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Abstract:The present investigation tries to analyse the use that was made of article 81.3 of the Catalan Parliamentary rules of procedure to alter the order of the day and approve both the Referendum Law and the Transitoriness Act. For this, first the content of the article as well as the dubious questions about it have been examined. Secondly, the interpretation given to this precept by the Catalan parliamentary majority in order to introduce both bills as well as the consequences that it had in the form of appeals has been summarized. Thirdly, the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court has been contrasted with the different issues raised during the approval procedure of the Referendum and Transitoriness Acts. Fourthly, an attempt has been made to make a proposal for a resolution of the appeals filed and on which the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled. And fifthly, analyse the STCC 10/2018 and 27/2018 that solve the appeal in relation to the agreements of the Parliamentary Bureau that rejectedthe request for the CGE's dictum.Once all this has been done, six have been the main conclusions. One: that the Catalan Parliament Bureau was so obliged to carry out an analysis beyond the strict verification of the formal requirements because there were some execution incidents that expressly obliged it, as well as the duty to agree on its inadmissibility because the proposals were of obvious law and evidently unconstitutional. Two: that the Constitutional Court should rule against the part of the Citizens' appeal where it was requested to annul the agreements of the Plenary by means of which the agenda was altered, but it should resolve in favour of that other part of the same resource where it was requested cancel the agreements of the Plenary through which an ad hoc legislative procedure was created through art. 81.3 RPC. Three: that the SSTC 10/2018 and 27/2018 positively estimate both the appeal of the Socialist parliamentary group and one of the parties to the appeal for protection of Citizens, in which it was requested to declare the nullity of both the Agreements of the Bureau of the 6th and September 7 for which it was rejected to process the request for such opinion and its effects. Four: it does not seem to be manifestly unconstitutional that, through art. 81.3 RPC, the agenda can be modified to include the debate and vote on a proposed law, an affirmation that may well be extended to all those precepts of the other regulations parliamentarians whose content is similar. Five: that neither art. 81.3 RPC nor any other precept that develops the alteration of the agenda in the other parliamentary regulations, enables the parliamentary majority to create an ad hoc legislative procedure through which subsequent proposals can be approved. Of law. And six: that the main reason why they ended up processing the proposals of law in this way is none other than the will of the Catalan parliamentary majority (and, thus his government) to process and approve with appearance of legality two propositions of law that were already in their origin evidently unconstitutional. ; Resumen:La presente investigación trata de analizar el uso que se hizo del artículo 81.3 del Reglamento del Parlamento de Cataluña para alterar el orden del día y aprobar tanto la proposición de ley de referéndum como la de transitoriedad. Para ello, primero se ha examinado tanto el contenido que posee dicho artículo como aquellas cuestiones dudosas sobre el mismo. En segundo lugar, se ha resumido tanto la interpretación que se le dio a dicho precepto por la mayoría parlamentaria catalana para poder introducir ambas proposiciones de ley como las consecuencias que ello tuvo en forma de recursos de amparo. En tercer lugar, se ha contrastado la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Constitucional con las diferentes cuestiones planteadas durante el procedimiento de aprobación de ambas proposiciones de ley. En cuarto lugar, se ha intentado realizar una propuesta de resolución de aquellos recursos de amparo presentados por el grupo parlamentario de Ciudadanos sobre los que el Tribunal Constitucional todavía no se ha pronunciado. Y, en quinto y último lugar, se han analizado las SSTC 10/2018 y 27/2018 que resuelven los recursos de amparo sobre los acuerdos de la Mesa por los que se desestimaba la solicitud de dictamen del CGE.Una vez realizado todo ello, seis han sido las principales conclusiones. Uno: que la Mesa del Parlamento de Cataluña tenía tanto la obligación de realizar un análisis más allá de la estricta verificación de los requisitos formales por existir unos incidentes de ejecución que le obligaban expresamente a ello, como el deber de acordar su inadmisión por ser las proposiciones de ley palmaria y evidentemente inconstitucionales. Dos: que el Tribunal Constitucional debería fallar en contra de la parte del recurso de Ciudadanos donde se pedía anular los acuerdos del Pleno mediante los cuales se alteró el orden del día, pero debería resolver a favor de aquella otra parte del mismo recurso donde se pedía anular los acuerdos del Pleno mediante los cuales se creó un procedimiento legislativo ad hoc a través del art. 81.3 RPC. Tres: que las SSTC 10/2018 y 27/2018 estiman positivamente los recursos de amparo del grupo parlamentario Socialista en los que se pedía declarar la nulidad tanto de los Acuerdos de la Mesa de los días 6 y 7 de septiembre por los que se