictions. As Fedman and McCarhy (1983) point out, the Islamic dictum

for women to the elders by being quiet and keeping one‘s head covered in their presence.

To ―have shame‖ means a wife will not behave in ways which can jeopardize her

husband‘s family prestige. Some local belief that ‗haven lies at the feet of the husband‘

(Hartman and Boyce, 1983) has gained wide acceptance among most Muslim rural



P a g e | 13

women. Such belief result in complete allegiance to the husband‘s wishes and decision

without challenge.

Women and Property Rights

The civil and personal laws of Bangladesh guarantee a woman‘s right to income and

property. A very small percentage of women are engaged in paid work and the

possibility of accumulating capital for buying is seriously limited for them. Whatever

income may be earned by rural women by investing in poultry or livestock is usually

spent for subsistence purposes (Alamgir, 1977).

Access to Education

Education is a social phenomenon that strongly influences on women‘s control of their

own future but low level of female education have been frequently cited in Bangladesh.

The common belief among many villagers that educated girls are rude, less affectionate

and disobedient also acts a contributory factor against female education (Salam, 1998).

The discrepancy starts from the family itself where parents are to be seen more

concerned about the safety of their daughters than the sons. Girls are often discriminated

against in getting access to school and support to continue into secondary school.

Daughters are restricted to their houses and given marriage at an early age.

Table 01: Male and Female Literacy Rate in Bangladesh

Source: UNDP: Human Development Report (HDR) 2002

Health and Nutrition

Women‘s low social status and poverty are in turn lead to their poor health, high fertility

and lack of access to essential health care. The ultimate outcome of these latter three

factors is a high maternal mortality rate. The daily per capital calorie intake of women



P a g e | 14

91599k.cal) is lower than that of a man (1927k.cal). The life expectancy of females

(60.5) is lower than that of males (60.7 years) (Ara, 2002). The average weight of a

Bangladeshi woman is about 40.9 kg, which is less than the mean weight of women in

most third world countries. The low weight is a reflection of food deprivation. Poor

environmental sanitation and lower food intake of female give them lower resistance

capacity, thereby rendering them more vulnerable to diarrhea and communicable

diseases, which cause the highest mortality and morbidity in this country.

Women in Decision -making, Politics and Administration

Women‘s participation in the political and national movement has been very negligible.

Although in recent years two women have emerged as important political leaders in the

country through their personal connections with deceased male political leaders of their

respective parties. Women usually do not participate in the political process (Table 3).

Political participation of women is low because of illiteracy and little involvement of

women in public life and politics. The female members of the Union Parishad (lowest

part of the local unit), the lowest tier of the Local Government, though elected in a direct

election, literally they have fewer powers, lots of women's votes at villages and women

in the hill tracts are deprived of their voting rights also. Patriarchy still controls all

institutions of the society, the parliament, military establishments, judiciary, education

and benevolent organizations etc. (Ahmed, 2001). In the legislature to have a fair

representation of women, out of 345 seats, 45 seats are reserved for women. This does

not however preclude women from contesting any of the 300 general seats – which is, of

course, more a matter of theory than practice. On the other side, participation of women

in political decision-making and administration remains very slim. Currently very few

Bangladeshi women can be found in positions of political leadership in both central and

local government structures, and even in the administrative hierarchy. As a result of thislack of opportunities to intervene in the policy and decision making level, women have a

minimal impact on the planning, management and implementation of policies.

Economic activities

A woman in Bangladesh enjoys lesser importance. ―She is little more than a free servant

and a child bearing machine.‖ The ―good‖ women stayed at home and looked after her

husband and her children. Whereas, the working woman, portrayed as morally lax and

the cause of disintegration of the family, of social values and of society in general.



P a g e | 15

Women‘s participation in economic activities remains unvalued at the national level

because of patriarchal social structure, tradition and norms. In Bangladesh, women‘s

participation in economic activities shows great variation by gender, nature of activity

and place of residence. Women‘s household work remains unrecognized, uncounted and

invisible (Salam, 1998).

We can get a comprehensive idea about the participation of women in government

services from the following table.

Table 02: Selected Candidates for the Civil Services in Different BCS Examinations by

Gender

Source: Annual Report- 2003, 2008, Bangladesh Public Service Commission, Dhaka:

Government of People‘s Republic Bangladesh, 2009. Page-65.

6.3 Gender Differences in Employment

There are several factors creating a discriminatory environment for women around the

office. The interesting fact about this is that the causes of gender discrimination at the

workplace start to operate even from the time a woman makes her choice to work.

Employment capabilities, bargaining power, the nature of work and workload are the

main pondering issues here. These thoughts make a woman‘s choice of occupation

complicated from the very beginning. Most of the working ladies or women willing to

enter the job market make the same complaints about these threats (Cahuc, et al. 2002).

In manufacturing industries, women are under-represented not just in managerial and

executive positions, but also in clerical occupations, comprising less than 10 percent of

the workforce at each of these levels (World Bank, 1990a). Among manual workers,

women tend to be concentrated in labor intensive, light work requiring manual dexterity;

they are rarely employed to operate heavy machinery. More skill-intensive, heavy



P a g e | 16

industries, such as plastics and metals, employ a smaller proportion of women than light

industries, but these employees tend to be women with a secondary education.

(Paul-Majumdar and Chaudhuri-Zohir, 1992). A very small but growing number of

female workers are engaged in the construction industry, mainly as unskilled day

laborers. Naripokkho (1991) suggest that women's involvement in the sector is

considerably underestimated because of a narrow interpretation of which jobs constitute

construction work. Women in urban areas also work in domestic service and in a range

of unregulated informal sector enterprises.

Industry segregation patterns are similar when looking at firms rather than workers. In

both developed and developing countries, female-owned firms tend to operate in a

restricted number of sectors, populated by smaller firms and characterized by low value

added and lower growth potential. Women entrepreneurs are heavily concentrated in the

service sector and in businesses that conform more to female roles (such as beauty

parlors food vending, and sewing) (Udry et al. 1995).

6.4 Gender Discrimination in Managerial Position

According to the stereotyping theory, women‘s advancement into managerial positions is

interrupted or limited by the discrepancies perceived between women‘s characteristics

and those characteristics – usually men‘s characteristics – traditionally correlated with

managerial success (Terborg and Ilgen, 1975, pp. 352-376; Baroudi and Truman, 1992,

pp. 4-5). Women are generally perceived as empathic, intuitive, devoid of aggression,

emotional, dependent, oriented towards group, not competitive, less ambitious, devoid of

entrepreneurial spirit and as lacking the desire to be in a leadership position. By

associating feminine characteristics with women and masculine characteristics with men

(and successful leaders), women‘s opportunities to climb the organizational ladder are

limited.

According to the attribution theory, workplace success or failure is due to stable,

objective factors (intelligence, professionalism, skill) or variable, subjective factors

(chance or luck) (Terborg and Ilgen, 1975, pp. 352-376; Baroudi and Truman, 1992, p.

