ZCZC
BSS-19
WOMEN-BANKING
Women find scopes in building career as bankers in Bangladesh
By AKM Kamal Uddin Chowdhury
DHAKA, Dec 21, 2017 (BSS/UNICEF) – Because of various big or small
barriers in the social environment even a few decades back, it was very
difficult on the part of Sanjeeda Ismail Chaudhuri to choose banking as a
profession since an educated lady obviously wants to be a doctor or a
teacher.
However, nursing has been an open profession for women who desire to join
this humanitarian service as their career but banking is something otherwise
as well as challenging as a profession in the hitherto male dominated
Bangladesh.
Yet, there is a sizeable number of women doing their jobs in banks and
other financial institutions side by side with their male colleagues with
equal footing, many of them already holding most senior positions by proving
their worth as professionals.
“I am fortunate enough to join a bank as per the will of my family members
in 1998 when the number of women working in banks was far less than that
now,” said Sanjeeda Ismail Choudhuri, Senior Assistant Vice-President of the
National Credit and Commerce (NCC) Bank Limited while talking to BSS.
The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her governance
in 1996-2001opened all doors in the job market and the production fields for
the women, empowering them to be equal partners in development side by side
with their male counterparts.
Of all the areas, the banking sector has been able to recruit quite a good
number of women as careerists who have by now made a great stride as
successful management officials. “Like many of my male colleagues, I am also
playing a vital role in the country’s financial sector,” Sanjeeda, also
manager of the NCC Bank Basundhara Branch, said with a profound sense of
pride.
When she joined the NCC Bank as a provisionary officer, only a few women
took banking as their profession for many reasons but, as the years rolling
out, this particular profession is growingly becoming a dream for the girls
studying accounting, finance and management, among other subjects, in
colleges and universities.
“I married during my student life in 1989 and being a housewife with a
daughter I completed my education from Dhaka University in 1996. My engineer
husband and other family members provided all sorts of supports to complete
my education and take up banking as a profession,” she said.
Sanjeeda, who is presiding over 13 male and five female employees in her
branch, said the situation has been changing gradually with generating much
more interest among the girls to join banking as a profession.
Like Sanjeeda Ismail, Mahmuda Begum, Senior Assistant Vice President of
the South East Bank, feels herself as a successful banker by dint of her good
efforts and dedication. “”In 1995, teaching or medical practice were deemed
to be suitable for the educated women. But joining a bank was a challenging
decision in my life,” said Mahmuda Begum, also Branch Manager of the
Dhanmondi Ladies Branch of the bank.
Her father, a former official of Bangladesh Bank, encouraged her to take up
this profession, which ultimately made her proud as a banker,” she said
adding “I am giving full efforts for building my career like a male colleague
in my bank,” said Mahmuda with seven female employees working under her.
Mentioning the existing environment in banks for female bankers as a
suitable, she said female bankers are showing same capability like their male
colleagues and the management also is offering same facilities for both the
male and female officials.
Anis A Khan, Chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), said
the role of women bankers in the sector is laudable as they have dedication
in their work and they always maintain office time properly. “Even, on the
hartal day, the women bankers remain present at the office,” he added.
Also Managing Director of the Mutual Trust Bank Limited, Khan said about
21 percent of the total employees of his bank is women and their performance
is as good as that of the male ones.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has taken a number of initiatives to make the
environment of the banking sector female-bankers’ friendly, said Bangladesh
Bank Executive Director Subhankar Saha.
BB has also directed all banks to maintain a dedicated desk by female
banker to look after loan -related issues of women entrepreneurs of Small and
Medium Enterprise (SME), he added.
BSS/Unicef feature/KUC/SAB/16-30 hrs