Women’s Skill Development for Freelancing Marketplace (WSDFM) Project - Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
WSDFM Project
Empowering Women in Bangladesh with ICT Skills for Freelancing Success
Women in Bangladesh lack the skills and training needed to succeed in the workforce which limits their opportunities for employment. Inspired by CodersTrust’s successful workforce development program, Porticus commissioned CodersTrust to execute a skill development project for women. Focus was ICT skills for freelancing marketplaces and local jobs, plus women empowerment.
Challenges
- For lack of awareness on freelancing prospects, students were not interested
- Students were not patronized by family members
- Many of the students didn’t have basic computer literacy, computer and internet connection
- Dropout ratio was becoming high due to various social obstacles
- During COVID, students were unable to attend physical classrooms
CodersTrust Solution
- Executed academic Institution activation, roadshows, seminar, parent counseling sessions, and online campaigns
- Added basic computer literacy to course curriculum
- Provided family counseling and a stipend to active students
- Conducted online training sessions during the COVID period
- Provided One-to-One Mentorship support to each student
Results
- Graduated Trainees: 1000
- Successful Job Placement: 711
- Employment: 20% higher freelancing rate resulted in an overall 44% higher employment rate than the control
- Favorable Impact on Women Empowerment, Household Expenditure and Savings
- Significant positive impact on decision-making and freedom to work
- 41% increase in household purchasing power
- Significant increase in the time allocated to productive work
