Search results

Despite Bangladesh’s continued attempts, gender disparity in the workplace has long been a concern, and progress has been slow. Studies conducted earlier indicate that working women in Bangladesh experience an unwelcoming work environment, leading to unequal pay and limited opportunities for their career growth. Academic literature focuses little on the connection between gender and the physical work environment. This chapter focuses on the connection between the masculinist culture of organizations, how work is carried out, and workplaces are set up, illuminating the crucial role played by the built environment in maintaining gender equality. Infrastructure, spatial design, safety measures, amenities, and the biased culture often influence the obstacles to women’s long-term success in the workplace. This chapter investigates and comprehends the constraints female employees encounter in Bangladesh during their work by scrutinizing the influence of the physical space and the biased socio-psychological environment. As women’s long-term professional progress depends on how these elements are interrelated, improving the environment is the first step toward a fairer and more empowered work environment. A qualitative approach has been used in this study. Seventy-eight Bangladeshi graduate, working women have participated in this research. The results show that, regardless of efforts, the environment in Bangladeshi workplaces is inhospitable, directly affecting women’s careers. Building a welcoming workspace accommodating all genders is crucial for creating gender parity and promoting long-term professional growth. Therefore, this research suggests that the government should capitalize on successful efforts and investigate alternative techniques to improve this issue.

The current research provides an overview of the intersection between female entrepreneurship and development, with a specific focus on the catalyzing role of gender equality. The study delves into the manifold implications of empowering women in entrepreneurship and its contributions to socio-economic development. It emphasizes the importance of gender-inclusive policies, access to resources, and equitable opportunities as catalysts for fostering female entrepreneurship and driving sustainable development. By shedding light on the interplay between these critical factors, this research seeks to inform policies and strategies that can promote gender equality, female entrepreneurship, and economic growth.

Fertility aspirations shape family planning behavior of a couple. Desire to have certain number of children is linked with various micro- and macro-level factors such as individuals’ characteristics, sociocultural contexts and unconscious personal motivations. Fertility aspirations are an important component of fertility decision-making and a major predictor of childbearing. In India, Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populated state with historically high levels of fertility rates as compared to national average. This research is a qualitative exploration of the perspectives and practices of women with respect to their fertility aspirations and family planning behavior in an urban setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2017 and July 2018 among married women and men of the reproductive age group of 17–49 years using qualitative methods. The study was done in Pakbara, a Census Town (has a minimum population of 5,000) in the district of Moradabad, situated in western UP. It was found that along with personal motivations of having a quality life change in objective circumstances has led to changes in the fertility aspirations of the participants, particularly women. Increasing education, more mobility in public spaces, aspirations for a quality life, exposure to mass media and new job opportunities generate revision of parental aspirations. Couples, particularly from middle and upper-middle classes, limit their family size to attain upward social mobility. Couples from lower economic class have realized that rise of household income has not been commensurate with rise in prices. Thus, restricted childbearing is one way to cope with the situation.

As Industry 4.0 revolutionizes workplaces with unprecedented technological advancements, this chapter underscores the paramount importance of prioritizing human well-being and engagement. It navigates through a comprehensive array of strategies and practices that empower organizations to forge a work environment that is not only technologically advanced but also profoundly supportive, gratifying and motivating for employees (Froschauer et al., 2021). By elucidating how organizations can empower employees with autonomy while fostering collaborative endeavours, it uncovers a pathway to empowerment and job satisfaction (Caldarola et al., 2019; Kadir & Broberg, 2021). This chapter illustrates how organizations can harness these technologies to provide tailored growth experiences, thereby contributing to a thriving workforce. Navigating the ethical landscape of the digital workplace, this chapter examines the profound implications of Industry 4.0 on employee well-being. Delving into issues of privacy, transparency and equitable treatment, it imparts essential considerations for organizations seeking to align their practices with ethical imperatives. The methodology will incorporate case studies specific to the UAE market, providing a localized lens through which to analyze and implement human-centred workplace strategies (Mütze-Niewöhner et al., 2022; Urrutia Pereira et al., 2022). This chapter presents a holistic guide for organizations seeking to infuse human-centred principles into their Industry 4.0 workplaces (Caldarola et al., 2019; Longo et al., 2022). By championing well-being, job satisfaction and fulfilment, it equips leaders and decision-makers with actionable strategies to cultivate a work culture that thrives amid the rapid march of technological progress (Aromaa et al., 2019; Froschauer et al., 2021).