5). In general, when the performance of individuals meets the employer‘s expectations, it

is attributed to stable factors; conversely, when the performances do not meet or exceed

the employer‘s expectations, the unexpected result (positive or negative) i s attributed to



P a g e | 17

variable factors. The discriminatory treatment arises when the results obtained by female

managers exceed the expectations and are explained by variable factors (it is assumed

that the favorable external context and not skills or ambition allowed her to do more),

whereas when their performance does not meet the expectations, failure is explained by

stable factors (it is assumed that the female manager lacks professionalism or skills, and

that is why she could not achieve the goal – external factors, outside her area of influence

are disregarded). On the contrary, exceeding the expectations in the case of a male

manager is explained by stable factors (it is assumed that his abilities have been

underestimated and that the better results are due exclusively to his work and actions and

not to chance or favorable developments in the external environment), while his

performances that do not meet the expectations are attributed to either external factors (it

is assumed that although the male manager is very well trained and did his best, the goals

were not reached due to external elements outside his area of influence, thus he is not to

be blamed or sanctioned). Because of this discriminatory interpretation of success and

failure, female managers are denied career promotions or downgraded more often than

their male counterparts that obtain similar results.

Gender discrimination in management, is described in the relevant literature with the

help of several concepts: (1) the glass ceiling referring to the underrepresentation ofwomen in management positions, (2) the glass cliff referring to the overrepresentation of

women in precarious management positions, and (3) the glass escalator which refers to

the greater opportunities for promotion enjoyed by men in female dominated professions.

The glass cei li ng (the underrepresentati on of women in management):Historically, the

first identified form of gender discrimination in management has been the glass ceiling.

The concept of glass ceiling can refer to the invisible, but impenetrable barrier

preventing women from reaching managerial positions irrespective of their achievements

or merits (The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995a, p. iii; 1995b, p. 4).

The il lusion of breaking the glass ceil ing- the glass cli ff :The glass cliff is a concept

used to describe the phenomenon whereby most women overcoming the glass ceiling are

appointed in risky positions (Haslam and Ryan, 2008, p. 531). These positions do not

improve the status of women or eliminate the preconceptions about women in

management, but on the contrary, they contribute to the perpetuation of negative

stereotypes and discrimination.



P a g e | 18

When men are the minority- the glass elevator: Most studies about gender

discrimination in management have focused on the experiences of women in male

dominated environments. However, there is another side of the coin and researchers

should also pay attention to the case of men trying to integrate and adapt to environments

dominated by women (Williams, 1992, p. 253) and this situation is known as glass

elevator.

6.5 Women‟s Preference Due to Obstacle

Significant and systematic gender differences in time use can be characterized by three

stylized facts. First, women work more than men once all productive (housework, care,

and market) activities are taken into account. Second, women bear the brunt of house-

work and care while men are mostly responsible for market work. In Bangladesh, women

devote more time than men to housework and child care. Third, gender differences in

time use patterns are primarily driven by family formation. Marriage significantly

increases the time devoted to housework for women but not for men (Becker, Gary S.

1957).

The social structure of Bangladesh imposes restrictions on women‘s access to market

work and on the kind of work that women may do. Our country require by law that a

woman acquire her father‘s or husband‘s permission to work outside the home, while in

other places women may not open or operate an individual bank account. In addition,

restrictions on work hours and industry of work are often introduced as protective

measures to take into account the health of pregnant women, nursing mothers, or women

engaged in potentially hazardous jobs. Industry restrictions are more common than work

hour restrictions, but the two often coexist (Bates, Timothy. 1995).

Unlike men, women prefer to work in jobs that offer flexible working arrangements

(such as part-time or informal jobs) so that they can combine work with care

responsibilities. However, part-time and in-formal jobs often pay lower (hourly) wages

than full-time and formal managerial jobs, a high concentration of women in these

lower-paying jobs weakens the incentives to participate in market work and thus

reinforces the specialization in nonmarket (including care) and market work along

gender lines within the household (Correll, et al. 2007).



P a g e | 19

Workplace choices made by many of the females often perpetuate the disparity in

income between them and males. These are six choices of women that contribute to their

gender‘s lower incomes:

1. The frequent choice to drop out for a few years to raise children lowers women‘s

income statistics for those dropped-out years. Moreover, mothering experience also

changes many women so that they often do not rejoin the job track;

2. The workaholic behaviour of an executive to rise to the top is less often chosen by a

woman than by a man;

3. In most cases women make the gender workplace choice to avoid physical jobs. For

instance, women might not be attracted to be employed as airline baggage handlers

though it is a good-paying job;

4. Women have more often chosen advanced degrees that result in lower-paid social

welfare jobs

5. Earning power is much more a cultural goal for men than for women;

6. Entrepreneurial women, on the average, choose to charge less than their male

counterparts.



P a g e | 20

7.0 Research Methodology

7.1 Research Design

This research project is entirely concerned in the development seeking problem and it

will be conducted keeping that concern in mind. This research will signify the

discriminated situation of the females in recruitment process of many organizations in

Bangladesh. The research will be conducted under the category of descriptive research.

This is because; descriptive research involves gathering data that describe events and

then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection. With the aim to find

out the discriminated situation for the females in the recruitment process, the descriptive

research approach will be an appropriate approach to it.

The entire research has been encompassed by both quantitative and qualitative aspects.

Secondary data from an observation method has been analyzed by quantitative approach

and the primary data from interviews and case study method has been analyzed by

qualitative approach. This has been done to get the most meaningful and accurate finding

of the analysis.

The research plan has started out from the review of the literature to draw the research

questions, figuring out the whole research population and designing the sample, fixing

up the analysis method and applying on the sample and finally analyzing the collected

data.

a) Types of Data:

The research has gathered data from two types of data sources.

1. Primary Data: This data has been collected from the various female employees

working in different organization. This was gathered to understand what the

female employee demands and also to understand problems from their part. The

primary data was also collected from some employers to understand why they

prefer only female and educated female for receptionists or secretariat position.

Besides, the idea has also been gathered from the employers who are equal

opportunity employers.

2.

Secondary Data: Secondary data have been collected from different job sites andalso from the websites of different companies and NGOs and INGOs. This has



P a g e | 21

been done to understand the frequency of the preference of female employees in

secretariat position and the categories of those companies.

b) Survey Method:This research will not follow the survey method among a certain sample from a

population. According to CR Kothari (1990) the research has many different standard

methods of analysis among which Non-Participantdirect observation, personal interview

and case study methods are some useful techniques. In order to collect both the primary

data and secondary data the research has applied three forms of research analysis. These

are-

Non Participant Observation Method-This was applied by observing the last 4

month record of different job searches. By this the research got the idea about the

pattern of job in which females are preferred and with what level of qualification.

This has also helped to identify the companies who follow this practice.

Personal Interview Method- This method was applied to get the opinion of

some female employees on the research problem issue. Moreover, the case study

method helped to understand the problems from a female employee‘s part to

deploy her in the more challenging job.

