CEDIL Work-in-Freedom 2 Bangladesh Migration Dataset

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2023. CEDIL Work-in-Freedom 2 Bangladesh Migration Dataset. Washington, DC: IFPRI [dataset]. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/XBNDUZ. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1.

This survey is part of a broader evaluation study that supports the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office, United Kingdom (formerly DFID) funded program Work in Freedom Phase 2 (WiF-2), the International Labor Organization (ILO) has implemented between 2018 and 2023. WiF-2 aims "to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and forced labor of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries (TCLFI) of South Asia and the Arab States" (TOC WiF-2). Forced migration includes deceptive or coercive recruitment, abuse of vulnerable situations, exploitative conditions of work, coercion at the destination, and abuse of vulnerability at the destination. The program aims to reach at least 350,000 women and girls at source in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and at destinations in Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Jordan.

This survey is aimed to quantify the women's migration dynamics, migration-related decision-making, and empowerment. We collected information about female migrants and their spouses (or other influential family members) to assess the risk of forced labor and trafficking along the migration pathway and the impact of WiF interventions to date. In addition to assessing the impact of WiF-2 programs, information from the survey is being used to establish an innovating Women's Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI) to measure women's ability (due to WiF2's intervention) to make decisions about entering/staying/leaving exploitative work conditions.

The survey was conducted in six districts of Bangladesh identified as migration-prone where the International Labor Organization project had been active, including Narayanganj, Kishoreganj, Dhaka, Brahmanbaria, Gazipur and Faridpur from May to June 2022. It is important to highlight that the survey was purposive, non-probability samples targeting experienced, potential and non-migrants. The results are not generalizable to a larger population, as the sampling was created in the context of programme evaluation.