Jumana Rezwan's Canvass

It is our pleasure to introduce a new addition to the CES blog: Jumana Rezwan’s Canvas.   ULAB faculty member Jumana Rezwan will be regularly contributing her analysis of important business and economic news.  Jumana holds degrees from American University Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and the Skema Business School in France.   She has worked for Louis Vuitton and Cartier in France and is an expert on luxury brand management.   

Women as entrepreneurs

Recently four distinguished women were recognized for their outstanding contributions in the SME sector. These entrepreneurs were largely related to the fashion industry and one to the food and beverage sector. While is it an encouraging sign to see women actively involved in the economic development of the nation and being recognized for their contributions, it will be interesting to see if women entrepreneurs will venture out away from the traditionally female dominated industries such as fashion and compete in more male dominated sectors such as manufacturing, finance and real estate industries.  In these industries, women leaders are few and tend to be wives and daughters  in the country’s larger family businesses. Outside of these circles, women still must contend with familial acceptance and  possible religious restrictions on mingling with men constantly. While the government has been trying to implement measures to assist women entrepreneurs financially, perhaps we need to be thinking about simultaneously creating a broader social awareness of the beneficial roles women can play in leading our economic development.

For more info see: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=267913

Positive growth in Global labor market signifies an opportunity for Bangladeshi migrant workers

As labor force shortages continue to plague developed countries, opportunities for Bangladeshi migrant workers are on the rise. While this may seem advantageous for the economic development of Bangladesh, one cannot just look at these migrant workers as a means of remittances. Too often migrant workers have been subject to unfair labor laws and despicable living conditions as is often seen in the Middle East. Given that demand for their labor is high and remittances are at unprecedented levels, now is a good time to work towards addressing some of the abuses in the labor market. The 14 point demand made by the WARBE Development Foundation and other prominent NGO’s in Bangladesh in December 2012 may perhaps be a starting point to implementing different measures to protect the rights of migrant workers.

For more info see: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=268111