Case Study Method- This method was applied to portray the real life situation

where females have been trapped into this employment preference and where

females have been privileged by equal opportunity employment. The method has

also been applied to get the real case situation where an employer preferred

female form ‘Front Desk/Receptionist‘ position.

c) Sample Design:

Population: Although the research didn‘t follow the usual survey method but

still it has fixed up a population to limit the data collection perimeter. This

research analyzed the situation from both employer and the female

employees‘ perspective. Thus the population of this research is both employer

and female employees.

Sample Size: The research conducted the observation method on the job

sources on different job sites on their last 4 month record. Here, the sample

size was 5 job websites and the 4 months counting starts from 1st April 2013



P a g e | 22

to 30th July 2013. Besides, the research has conducted case study method

where the sample size was 20 with 10 female employees and 10 employers.

The number of sample size was supposed to be increased or decreased based

on the availability.

Sampling Method: The research has conducted the research by using a

random sampling method so that the sample has represented the total

population.

Data Analysis: The research has first gathered the trend data of 5 Jobsites

about the female preferred jobs. The research has first considered 9 categories

of jobs under which the number of total jobs and female preference counts for

each category. Then the research has applied the ratio analysis method to

understand the weight of female preference in the total number of jobs in each

category for last 4 months. After that the ratio figure has been expressed

through percentage which helped to show the status by graphical

representation.

7.2 Research Question:

Question 1: What are the motives of the employer for preferring only females and withabove average education instead of males for secretariat or front desk jobs?

Question 2: What are the reasons that the employer utilize the only feminine beauty of

the female employees for secretariat or front desk jobs and ignores their education for

any complicated jobs?

7.3 Research Hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: Employer prefers females with above average education rather than malesto attract the clients by influencing welcome and to maintain the organization‘s HR

standard as well.

Hypothesis 2: Employer believes females are not dependable for management or

complicated task in fact they are suitable for only client welcome because of their

feminine beauty.



P a g e | 23

8.0 Data Analysis

The research aims to identify the reason for which employers prefer female for the

secretariat or front desk position even with a higher degree and capability. In order to

know the reason behind this problem, it is necessary to the present face of the problem or

the present condition of the problem. The data analysis will dig into this chronologically.

It will first present the present condition of the problem and then it will identify the

reason behind it. The data analysis of this research is completely based on the

researcher‘s observation on the job sites and also the data gathered from an interview of

different employers.

8.1 Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The Job Sites Table 03: Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The Bdjobs.com

Bdjobs.co

m

Ad

min

Accou

nts

Custo

mer

Service

Front

Desk/Rece

ptionist

HR

Field

Market

ing

Cleani

ng

Defenc

e

Service

Female

preferred 7 8 28 22 10 5 13 1

Total Job 35 39 50 30 28 37 25 7

Ratio 1:5 8:39 14:25 11:15 5:14 5:37 13:25 1:7

Percentage 20% 21% 56% 73% 36% 14% 52% 14%

Source: Observation of last 4 month record of Bdjobs.com counted from 1st April 2013 to 30

th July 2013



P a g e | 24

Bdjobs.com is the largest website in Bangladesh for job search purpose. Almost all the

renowned companies including the smallest one post their job circulars in Bdjobs.com.

Thus, Bdjobs.com can be considered as the representative face of the employers‘ demand

as well as the present job market. Therefore, the market representative declares that

females are expressively preferred in ‗Front Desk/ Receptionist‘ position with highest

weighted ratio 11:15. This explains that among 15 circulars of ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘

category 11 circulars preferred female which is 73% of total circulated jobs. Customer

service and Cleaning comes in the second with the ratio of 14:25 which is 56% of total

circular in this category. After that Cleaning comes in third position with the ratio of

13:25 which is 52% of total circular in this category. Interestingly, the lowest female

preference has been counted in defense service, Field marketing and Accounts withlowest percentage and the lowest weighted ratio.

20% 21%

56%

73%

36%

14%

52%

14%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%70%

80%

Figure 01: Status of Female Preferred Jobs

According to The Bdjobs.com

Percentage



P a g e | 25

Table 04: Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The Jobsbd.com

Source: Observation of last 4 month record of jobsbd.com counted from 1st April 2013 to 30

th July 2013

Jobsbd.com is another renowned job site in Bangladesh where many reputed

organizations give their job circular for various positions. With different figure numbers,

jobsbd.com has also presented the same scenario of female preferred jobs. This job site

also got the highest female preference in ‗Front Desk/ Receptionist‘ position with the

ratio weight of 4:5. This expresses that among 5 total circulars of ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist‘ jobs, 4 circulars are found with female preference which is 80% of

total jobs. Then in ‗Customer Service‘ position comes with the ratio weight of 23:36

20%

33%

64%

80%

33%26%

57%

20%0%

10%20%30%

40%50%60%70%80%90%


According to The Jobs Bd.com

Percentage

Jobsbd.

com

Adm

in

Accoun

ts

Custom

er

Service

Front

Desk/Rec

eptionist

HR

Field

Market

ing

Cleani

ng

Defence

Service

Female

preferred 6 9 23 32 9 6 13 1

Total

Job 30 27 36 40 27 23 23 5

Ratio 1:5 1:3 23:36 4:5 1:3 6:23 13:23 1:5

Percent

age 20% 33% 64% 80% 33% 26% 57% 20%



P a g e | 26

which is 64% of total jobs in this category. After that ‗Cleaning‘ with 13:23 which is

57% of total jobs in this category. Like Bdjobs.com, Jobsbd.com has also lowest

percentage and ratio weightage of female preference in ‗Defense Service‘ and ‗HR‘ and

‗Field Marketing‘.

Table 05: Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The Prothom

Alojobs.com

Source: Observation of last 4 month record of ProthomAlojobs.com counted from 1st April 2013 to 30

th

July 2013

32%28%

78%85%

38%29%

81%

0%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%


According to The ProthomAlo.com

Percentage

Prothom

Alo

Jobs.com

Admi

n

Accou

nts

Custo

mer

Service

Front

Desk/Rece

ptionist

HR

Field

Mark

eting

Clean

ing

Defenc

e

Service

Female

preferred 12 8 35 28 9 8 22 0Total Job 37 29 45 33 24 28 27 3

Ratio 12:37 8:29 7:9 28:33 3:8 2:7 22:27 0:1

Percentage 32% 28% 78% 85% 38% 29% 81% 0%



P a g e | 27

Prothom Alojobs.com is as popular as its mother organization newspaper The Daily

Prothom Alo. Pran, Square, Action Aid, United Group such big names with many others

are regular clients of Prothom Alojobs.com for their job circulars. The site supports the

status of previous two sites. With the highest weighted ratio of 28:33, Prothom

Alojobs.com also gets female preference in ‗Front Desk/ receptionist‘ category. This

explains that among 33 circulars 28 circulars have a female preference which is 85% of

total jobs in this category. Then comes to cleaning with the ratio of 22:27 and 81%. After

that customer service comes to the ratio of 7:9 which is 78% of total circulars in this

category. Whereas, ‗Defense Service‘ has 0 circulars for female preference and ‗Field

Marketing‘has got the consecutive lowest position after defense service category.

