Thriving in the rain: natural shocks, time allocation, and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh

In low- and middle-income countries, differences between men and women in their time use patterns represent a major source of gender inequality. Among other factors, natural shocks can affect these differences. This paper examines the impact of the 2017 flood in Bangladesh on men’s and women’s time use patterns and women’s empowerment. Using georeferenced and longitudinal data, we find that the flood decreased women’s time spent on domestic work while increasing their engagement in income generating activities and empowerment. In contrast, men spent less time at work and increased their participation in domestic work to substitute for women’s. These responses to the shock are confirmed only for those individuals who were exposed to another flooding event that occurred in 2014. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, we look at the long-term impact of the 2014 flood on women’s empowerment and on their engagement in income generating activities, and we find that the shock still positively affects both variables. These results suggest that when an increase in empowerment naturally occurs within the household, it persists over time and influences reactions to subsequent shocks.