#Title

Women’s empowerment and equality in the
DIGITAL SPACE
In conversation with Sajjad Hasib, Chief Marketing Officer, Grameenphone
Our commitment extends organisation-wide, with women at all levels, including a dedicated ‘Gender Diversity Program’ fostering specialised development. We’re focused on cultivating female leadership, particularly in the technology sector. Moreover, collaboratively promoting successful women entrepreneurs with other leading organisations is helping us form a healthy network of female leaders throughout Bangladesh.
INTERVIEWED BY SHAHRIAR RAHMAN
Gender equality and the empowerment of women are essential cornerstones of a just and thriving society. Beyond being a fundamental human right, they profoundly impact the modern workplace. Studies emphasise that promoting gender equality yields economic benefits, enhances productivity, and fosters sustainable development.
The Daily Star recently had a conversation with Sajjad Hasib, Chief Marketing Officer at Grameenphone on gender equality, the empowerment of women, and how these factors influence the telecom industry. Key snippets of the conversation are given below.
Grameenphone’s journey started around 26 years ago through the Village Phone Program. Looking back, how has the company progressed women empowerment over the years?
Our first customer was Laili Begum, to whom we delivered the Polli Phone. Since then, the principle of social empowerment has remained an integral component of our overall vision. Since our inception, we have aimed to foster employment opportunities for women in rural areas.
In the contemporary landscape, our trajectory is marked by a dynamic and accelerated pace of advancement. Having transitioned from conventional voice communications to cutting-edge 4G and 5G technologies, we are committed to the empowerment of women. Our efforts are centred around bridging the digital divide and engendering equitable work environments.
You will be happy to learn about the thriving state of F-commerce in Bangladesh, which boasts over 300,000 Facebook pages. Notably, a majority of 70% is under the stewardship of women. This entrepreneurial cohort operates across diverse geographic regions, giving rise to a robust ecosystem where delivery and logistical services assume importance. The transformative influence of these women-led enterprises extends to the socioeconomic landscape, significantly amplifying the country’s economic growth.
You have been working for Grameenphone for more than 17 years. Over the period of time, how have you seen Grameenphone deal with empowerment and equality?
Grameenphone’s transformative journey continues as our efforts to empower women persist. Our gender diversity ratio grew from 11% five years ago to now exceeding 19%. Notably, our female staff operates nationwide, even in remote districts. Recognising societal limitations for working women, we’ve provided accommodations and transport at district levels, ensuring secure grassroots work environments.
Our commitment extends organisation-wide, with women at all levels, including a dedicated ‘Gender Diversity Program’ fostering specialised development. We’re focused on cultivating female leadership, particularly in the technology sector. Moreover, collaboratively promoting successful women entrepreneurs with other leading organisations is helping us form a healthy network of female leaders throughout Bangladesh.
We recently heard that Grameenphone is working in 2,000 unions to empower women. Can you tell us a bit about this initiative?
Our initiative, named ‘Internet Er Duniya Shobar’, aligns with this year’s International Women’s Day theme, ‘DigitALL’, which aims to integrate marginalised women into the digital space. This initiative, operating at the grassroots level, seeks to expedite women’s digital inclusion by educating them nationwide, unveiling the boundless potential of the internet.
Engaging women from rural and semi-rural areas across 2000 unions, we’re facilitating courtyard dialogues to enlighten them about how the Internet can improve their lives and unlock new horizons. These sessions will focus on dispelling taboos and stereotypes surrounding women’s technological use, drawing from real-life examples and connecting participants with inspiring women who exemplify the potential and necessity of women’s digital integration.
What role can the private, public and development sector play in ensuring women’s equality and empowerment?
I believe that we all need to work together to ensure that women are sufficiently empowered in the workplace. We are trying to encourage women to come forward with their success stories and are using the technological solutions at our disposal to enhance their experience. We believe that working with different stakeholders will help us as a community to bring easy solutions for empowering women in the workplace.
We are also working with Meta in a campaign called Boost Up, where around 300 small and medium female business owners participated in in-depth discussions and helped them by providing a specific budget on their Facebook accounts to boost their businesses.
Transcribed by Tanzid Samad Choudhury