This comparative book review is concerned with two recent studies of essential workers in Germany: Jana Costas’ Dramas of Dignity and Peter Birke’s Grenzen aus Glas [literally ‘borders made from glass’]. While Costas is interested in studying how individual cleaners preserve their sense of dignity despite their widely believed stigmatizing work roles, Birke is interested in the power resources migrant workers can potentially mobilize for improving their working conditions despite the multi-dimensional (inter-sectional) precarity they confront in their life situation. In the context of German industrial and organizational sociology, both studies represent comparatively rare exemplars of detailed qualitative and ethnographic work that illuminate the labour process from taking a workers’ perspective. Using different approaches to fieldwork, both studies reveal the precarious nature of being an essential worker in areas such as meat packing, warehouse work, and cleaning. This general observation gives rise to some concluding speculations about the emancipatory potential of ethnographic research, in labour studies and beyond.

This chapter presents a COVID-19 case study from the perspective of a library director’s workplace dynamics during the COVID-19 response implemented by the Blount County Public Library (BCPL) in Maryville, Tennessee, US. Prior to COVID-19, the BCPL had a robust program offering extensive use of the library’s resources and spaces. When the library shutdown in mid-March 2020 in response to the global COVID lockdown, staff continued to provide services to the public via online resources and curbside delivery of library materials. The library reopened to the public in July 2020 with extreme spatial protocols addressing staff and visitor safety. This case study looks at the COVID-driven changes and their impacts on the library staff, the library board, and the community at large, as well as evaluates the resulting permanent changes occurring due to deficits in funding, staffing levels, and the restructuring of library board procedures for handling library staff and working with the library director. This work reflects on the mental and behavioral responses to these issues and their impact on the operation of a public library during the pandemic.

Purpose. This chapter discusses the challenges and different strategies to increase skill development for the future workforce.

Methodology. Multiple sources on the topic were studied and reviewed in this chapter. The idea of skill and its development is discussed in the literature review.

Findings. Different nations’ governments have promoted human capital development by providing up-skilling and retraining programs to balance supply and demand. Skills gaps need to be brought to the attention of stakeholders, such as governments, businesses, and the educational system. Teachers, employers, and other stakeholders need to develop strategies and action plans to ensure that the skills gaps are appropriately identified and adequately addressed. These initiatives must be developed with input from various stakeholders.

Practical Implications. The research results would inform the curriculum, incorporating skill development processes tailored to various scenarios. These findings would aid business organisations in crafting skill development programs that address identified skill gaps. Challenges in skill development would be taken into account during course development, and relevant teaching–learning materials would be created. Key stakeholders, such as accrediting organisations, employers, and students, should exert more influence on academic institutions to prioritise societal demands for economic development.

Originality/Value. The uniqueness and significance of this chapter lie in its concise summary of the strategies to tackle the hurdles in skill development.

As part of the accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion (ADEI) conceptual umbrella, how accessibility is envisioned and requires increasingly greater attention and involvement from both cultural managers and audiences of inclusive arts organizations? But what is the scope of an accessibility management plan? What exactly does an accessibility plan include, and how do cultural institutions engage with accessibility requirements today? Such questions drive this chapter, illustrated by the case of Teatro Villa Mayor, located in Bogota. Since this cultural institution opened in 2000, its goal has been to “bring people together around shows of quality and diversity that make the theater a symbol of the city.” In 2016, the city approved a new managerial plan for this facility. In response, Teatro Villa Mayor implemented a three-part management strategy for its teams, outlined in this chapter. First, the “Mindset” phase redefined this place as a cultural institution accessible by not one but multiple communities. Second, the “Possibility and capacity” phase activated awareness and training to prepare the theater to be able to receive any kind of event. Third, the “Productive learning” phase encouraged concrete actions to design, implement, and promote new experiences for the audiences. By detailing the strategic changes and evaluation measures adopted by the Teatro Villa Mayor to sustain accessibility, the positive results from accessibility management in cultural industries, such as an increased capacity to organize more events and to welcome new participants, can be discussed.

This study examines the construction of essential labour during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Research questions include: (1) How have government policies shaped designations of essential versus non-essential labour? (2) What are the consequences of these designations for essential workers? To address these questions, the author employs a case study of custodial services employees at Prairie University, a large public university in a major Texas city (Prairietown). The author begins with an examination of federal, state, and municipal guidelines about COVID-19 safety and critical infrastructure in order to understand the policy landscape within which custodial employees at Prairie University were formally deemed essential. Drawing on theories of non-nurturant care work, the author shows how government guidelines for essential work released during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic discursively invisibilized cleaning labourers. The author then demonstrates how this invisibilization contributed to Prairie University custodial services staff members’ exposure to COVID-19. The author concludes by considering the implications of the findings for future research on care work and the construction of essential labour.