Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women in Good Work: Barriers to Entry and Progression

This project involves 1) a review of the substantial and extensive academic and grey literature on the barriers and enablers to labour market participation for Pakistani and Bangladeshi women; 2) semi-structured interviews with Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in London to map out their career aspirations and barriers to accessing good work; 3) focus groups with employers, particularly from the sectors interviewees wish to progress; 4) co-design policy workshops with local policymakers and employers.

This project adopts a participatory approach as it involves Bangladeshi and Pakistani women who will work on the project as community researchers (please see here for community researcher vacancies).We have also partnered with Wapping Bangladesh Association, a Bangladeshi-led charity based in Tower Hamlets tackling poverty, deprivation, and isolation.

The project involves a diverse advisory board of Bangladeshi and Pakistani community leaders, distinguished academics, policy makers and practitioners. The advisory board will provide strategic advice, facilitate community outreach, and ensure the robustness of our participatory approach. Among others, the advisory board will include:

• Dr Suriyah Bi, SOAS
• Professor Katharine Charsley, University of Bristol, UK
• Jeremy Crook, Chief Executive, Action for Race Equality
• Associate Professor Francesco Della Puppa, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italy
• Arooba Hameed, Community Researcher
• Associate Professor Humera Iqbal, University College London, UK
• Lara Johnstone, Community Engagement Team, Greater London Authority
• Heena Khaled, British Future & AVOW, UK
• Professor Eleonore Kofman, Middlesex University, UK
• Professor Mohammad Morad, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh
• Yamini Cinnamon Nair, Senior Research and Statistical Analyst, City Intelligence, Greater London Authority
• Dr Alex Patrick, Middlesex University, UK
• Mr Atikur Rahman, Centre Manager, Wapping Bangladesh Association
• Neelam Rose, Advocacy Officer Muslim Women’s Network UK
• Asma Shah, CEO of You Make It
• Associate Professor Jasber Singh, Coventry University, UK