desestimaba tramitar la solicitud de dicho dictamen como de sus efectos. Cuatro: que no parece ser manifiestamente inconstitucional que a través del art. 81.3 RPC se pueda modificar el orden del día para incluir el debate y votación de una proposición de ley, afirmación esta que bien puede ser ampliable a todos aquellos preceptos de los demás reglamentos parlamentarios cuyo contenido sea similar. Cinco: que ni el art. 81.3 RPC ni ningún otro precepto que desarrolle la alteración del orden del día en los demás reglamentos parlamentarios, habilita para que a su través la mayoría parlamentaria cree un procedimiento legislativo ad hoc gracias al cual posteriormente se puedan aprobar proposiciones de ley. Y seis: que el motivo principal por el cual se acabaron tramitando las proposiciones de ley de esa manera no es otro que la voluntad de la mayoría parlamentaria (y, por ende, del Gobierno catalán) de tramitar y aprobar con apariencia de legalidad dos proposiciones de ley que eran ya en su origen evidentemente inconstitucionales.Summary:1. Introduction. 2. The content of article 81.3 Of the standing orders of the parliament of catalonia. 3. The consequences of the use of article 81.3 Rpc to introduce the laws of referendum and transitoriness on the agenda. 4. The jurisprudence of the constitutional court on the questions raised during the procedure to approve both bills. 4.1 The problem of whether the Parliamentary Bureau could have inadmitted to process both bills. 4.2 The problem of whether art. 81.3 RPC allows through it to develop that legislative procedure that was eventually used to approve both bills. 4.3 The problem regarding the suppression of the possibility of requesting a Dictum from the Council of Statutory Guarantees. 5. A possible resolution of the appeal submitted by the ciudadanos parliamentary group. 5.1 In relation to the plenary agreements by means of which the agenda was changed to introduce the bills of the referendum and of transitoriness. 5.2 In relation to the agreements of the Plenary throughwhich an ad hoc legislative procedure was created to proceed to the debateand definitive voting of the bills of the referendum and of transitoriness.6. The SSTC 10/2018 and 27/2018 that solve the appeal in relation to theagreements of the parliamentary bureau that rejected the request for theCGE's dictum. 7. Conclusion.Abstract:The present investigation tries to analyse the use that was made of article 81.3 of the Catalan Parliamentary rules of procedure to alter the order of the day and approve both the Referendum Law and the Transitoriness Act. For this, first the content of the article as well as the dubious questions about it have been examined. Secondly, the interpretation given to this precept by the Catalan parliamentary majority in order to introduce both bills as well as the consequences that it had in the form of appeals has been summarized. Thirdly, the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court has been contrasted with the different issues raised during the approval procedure of the Referendum and Transitoriness Acts. Fourthly, an attempt has been made to make a proposal for a resolution of the appeals filed and on which the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled. And fifthly, analyse the STCC 10/2018 and 27/2018 that solve the appeal in relation to the agreements of the Parliamentary Bureau that rejectedthe request for the CGE's dictum.Once all this has been done, six have been the main conclusions. One: that the Catalan Parliament Bureau was so obliged to carry out an analysis beyond the strict verification of the formal requirements because there were some execution incidents that expressly obliged it, as well as the duty to agree on its inadmissibility because the proposals were of obvious law and evidently unconstitutional. Two: that the Constitutional Court should rule against the part of the Citizens' appeal where it was requested to annul the agreements of the Plenary by means of which the agenda was altered, but it should resolve in favour of that other part of the same resource where it was requested cancel the agreements of the Plenary through which an ad hoc legislative procedure was created through art. 81.3 RPC. Three: that the SSTC 10/2018 and 27/2018 positively estimate both the appeal of the Socialist parliamentary group and one of the parties to the appeal for protection of Citizens, in which it was requested to declare the nullity of both the Agreements of the Bureau of the 6th and September 7 for which it was rejected to process the request for such opinion and its effects. Four: it does not seem to be manifestly unconstitutional that, through art. 81.3 RPC, the agenda can be modified to include the debate and vote on a proposed law, an affirmation that may well be extended to all those precepts of the other regulations parliamentarians whose content is similar. Five: that neither art. 81.3 RPC nor any other precept that develops the alteration of the agenda in the other parliamentary regulations, enables the parliamentary majority to create an ad hoc legislative procedure through which subsequent proposals can be approved. Of law. And six: that the main reason why they ended up processing the proposals of law in this way is none other than the will of the Catalan parliamentary majority (and, thus his government) to process and approve with appearance of legality two propositions of law that were already in their origin evidently unconstitutional.