Table 06: Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The JobsA1.com

Jobs

A1.com

Ad

min

Acco

unts

Custo

mer

Servic

e

Front

Desk/Rec

eptionist

HR

Field

Mark

eting

Clea

ning

Defence

Service

Female

preferred 9 8 18 20 6 4 8 0Total Job 27 19 30 25 17 22 15 1

Ratio 1:3 8:19 3:5 4:5 6:17 2:11 8:15 0:1

Percentage 33% 42% 60% 80% 35% 18% 53% 0%Source: Observation of last 4 month record of JobsA1.com counted from 1

st April 2013 to 30

th July 2013



P a g e | 28

Although JobsA1.com is not that a much popular or familiar job site but still it is

working side by side with the popular job site brands. Moreover, the research also found

the site with the job circular of many popular companies. Despite of this, the core fact is

unchanged even in this less popular job site. It also presented the highest female

preference in ‗Front Desk/ receptionist‘ position with the highest weighted ratio of 4:5.

This explains that among 5 total circulars of ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘ jobs, 4 circulars

are found with female preference which is 80% of total jobs. The second highest

preference is in ‗Customer Service‘ with the ratio of 3:5 which is 60% of total circulars.

The third preference went with ‗Cleaning‘ with 8:15 ratio which is 53% of total circulars.

Whereas, ‗Field Marketing‘ and ‗HR‘ has got least preference as like before.

33%42%

60%

80%

35%

18%

53%

0%0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

90%


According to The JobsA1.com

Percentage



P a g e | 29

Table 07: Status of Female Preferred Jobs According to The Aiminlife.com

Aim inlife.com

Ad

min

Acco

unts

Custo

merService

Front

Desk/Re

ceptionist

HR

Field

Marketing

Cleani

ng

Defen

ce

Service

Female

preferred 7 6 20 14 6 6 14 0

Total Job 21 19 29 20 17 22 18 1

Ratio 1:3 6:19 20:29 7:10 6:17 3:11 7:9 0:1

Percentag

e 33% 32% 69% 70% 35% 27% 78% 0%Source: Observation of last 4 month record of Aiminlife.com counted from 1

st April 2013 to 30

th July 2013

Similar to JobsA1.com, Aiminlife.com is also not that much familiar to the job seekers.

Except very keen and intense job seekers, the site is not known to Moses. Nonetheless,

the site contains the job circulars of many popular companies. Thus, the research could

not get any exceptional scenario even from this site. Again, female preference is highest

in ‗Front Desk/ Receptionist‘ position with the highest weighted ratio of 7:10. This

explains that among 10 total circulars of ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘ jobs, 7 circulars are

found with female preference which is 70% of total jobs. Then comes the name of‗Customer Service‘ position with the ratio of 20:29 which is 69% of total circulars in this

33% 32%

69% 70%

35%

27%

56%

0%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


According to The Aiminlife.com

Percentage



P a g e | 30

category. Aiminlife.com also states the lowest female preference in ‗Field Marketing‘

and in ‗HR‘.

8.2 Summarized Picture of The Job Sites For Female Preferance For

Front desk/receptionist/Customer Service/Secretariate‟ position

Table 08: Summarized Picture of The Job Sites For Female Preferance Front

desk/receptionist/Customer Service/Secretariate‟ position

Job Sites Female

Preferred

Job

Total Job Percentage Percentage

Varied in

Range

Admin 41 150 27% 14%-73%Accounts 31 133 23% 28%-42%

Customer Service 124 190 65% 60%-78%

Front

Desk/Receptionist

116 148 78% 70%-85%

HR 40 89 45% 22%-38%

Field Marketing 29 132 22% 18%-29%

Cleaning 66 108 61% 52%-81%

Defense Service 2 17 12% 5%-20%

Source: Observation of last 4 month record of 5 Jobsites counted from 1st April 2013 to 30

th July 2013



P a g e | 31

The research individually analyzes each of 5 job sites to understand the female

preference in their job circular list of different categories of jobs. Standing on individual

ground, each analysis has presented the same fact that the employers do have a female

preference for the ‗Front Desk/Receptionist/Customer Service/Secretariate‘ Position.

However, the research has summarized all these individual analyses to present a clearer

picture. The research took 8 categories of jobs and judged those in 5 prominent job sites.

Similar to individual analysis, the summarized picture shows that, in all 5 job sites, 78%

female preference has been counted for the ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘ Position. The

percentage of female preference in this job category varies within 70%-85% of all 5 job

sites which is indeed very high. The immediate lowest response is 65% female

preference and this is for ‗Customer Service‘ Jobs and the preference varies within 60%-

78% of all 5 job sites. The ‗Cleaning‘ jobs come just after that with 61% preference.

Even, in case of summarized picture, the ‗Admin‘ or ‗Accounts‘ has reported with 27%

and 23% female preference respectively in all 5 job sites. The 5 Jobsites has preference

variation in this category by 14%-73% and 28%-42% respectively which are in low

scales.

27% 23%

65%

78%

45%

22%

61%

12%0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Figure 05: Summarized Picture of The Job

Sites For Female Preferance For Front

desk/Recptionist/Customer

Service/Secretariate’ position

Percentage



P a g e | 32

8.3 Reasons Behind Female Preferences „Front


Table 09: Reasons Behind Female Preference in for „Front


Responses Females

are more

polite than

males to

manage

front desk

customer

service

Feminine

beauty is

effective to

attract

customer

Female

s are

less

likely

to take

reliable

strategi

cdecisio

ns

Lack of

qualified

female

candidates

for

managerial

jobs

Females

are

reluctant

to pay

enough

attention

and time

due totheir

family

tension

Particular

Response

6 9 4 7 8

Total Respondent 10 10 10 10 10

Percentage 60% 90% 40% 70% 80%

Source: Data gathered through the interview of the employers

60%

90%

40%

70% 80%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

80%90%

100%

Females aremore polite

than males tomanage front

desk customer

service

Feminine beauty areeffecetive to

attract

customer

Females areless likely totake reliable

strategic

decisions

Lack ofqualifiedfemale

candidates for

managerial

jobs

Females arereluctant to

pay enoughattention and

time due to

their familytention

Figure 06: Reasons Behind Female

Preferance for ‘Front

desk/Recptionist/Customer

Service/Secretariate’ position

Responses



P a g e | 33

The objective of this research was to identify the reason for which employers prefer

females for front desk/receptionist or secretariat jobs. Thus the research has first

confirmed the fact that whether only females are really encouraged for front

desk/receptionist or secretariat jobs or not. On the basis of last 4 month job circular

record of prominent job sites, the first portion of data analysis has confirmed the fact that

only females are encouraged for the ‗Front desk/Receptionist or Secretariate position.

