THE STATUS OF FEMALE VICE CHAIRS’ PARTICIPATION IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION IN BANGLADESH

The purpose of this study was to survey on the status of female vice chairs ‘participation in project implementation at Upazilla Parishads in Bangladesh keeping lights on the status of proposed and implemented projects by female vice chairs. This study was conducted at 64 Upazilla Parishads in Bangladesh in 2019. The respondents of this study were 64 female vice chairs from 64 Upazilla Parishads of 64 districts of eight divisions in Bangladesh. Questionnaire and in-depth individual interview were used as instruments for collecting quantitative and qualitative data adopting a mixed method approach. Quantitative data were first coded and then analyzed, and qualitative data analysis was done through content analysis. After interpretation, findings of this study were presented in table using numbers and percentages. The study revealed that female vice chairs implemented a number of projects applying their own visions and designs enlightened by their own understanding of the people’s needs. The result of this study implies that the scope of opportunity of female vice chairs’ participation in project implementation at Upazilla Parishadsin Bangladesh enhances women’s empowerment, and this empowerment makes them capable of engaging in different types of project implementation activities firmly applying their own thoughts and ideas according to people’s need.