A model for mainstreaming gender perspective in engineering education in Bangladesh: Some recommendations

Achieving poverty reduction and socio-economic development essentially requires gender equality resulting from the central and vital role played by women in society through their contribution to productive activities and their role as social educators and family caretakers. This paper suggests a model that uses the crucial elements like integrating gender dimensions of both men and women throughout the different stages of policy making, with special emphasis to women; addressing institutional capacity-building needs; and monitoring continuously to assess gender impact. In other words facilitating women to join engineering education at a higher rate. The main strategy requires gender mainstreaming throughout the whole process of engineering education policy making. It involves applying the gender lens in each phase of the policy making process, and in particular, implementation involvement. At the research level, evidence-based assessments of problems and challenges that take into account gender equality and gender gaps in design and implementation of policies. At the design level, problem-based solutions and strategies elaborated in consultation with women at all levels; At the implementation and monitoring level, programs and support structures to implement gender-responsive engineering education policy, such as credit and financing, scaling up, and expert advisory support.