Based on this ground the analysis moved ahead to find out the reason behind it. Where,

the analysis fixed up some ideas and asked 10 employers of different arena for their

opinion on that. The analysis has fixed up the ideas about the reason so that the analysis

can be done without any complicacy. At first glance, the research has got its obvious

result, where the highest votes with 90% admits that feminine beauty are effective to

attract the customer for which employers prefer a female employee in front desk or

receptionist position. However, a deeper look into the result reveals the second highest

reply with 80% which states that females are reluctant to pay enough time attention to

the job. This is undoubtedly a twist situation for the entire analysis and the hypothesis as

well. Another fact has also been supported by the employers that there is a lack of

qualified female candidates for managerial position as the employers have put 70% vote

on this. After that, the immediate lowest reply is with 60% which explains that females

are more polite than males for which employers prefer females for front desk or

receptionist position. The final and least vote has been counted with 40% which explains

that females are less likely to take reliable decisions. This explains that few but still some

employers think that female employees are not reliable for important decision. At the

same time, it's hopeful that most of the employees do not think in this way.



P a g e | 34

8.4 preference for higher level education for „Front


Table 10: preference for higher level education for „Frontdesk/receptionist/Customer Service/Secretariate‟ position

Responses To

maintain

HR

Standard

To manage

visitors of

both national

and

international

levels

To keep a

chance of job

rotation or

promotion

To provide

quality

service

To ensure

professio

nal

dedicatio

n and

contributi

on

Particular

Response

9 6 3 8 5

Total

Respondent

10 10 10 10 10

Percentage 90% 60% 30% 80% 50%

Source: Data gathered through the interview of the female employees

The problem of this research has two related dimensions. One is why employers prefer

female for front desk/ receptionist or secretariat position and another dimension is whythe employers demand for higher level education for these positions. Following a

90%

60%

30%

80%

50%

0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Figure 07 :Preferance for higher leveleducation for front desk or secretariate

position

Responses from Employers



P a g e | 35

sequential process towards the objective, the research has first confirmed the problem

fact and then identify the reason behind of it. At the third step, the research has dug into

the reason behind the preference for higher level education for these positions.

In this dimension, the research has got its predicted findings through the reply towards

each option. The findings presents the fact that employers demand higher level of

education for these positions just to maintain their HR standard as this option got the

highest response with 90% vote. The rest two highest votes with 80% and 60%

respectively explain that employers demand higher level education to give them the best

quality service and to manage both national and international customers from the

beginning. These highest three responses indicate a clear interest of benefit from the

employer's part. As an opposite case, the lowest two responses are in the interest of the

female employees‘ part. Here, employers demand higher education to ensure

professional dedication and also to keep a chance of promotion or job rotation

respectively with 50% and 30%.



P a g e | 36

9.0 Finding

The research has a very specific aim to identify the reason of female preference in front

desk/ receptionist or secretariat positions. Besides, the research has incorporated another

dimension where the reason for the higher education requirement for these positions has

been revealed. With this aim and objective, the research has studied some prominent job

sites and took an interview of few employers. The gathered detail has been analyzed

through a sequential process which led the research towards its objective. The research

conducted an open interview of the employers to get their detail opinion about the

problem situation. Hence, the finding has focused on the responses which are reflecting

the condition with the highest percentage of votes.

Table 11: Findings

Analysis Finding

Job sites to know the jobs with Female

preference

Females prefer more than males for

„Front Desk/Receptionist/Customer

Service and Secretariate‟ positions

The reason behind employers'

preference for female in „Front

Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‟

positions

Feminine beauty is effective to attract

customer, and Females are reluctant to

pay enough attention and time due to

their family tension

The reason behind for preference of

higher level education for „Front

Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‟

positions

To maintain HR Standard and To

provide quality service

Source: Summerized findings from the analysis

The research observed the very recent 6 months job circulars of 5 prominent job sites.

This has been done because most of the renowned companies of present days publish

their job circulars through these web sites. Thus, the 4 month record of these sites can be

considered as the representative status of the present market. These observations

confirmed a portion of the hypothesis that truly, females are preferred in ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ positions. All 5 job sites have been counted by many

different job categories and it has been seen that, all of the job sites have the highest ratio



P a g e | 37

percentage of female preference in the mentioned job category. Interestingly, the finding

showed significantly a lowest ratio percentage in any particular category like Field

marketing, defense service. One logic behind this can be that Defence service by default

has very limited circulars in job sites. Therefore, those few published ones and field

marketing category do not have female preference. The common fact of these two

category is both of these jobs require an intense physical strength with masculine effect

in which males are mostly preferred here. The research didn‘t intend to find out the

reason behind this preference or didn‘t intend to justify the females‘ capability on this.

Rather, the research intended to find out the reason behind the preference of female for

‗Front Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ positions.

On the way through a sequential method of analysis the research has looked for this

reason at the second step. The research has interviewed 10 different employers to find

out the reason behind the female preference for ‗Front Desk/Receptionist and

Secretariate‘ positions. The interview was an open interview thus the research got a

detail overview of the employee's opinion. The analysis depicts the finding that

employers consider feminine beauty are effective to attract customer. The finding is

clearly disgracing to feminism but factually it is the mind set of the employers of our

country. Any kind of beauty is pleasing to the mind and there is no harm to signify

feminine beauty to be pleasant. Therefore, this Pleasance should not contain any hidden

purpose specially any profit oriented business purpose. In this case, the beauty is not at

all appraised for the beauty itself, rather it is used by the employer to be benefited.

The investigation of the reason behind the problem scenario also revealed a surprising

fact. The employers stated that females are also reluctant to pay more attention and time

to their work place. The research cannot deny to this statement completely if it judges the

real practice and behavior of the females. By nature, a female is expected to take care of

the cooking, child, maid and other household responsibilities. This is indeed a big

responsibility which requires sufficient time and presence of a female. Eventually a

female has to divide her 24 hours time proportionately to manage cooking, child, maids,

household responsibilities and office as well. Where as, a male can contribute most of his

working time and concentration in his workplace. Thus, the fact is a strong truth indeed

that a female fails to pay enough attention and time to their work place. As a result both



P a g e | 38

employers and female employees prefer these sort of jobs where females can save their

concentration, energy and time for their family works.

While the research was searching the job sites for the jobs where ―Females Are

Encouraged to Apply‖, the research also noticed that, employers demand for a higher

level of education even for ‗Front Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ positions. This has

lead the research to its third portion of the analysis, where it intended to find out the

reason for employers‘ preference for higher levels of education ‗Front Desk/Receptionist

and Secretariate‘. The findings came out with the statement that employers need this

higher level of education mostly to maintain the HR standard of their organization.

Besides, they also need this to ensure that their customers are getting a good quality

service from the welcome desk or customer service desk. Ultimately both of these

reasons are in favor of the employers of the cost of the dignity and quality of a female

employee. Throughout the 4 years of graduation, a student becomes a empowered with

knowledge, wisdom and expertisim in many different fields. Over these 4 years, that

student is like a strong weapon to fight any competitive field. Thus, an employer can

utilize the knowledge and the efficiency of that student in any sophisticated work

irrespective of her gender concern.