В статье анализируются монои мультилинейные концептуальные подходы к развитию человечества, представленные в трудах таких выдающихся интеллектуалов как Н.Я. Данилевский, О. Шпенглер, А.Дж. Тойнби, Т. Парсонс, И. Валлерстайн, Ф. Фукуяма, Л.Н. Гумилев, С. Хантингтон, Гж. Колодко, Л.С. Васильев, Ю.И. Семенов, М. Музилис, Б. Витрок и др. Подчеркивается, что разнообразие линий социально-экономического развития народов основывается на различиях двух доминирующих макротипов цивилизации «европейского» и «азиатского». В контексте этих и локальных цивилизационных различий рассматриваются модели социально-экономической трансформации постсоциалистических стран; при этом особое внимание уделяется российскому вектору посткоммунистического транзита, в основу анализа которого, по мнению автора, может быть положена теория евразийства Л. Гумилева, Н. Савицкого, Н. Трубецкого и концепции современных российских авторов С.Г. Кордонского, В.Б. Пастухова, О.Э. Бессоновой и других ученыхThe discussion of transformation outcomes has become increasingly tense in the recent years and is now challenging contemporary social sciences. Two major approaches can be distinguished today. According to one of them, transformation is a linear process and it refers to logical transition from non-market to market economy. Such understanding of social development constitutes the classic theory of modernization (W. Rostow, T. Parsons). Similar lack of alternativeness is also a characteristic of the increasingly popular world-system analysis (I. Wallerstain). Yet it can be argued that institutional structure and value systems, which determine the inner logics of social development, are not so universal in nature. The end of 1990s has seen the rise of new theories of non-European modernity, the variety of capitalisms and the trend towards distinguishing modernization from westernization. These ideas have received much support in developing countries. We too argue that the difference of transformation outcomes in European and Eurasian areas cannot be adequately explained in terms of single-vector deterministic model. The reason for the emerging variety of socio-economic developments may very well lie in the inner civilization differences between countries. We argue that both, Marxist and liberal unitarisms with their optionless evolutionary approaches to certain sociohistoric organisms, ignore the interconnection of common and particular in the human history and thus become a subject to discussion. Along with unitarian approach, according to which the development processes within particular sociohistoric organisms follow a single logic in human history, there also exists a pluralist multilinear approach. It implies, that humanity is represented by a set of relatively autonomous historic entities, each of which has a certain life cycle with its own stages of birth, development and decease. The concept of monolinearity has been criticized as far back as in the late XIXth century by a Russian historian N. Danilevsky, whose notion of civilization concurrency ('ryadopolozhennost' tsivilizatsiy') [Danilevsky 2003] suggests that along with some universal essentials civilizations may have very specific goals of development and their own criteria of civilization's successful reproduction. Danilevsky is also the author of the idea that among the factors, which stipulate multilinearity of historical process and the variety of options of social development, a special role belongs to the type of civilization we choose. He also produced his own theory of cultural-historical types: '…civilization is a notion far more extensive than science, art, religion, political, economic or social development taken alone. Civilization includes it all. I am saying that even religion itself is a notion inferior to that of civilization.' [Danilevsky 2003, p.129]. He reckoned that such analysis of history-dependent types of civilization can help explain many phenomena in the past, the present and the future of different peoples, especially since he had learned about the particularities of Russian culture and history. Although he never criticized the Romano-Germanic culture, Danilevsky completely denied its universality and perceived his native Russian civilization as its equal but essentially different counterpart. In XXth century the popularity has come to such advocates of historical pluralism as O. Spengler, A.J. Toynbee, L. Gumilyov, S. Huntington and others. By accepting the possibility of concurrent development for countries, which belong to different civilizations, one does not have to deny the universality of technologies of existence in the very broad sense of its meaning. Although what we must consider is that institutional structure and value systems, which regulate development processes within certain social organisms, may not, and usually are not, universal in nature. Thus it makes sense, that different civilizations and, consequently, national states, which fall under these civilizations, are very likely to develop along different vectors. The institutional theory has also produced a hypothesis, according to which there exist different institutional matrices that can be regarded as latent mechanisms of functioning and reproduction of sociohistoric organisms. The matrix acts as a stable and historically dependent set of interacting institutions that are specific for particular civilizations. By applying this logics in comparative analysis of Eastern and Western macrocivilizations some Russian economists argue that in historical perspective Eastern matrix persistently features non-market mechanisms of distribution, centralized state and the priority of collective values over individual ones. The existing variety of development paths can generally be reduced to the differences that arise between two dominating types of civilization, which contingently can be referred to as European and Asiatic. The first one emerged from ancient polises and, basically, represents the chain of societies with private property, the balance between civil society and civil institutions, advanced personality and the priority of individual values. The latter type Asiatic one is historically connected to Asian despotisms, the domination of state property, all-powerful government institutional structures, the lack of civil society and so