Gender bias of government agencies and NGOs in the provision of services to the rural poor in Bangladesh

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the existence of gender discrimination in the service delivery process of the poverty reduction programs in Bangladesh. Originality: This paper has developed a multidimensional scale to assess the efficiency of Government (GO) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the service delivery process of poverty reduction programs in rural Bangladesh as there is no such scale available in the literature. The scale then is utilized to find differences in opinion between male and female beneficiaries. Key literature / theoretical perspective: This study followed a process of scale development proposed in marketing, psychology and human resources management. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on quantitative survey from 78 randomly chosen villages in Bangladesh. Confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant analysis were used to explore the differences in opinion of the beneficiaries. Findings: In most geographic areas, more improvement in efficiency determining items are demanded by female beneficiaries proves that they are not only deprived of better services compared to their male counterparts but also are carrying the hallmarks of gender discrimination. Research limitations/implications: Responses of the beneficiaries of the geographically disadvantageous areas like char (island), haor (water bodies) and hilly areas are not included. Practical and Social implications: It is hoped that region-wise findings will help the policy makers of both GO and NGOs to pin-point the areas of service delivery in which they require more attention.