There is a familiar saying that no job is odd because every job teaches us something.

Refer to this saying, the research is not against of hiring female form ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ position. The argument comes with two points, first,

why only females then? Why not males are also preferred for these positions? Second,

why the employers need for a high level of education for these positions? If the

employers need to utilize the feminine beauty for their business profit purpose then do

consider a female candidate with average or below average education level. If the

employer can train them with proper training then they can provide the service as

efficient as the female employees with high level of education. Besides, these females

can also get a chance to compensate their low level of education by their feminine beauty

and earn their livelihood. In this way, the preference for females for ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ position makes a logical sense. Otherwise, the

employers should bring male and female candidates into equal ground for recruitment

decisions for ‗Front Desk/Receptionist and Secretariate‘ positions.



P a g e | 39

10.0 Case Study

This research has set out its methodology by two established research methods namely,

Observation and Interview. At one point, the observation process has helped to confirm

the problem fact. At another point, the interview process has helped to get the opinion of

different employers about the problem situation and the reason behind it. The interview

process has also enabled the research to judge the individual opinion of each employee

as an individual case study. Few of these case studies are explained below-

10.1 Case#01

Margaret Ahmed is working in a Britisheducationaln organization, Education UK

department as the Project Coordinator. She has been working here for last 5 years since

2008. The British education organization where Margaret is working, is one of the most

renowned foreign organizations across the world. It aims to spread British culture and

heritage throughout the world. With the benefit of equal opportunity employment,

Margaret Ahmed is working here for

last 5 years. Margaret explains that not

only in employment or recruitment, The

British education organization hasequal and fair policy in Human

Resource Management. In fact The British

education organization has a clear guideline

of gender respect in their HR policy. This

influences the organization and its

employees to know and promote the

gender equality. Margaret said that, before

joining The British education

organization, she was working in a

private counseling agency as the front desk

executive. Although it was a front desk position but she used to do many tasks of

administration, student admission management along with her regular counseling job.

However, her effort was never been evaluated properly, and even after passing MBA she

didn‘t get any promotion in her 5 years of employment there. Whereas, Margaret does so

many sophisticated tasks The British education organization under Education UK

Her eff ort was never being

evaluated properly, and even af ter

passing MBA she didn’t get any

promotion in her 5 years of

employment with that private

counseli ng agency. Now in Br iti sh

education organization, Margaret

states that “I am very happy and

proud to be a part of this EQUAL

OPPORTUNITY

EMPLOYMENT”.



P a g e | 40

department including, budget, program arrangement, contract management with foreign

delegates, Contract management with UK universities etc. Her effort here is being

evaluated every year and she gets a performance bonus. Moreover, she has also got a

promotion after passing 3 years of employment. All this has motivated Margaret to state

that ―I am very happy and proud to be a part of this EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

EMPLOYMENT‖.

10.2 Case#02

HR policy and practicedrastically changes when it comes from a development agency to

a private profit oriented company. Even irrespective of gender balance, the usual HR practice is also differs in the private profit company. Starting from addressing the

colleague to job description each and every way of HR is different in the private profit

oriented company. There is no particular

reason behind it but it is a regular and

practiced fact. This difference gets more

severe when the gender

discrimination gets attached to it. Ahsan

Mollik has been working on HR for

several years and his experience has been

growing up in private profit oriented

companies. Thus, he understands the usual

practice and the system of private

companies‘ HR. During the personal

interview for this research, Ahsan

Mollik shared his experience openly.

He accepted the fact females are preferred in ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘ position. He also

confessed that the reason is the feminine beauty is favorable to give the first impression

to the customers. When a customer comes to the front desk first, if he gets a warm

welcome from a well-decorated female then he is likely to consider any other simple

negative issues. Otherwise, this simple negative issue might irritate him to get

dissatisfied with the company. Regarding the education level, Ahsan Mollik claimed

that, it's not like higher level but a standard level of education is required to ensure a

Ahsan Mollik added, that the coin

has another side too. He said that,

females are also reluctant to carry

out hardl ine jobs as they want toinvolve more with their famil y.

The companies look for females in

managerial j obs too, but then

females fai l to perf orm wi th

highest level of concerntr ation as

males do.



P a g e | 41

smart approach in this welcome. He also added, that the coin has another side too. He

said that, it is not always that females are preferred for this job only. The companies look

for females in managerial jobs too, but then females fail to perform with the highest level

of concentration as males do. He also shared his personal experience that when he

became a father, he asked his wife what she wants to do and his wife left her job in the

bay. Now he is doing the full hour job and his wife is doing some online business at

home. Thus, Ahsan Mollik concluded, that females are also reluctant to carry out

hardline jobs as they want to involve more with their family.

10.3 Case#03

The case study of Ahsan Mollik has mentioned a fact that the HR system of development

agencydifferss a lot with the HR system of private profit oriented company. The

privilege in HR in development

agency has also been mentioned in the

first case study of Margaret Ahmed

from British Education Organization. Now

the research has found out another case

study which reflects the HR practice for

female preference in private companies.

Shaila Rajib is working in a reputed private

university for last 10 years. She joined

that university in 2003 as Front Desk

Executive/ Receptionist. When she joined

the post she was a B.B.A graduate

from a reputed private university. At this

point, it is necessary to mention that, in

2003 B.B.A graduates were very few in

number and the private university of Shaila Rajib‘s is counted a reputed one even on

today‘s date. Her job description was nothing complicated or analytical which would

require the Bachelor level of Business Administrative knowledge. All she used to do is

receiving phone calls, giving course information, counseling, and taking admission. This

would have been done by higher secondary knowledge with some specialized or

Her job description was nothing

complicated or analytical whi ch

would requir e the Bachelor l evel

of Business Admini strative

knowledge. Al l she used to do is

receiving phone calls, giving

course in formation, counseli ng,

and taking admission. This would

have been done by higher

secondary knowledge wi th some

special ized or professional

training.



P a g e | 42

professional training. Therefore, the Bachelor level of Business Administrative skill of

Shaila Rajib could be used in some other sophisticated aspect of the organization.

However, Shaila Rajib got her due promotion to assistant registrar level after 5 years and

of course by submitting her M.B.A degree.

10.4 Case#04

The research planned to gather information from both development agency and private

companies. This is why; it worked at banks, financial institutes, development agencies,

cultural center, educational institutes to understand the variation in situations. Through

this process, the research found it‘s another case study. The study talked to Mr. Ziaul

Khan who is working in a French Culturalorganization as Manager HR &

Admin. This organization is the

French cultural center as well as a non-

profitable organization.

Although the organization is

affiliated under French Embassy but

it has a very limited perimeter in terms of

working aspect, human and other

resources. Thus, the organization runs

with a simple HR policy which blends

the practice of both development agency

and private companies. The

organization has both female and male

employee in their reception. Mr. Ziaul

Khan explained that they are not concerned about the gender preference for any position.

