Speakers at a discussion have underscored the need for eliminating gender inequality in all sectors, including business, for making the country’s future economy more developed and sustainable.

 They also called upon the government to enact a time-befitting law to remove gender inequality and stop violence against women.

Women Entrepreneur Association of Bangladesh (WEAB) organised the discussion titled “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow” on Thursday last at a city hotel, said a press release on Saturday.

Planning Division Secretary Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, UNDP’s Country Economist Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Dhaka Bank’s Managing Director & CEO Emranul Huq, WEAB founding president  Nasreen Fatema Awal, its ex-president Shahrukh Rahman also spoke at the programme with WEAB president Salma Masud in the chair.

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Professor Tania Haque of Dhaka University’s Women and Gender Studies department presented the keynote paper at the programme.

She said women entrepreneurs are still being subjected to discrimination everywhere. “In the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has become urgent to take steps to deal with the problem.”

Tania Haque said small entrepreneurs, especially women ones, have been lagging behind in taking bank loans since the beginning of Covid-19.

“Many women entrepreneurs still have to depend on their families for business capital. As a result, they have to face many questions in their families regarding the rise and fall in the business.”

Salma Masud called upon the government to take a step to establish a special bank for women.

“There’s no alternative to ensuring gender equality to strengthen the country's economic base. ‘The scope for doing business by women should be made smoother,” she said.

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The other speakers focused on arranging training for small women entrepreneurs, bringing them under digital services and simplifying the process of making trade licenses and business registration for women.