Abstracts Womens Studies

Gender Equality in the Public Sector: A Critical Analysis of Affirmative Action Policies in the Bangladesh Police Force

by Humaira Parvin

The primary aim of this thesis is to critically evaluate the implementation of affirmative action measures in the Bangladesh Police. As the principal aim of affirmative action is to foster equality by remedying entrenched discrimination against groups of people within society, this thesis intends to examine whether affirmative action measures have been successfully operationalised in the service sector, focusing on the status of women in Bangladesh Police, or whether a range of equality strategies are required to support the advancement of substantive gender equality. In Bangladesh, affirmative action measures have been implemented in the form of a quota reservation into public service recruitment, such as the police force. However, due to a paucity of literature, the success of affirmative action measures cannot be ascertained. Although there is extensive literature on women and affirmative action in policing internationally, no such study exists in the context of Bangladesh. There are a small number of studies on policing that discuss women's issues in general, but these studies do not focus on the effects of affirmative action. In this regard, this thesis is the first of its kind as it draws on empirical evidence to explore gender relations within the police force in the light of affirmative action. Significantly, this thesis examines data generated through a series of qualitative interviews with both senior and junior members of the Bangladesh Police force to understand more about women police’s experience in the Bangladesh Police force and any barriers to women police officers’ career advancement and progression. The findings of this thesis suggest that the existing affirmative action measures have not been significant in generating equality for women in Bangladesh’s police force. Although, to a degree, these affirmative action measures have marginally increased the number of women police, beyond numerical representation, women police continue to be marginalised within the police force. This marginalisation has been revealed through the low representation of women in police and discrimination in the allocation of placements, promotions, rewards, and on-the-job training. While in theory, affirmative action is one means of securing substantive equality, in practice, the conceptualisation of gender equality in the Bangladesh Police is primarily framed in terms of formal equality, that is, that everyone is treated the same, with likes being treated alike. In practice, this approach is likely to further disadvantage women's position and status in the police. Although marginalisation and discrimination are revealed within the Bangladesh Police force’s organisational practice and processes, this thesis argues that the causes of sex-based discrimination are rooted in socio-cultural attitudes and practices. These causes cumulatively impede not only the functioning of affirmative action measures but the implementation of other gender equality strategies. This thesis suggests that without addressing the root causes of…