They value the skill, efficiency and suitability of an employee for a particular position

instead of feminine beauty, gender, or educational quality. This is why; the organization

has an employee of undergraduate level and also post graduate level, it has both male

and female in the reception office. On this ground, Mr. Ziaul Khan stated that they do not

consider the educational background to be an accounts officer or femine beauty for Front

Desk/Receptionist position. Factually, they have never faced never face any

disappointment from the female accounts officer with undergraduation level or from the

Mr. Zi aul Khan explained that

they are not concerned about the

gender preference for any

positi on. They value the ski l l,

eff iciency and sui tabil ity of an

employee for a particular posit ion

instead of feminine beauty,

gender, or educational qual ity.

They do not consider educational

background to be an accoun ts

off icer or femine beauty for F ront

Desk/Receptioni st position.



P a g e | 43

male receptionist with graduation level. He also informed that to maintain this skill and

efficiency level, they arrange several relevant training individually for each department.

Ziaul Khan proclaimed with confidence that they are very much benefited and proud to

have such diversified human resource.



P a g e | 44

11.0 Recommendation

Gender discrimination is like a banyan tree which has grabbed the nation with several

infected branches. Eventually, it is restricting the growth of the entire economy. The

problem is more infectious in case of a developing country like Bangladesh. Literacy

lacks, religion obstacle, traditional belief and mentality rigidity pull the gender equality

backward more in developing country like Bangladesh. The problem the research has

discussed is a very specific corner of gender discrimination. People here refer to the

religion first to restrict females from going outside to work. Then comes the barrier of

traditional beliefs that points out a working women as the worst one in the society. All

these mentalities are shaped by the lack of literacy. Even if a female cross over these

barriers and joins a work life outside the home, still she has to face discrimination overthere. Factually, this discrimination starts from the recruitment point. No matter how

much education, skill and efficiency a female employee has, she is preferred mostly for

the ‗Front Desk/Receptionist‘ or ‗Customer Service‘ positions. The research has found

out the persistence of this fact through an observation survey of the job circulars of 5

prominent job sites. The survey findings has been more clear by the opinion gathered

from individual interviews of different employers and employee. This portion of the

analysis revealed another fact that females are also reluctant to involve their complete

concentration in any complicated job. However, the solution should start from the

opposition part first and then should conclude with the suggestion for females as well.

Therefore, the one and only way of solution is recommended and that is Gender

Mainstreaming.

Grounded in feminist theoretical frameworks and intended to make mainstream

institutions agents of social change, gender mainstreaming refers to a wide set of

strategies and processes. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

(ECOSOC) defines gender mainstreaming as ―… the process of accessing the

implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or

programs in some areas and at all levels (Rao 2007). The strategies of making women‘s

as well as men‘s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the policies and programs in all political,

economical and societal spheres, so that men and women, in fact, benefit equally; but

that the goal of gender mainstreaming is gender equality.‖



P a g e | 45

Examining the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming efforts, Aruna Rao (2007) noted

that gender mainstreaming has been associated with more failures than gains. In order to

move the gender equality agenda forward, she argued, it is necessary to examine the

policy environment (resources, strategies, and institutional features) and problems related

to implementation that contributed to the failure of gender mainstreaming.

At this point of the research. It is necessary to focus on the probable ways of adopting

gender mainstreaming in the socioeconomic context of Bangladesh. The ground of the

socioeconomic context is mentioned earlier which listed the name of literacy lacks,

religion obstacle, traditional belief and mentality rigidity. All these aspects work as the

moderator of gender discrimination approach. Thus the mainstreaming strategies should

also be based on these aspects.

Secure Environments- gender equality cannot be achieved as long as women

live in insecure environments, whether due to an abusive partner, militias, or a

threatening neighbor. The context of poverty, violence, disease, and patriarchy in

which women live are the biggest challenge for gender mainstreaming.

Shifting the focus from poverty reduction to wealth creation- By focusing on

poverty reduction, women are viewed as subjects of poverty rather than as

producers and generators or wealth. Women‘s arts and crafts should be

adequately valued as a reflection of their knowledge and skill, she said. Similarly,

governments should offer support to women for their role as caregivers and

nurturers, rather than treating them as subsidy providers for basic social services

such as health. The voice of leadership- The voice of leadership at the international and national

levels is also needed to call for greater investment in gender equality and

women‘s empowerment. Greater participation of all women, rich poor, working

women and housewives in decision-making spaces, academic and research

institutions, advocacy and public awareness initiatives, political debates, the

private sector, and within households would create one collective voice for

change.



P a g e | 46

Equal access to services and infrastructure- Gender equality requires equal

access to services and infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water, and

communication tools. Without access to such resources, women with tremendous

knowledge, expertise, and passion are not given an outlet to use their knowledge

and skills, keeping them at a disadvantage. Technological tools are particularly

important as they enable women to use their time, energy, and expertise more

efficiently.

Women empowerment- Gender equality is not just related to human rights, but

also women‘s empowerment. Specific measures are needed to respond to existing

inequality and to champion the empowerment of women in order to increase

women‘s opportunities and capabilities. Women‘s empowerment also requires

mainstreaming the gender equality agenda in institutions and processes in a way

that transforms social values that have sustained gender inequality.

Accountability for gender equality-Advocates of gender equality must seek

greater accountability through legislative and policy strengthening; reform and

harmonization; resources; an end to impunity; political governance; and greater

private sector investment and responsibility. Donor governments should be held

accountable for the aid they provide such aid should be directed towards people

as generators of wealth, through investments in basic services.

Female entrepreneurship- Guideline of the solution cannot be complete without

a suggestion from female as well. It is true that, females have to carry out the

responsibility of their family, but it does not mean that they will devalue their

qualification by doing a job which is undergraded from their qualification. If their

family responsibilities restrict them to pay undivided concentration on paid job,

then they can think to entrepreneur their own business field. This would give

them enough flexibility of time and scope, thus they will be able to manage both

work and family. In this way, their identity and the qualification will valued with

dignity.

Yet gender mainstreaming is neither a clear agenda for institutional transformation nor a

clear agenda for gender transformation and social change. Thus, in practice, gender

mainstreaming has often involved adopting a gender policy, creating a gender unit to

work on organizational programs, mandatory gender training, and increasing the number

of women staff and managers. In the worst cases, gender mainstreaming has been used to



P a g e | 47

stop funding for women‘s empowerment work, and to dismantle many of the institutional

mechanisms such as women‘s units and advisors created to promote women in

development in the name of integration. This show, Rao argued (2007), that the

transformational change expected to result from gender mainstreaming has not occurred.

Theoretical insights on gender and development, and engagement with state institutions

Convinced gender mainstreaming advocates about the role of bureaucratic institutions as

Agents of change, she remarked. In hindsight, it appears that this naive view did not take

into account the limitations of institutional roles and functions — bureaucracies are not

agents of social and political transformation. Rather, bureaucracies have emphasized

mainstreaming and planning at the expense of social transformation, yet both need to be

done, she argued. Despite the overall disappointment with the results of gender

mainstreaming, Rao acknowledged the many gains. A number of strategic partnerships

have been forged between women‘s movements and policy reformers which have placed

equity and women‘s human rights. In some regions, such as South Asia, women have

made striking gains in elections to local and national government bodies, as well as in

entering public institutions. Girls‘ access to primary education has improved and women

are increasingly entering the labor force. Moreover, access to contraception is much

more widespread and violence against women has been recognized as a human rights

issue, and has been made a crime in many countries. These positive examples have been

the exception rather than the norm, Rao (2007) emphasized, due to the insidious ways in

which the mainstream resists women‘s perspectives and rights. She attributed the overall

failure of gender mainstreaming to the challenging policy environment within which

gender mainstreaming processes operate, inadequate resources allocated to this work,

institutional features that have blocked change, and the way in which gender

mainstreaming processes have been implemented.



P a g e | 48

12.0 Conclusion

Gender Discrimination has become a cancerous virus for the whole nation which hinders

the nation to avail the success of the development. The developing countries are the most

vulnerable victim of it. Nonetheless Bangladesh is among those developing countries

who tries to break the bar of gender discrimination from one side but a new one appears

from another side. Thus, the country fails to disinfect this cancerous virus completely. As

a result, the true development gets stuck outside the obstacle bar.

This research paper explores a dimension of gender discrimination which actually

practices in our day to day life but never got attention as gender discrimination. Theresearch has defined the problem scenario that, females are mostly preferred in the ‗Front

Desk/Receptionist/ Secretariate or Customer Service‘ position in Bangladesh. Even if an

employee has a higher education still she is placed in these positions. The analysis found

the presence of this fact by surveying the female preferred job circulars of 5 job sites.

After that, the research interviewed the employers to know the reason behind it. The

employers honestly accepted the fact and also said that they require a higher education to

maintain their HR standard and to ensure better quality of the service. Besides, the

employers also revealed the fact that, females are also reluctant to pay enough attention

to their job as they have their family responsibilities too.

The end portion of the analysis was a bit of a surprise for the research but it is a fact too.

Therefore, the research has come with the recommendations which has outlined the

action plan for both society and the females as well. The research has suggested to

promote gender mainstreaming or equality to remove the virus from the root. After that,

the female participation through different kinds of business entrepreurship can help a

woman maintain both family responsibility and her individual identity.

In order to advance the discourse on gender relations and achieve greater gender

equality, a larger conceptual framework is needed, which links empowerment, rights, and

mainstreaming in all social spaces. It is also crucial to consider the realities of women‘s,

men‘s, and children‘s daily lives, she said. In a developing country context, gender

relations are influenced by poverty, insecurity, impunity, and patriarchy. Looking



P a g e | 49

towards the future, achieving gender equity requires a stronger and diverse but unified

voice for change; greater accountability; and increased, targeted resources. More public

resources are needed to make strategies to promote gender equality successful.

Mobilizing greater resources for gender equality requires a system of taxation that does

not overburden the poor, and gender-responsive budgeting. It is also important to

consider ways resources can be mobilized under the Paris principles of donor

coordination, donor harmonization, results, and effectiveness. In addition, the issue of

gender equality should be brought into the discourse on resource management and

investment in natural resources, because poverty in many developing countries is not due

to lack of resources. The integration of gender equality issues and women‘s political

participation in post-conflict areas should also be examined more closely.





P a g e | 51

16. Kothari, C. R, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, (New Age

International Publishers, second revised edition, 1990).

17. Kathleen Gerson, The Unfinished Revolution: How a New Generation is

Reshaping Family, Work, and Gender in America (Oxford University Press,

2009).

18. Khan Salam (1998). A Micro View of the Situation of Women in Bangladesh, the

Fifty Percent, Women in Development and Policy in Bangladesh, Dhaka:

University Press Limited.

19. Khondkar M (1999). ‗Conceptualization of Poverty: The Bangladeshi Rural

Women‘s Experience ‗, Dhaka Un. J. Bus. Stud. Vol. xx. N0.2 December.

20. Kabeer N (1989). ‗The Quest for National Identity: Women, Islam and the State

of Bangladesh‘, IDS Discussion Paper N0. 268,IDS.

21. Mayoux, Linda. 1995. ―From Vicious to Virtuous Circles? Gender and Micro

Enterprise Development.‖ Occasional Paper 3, United Nations Development

Programme, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva.

22. Miah,n MM Rahman (1992) The Cultural-Structural Context of High Fertility in

Bangladesh: A Sociological Analysis.‘ International Review of Modern

Sociology, 22 (spring), 99-110.

23. Mamun AA (2000). ‗Gender, Land and Livelihood in South Asia‘, Centre for

Policy Dialogue, Report No.37 Dhaka, September.

24. Population Development and Evaluation Unit 2010 Bangladesh Population Data

Sheet Planning Commission, Dhaka.

25. Rao, A. (Director) (2007, April 26). Strategies for Promoting Gender Equity in

Developing Countries Lessons, Challenges, and Opportunities. STRATEGIES

FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUAITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES .

Lecture conducted from Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,

NewYork.

26. Rahman, R.I., A Review of Women and Employment in Bangladesh,í Asian

HRD Planning Network Working Paper, RAS/86/071, ILO/ARTEP and UNDP,

(March 1992,New Delhi), Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 1992, (BBS,

Dhaka: Bangladesh Statistical Bureau 1993), Thirteenth Edition.



P a g e | 52

27. Smock Audrey C (1977). ―Bangladesh: A Struggle with Tradition and Poverty.‘

In Women: Roles and Status in Eight Countries (eds. J. Z. Giele and Adudrey C.

Smock) New York: John Wiley and Sons.

28. The Daily Star, 2008 (March, 07), Dhaka.

29. The World Bank (1992). ‗Bangladesh: Strategies for Enhancing the Role of

Women in Economic Development‘, A world Bank Country Study, Washington

DC, January.

30. Terborg, J.R. and Ilgen, D.R., ‗A Theoretical Approach to Sex Discrimination in

Traditionally Masculine Occupations‘, 1975, Organizational Behavior and

Human Performance, vol. 13, no.3, pp. 352-376.

31. The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, A Solid Investment: Making Full Use of

the Nation‘s Human Capital, Recommendations, Washington, D.C., 1995b.

32. Udry, Christopher, John Hoddinott, Harold Alderman, and Lawrence Haddad.

1995. ―Gender Dif ferentials in Farm Productivity: Implications for Household

Efficiency and Agricultural Policy.‖ Food Policy 20 (5): 407 – 34.

33. Williams, C.L., ‗The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the

―Female‖ Professions‘, 1992, Social Problems, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 253-267.



P a g e | 53

14.0 Appendix

Respondents List



P a g e | 54



P a g e | 55

SHANITA-Thesis FINAL.pdf

Documents