forth. We rely on the explanatory concept of basic institutional structures, which distinguish Eastern civilizations from Western ones the so called relations of power-property. This concept has been developed by an outstanding Russian orientalist L. Vasiliev in his works from 1960s 1990s. It is peculiar that in the course of human history this type of civilization has been dominating geographically as well as historically. And it also explains why in the XXth century etacratism (in other terms, etatism or statism) has developed in the countries, which fall under the Asiatic civilization area. Yet it should be underlined that there is no such necessity as to draw the dividing line between monolinear and multilinear approaches. We cannot as well ignore the experience of the previous centuries, which has been institutionalized in verifiable sources. This experience provides evidence of completely different options of social development not only for the organisms that have literally become history, but for those which survived until today. Some of them progressed from savagery feudalism and then onto capitalism; some have initially turned to the Asian mode of production and have only recently developed the advanced forms of capitalism (postindustrialism); the others got 'stuck' in a non-market phase of development and adapted it to the circumstances of contemporary global system. Yet we are only able to speculate within a definite historical horizon, that is measured by the life of a few nearest generations. The point is: there is no sense in crossing swords regarding the future of humanity beyond the XXIst century. Starting from the end of 1990s the Western literature brings an increasingly bigger number of publications, which support theories of non-European modernity and variability of development and attempt to separate modernization concept from westernization. These ideas have gained a lot of support in developing countries, where authors draw attention to the lack of explanatory power of existing social theories, which are incompatible with non-Western forms of contemporary society. According to multilinear approach in the modern world there coexist several main civilizations with distinct institutional, axiological and behavioral characteristics. These civilizations are connected with dominating religious systems. As applied to Central European, Southern European and Eurasian areas (post-communist countries, which are in the process of transformation) these religious systems are Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Islam. The social, economic and political situation in the corresponding countries is essentially different in a number of aspects. Moreover it explains the variation of development paths and the outcomes of liberal reforms in many post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Consequently we argue that these civilization particularities must be closely studied. Even today many European researchers and analysts are still convinced that social and economic order of contemporary Russia is not essentially different from that of the developed European countries a still another type of capitalism. One of the most popular approaches is the so called variety of capitalisms approach [Drahokoupil 2009]. According to this approach the variety of social and economic systems, which exist in contemporary Europe, may be reduced to several fundamental forms (e.g. 'liberal market economies', 'controlled market economies' or even 'dependent market economies'). So it, basically, reduces the problem of determining the outcomes of various policies to the problem of diagnosing various states of capitalism in different countries depending on the structure of its economic institutions and the presence of foreign capital. Yet it is never discussed how and why Russia and its predominantly 'orthodox' post-socialist neighbours deviate from any of these classifications. Etacratism in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was enforced from the USSR. The ones that resisted most were the countries which already had the most experience of market economy, some forms of civil society and the rule of law in the course of their history. During the 45 years of Soviet domination these countries have always been the most unreliable periphery of the 'true socialism'. All of them belonged to Catholic and Protestant Christian cultures. At the same time, etacratism voluntarily and rather autonomously developed in countries, which have never known capitalist relations and had a different history China, Vietnam and Mongolia. The contemporary societal system, which formed in CEE countries, was a result of a single anti-communist revolution of 1989 -1991, which according to V. Ilin had a system nature. These revolutions were encouraged by the idea of catch-up modernization. In CEE and Baltia the original goal of transformation, which included higher standards of mass consumption, social state and technological modernization was rather quickly reduced to two basics which represent the idea of progress market economy and competitive democracy (political pluralism along with democratic freedom) [Ilin 2006, p. 262-266]. The development in Russia, as well as some other countries of the former USSR, went in a different manner. The achievements of market economy and liberal democracy were far more modest than in the CEE neighborhood. We hold the following conceptual viewpoint on Russia's development. The contemporary Russian society, as well as Soviet, belongs to a particular civilization (Eurasian), which is essentially different from European (Atlantic) in relation to its institutional structure and system of values. Thus, in the social space of Europe there actually exist at least two substantially distinct 'Europes'.

La educación sexual en Argentina ha sido objeto de contiendas y disputas. Abordaremos desde una perspectiva sociosemiótica las relaciones entre los diferentes posicionamientos discursivos que se trabaron en los procesos de formulación de esta política pública. La sanción de la ley que obliga al sistema educativo nacional a implementar educación sexual integral en las escuelas se inscribe en un campo de disputas sedimentado históricamente donde participan formaciones discursivas relativas a la biomedicina, los derechos humanos, la religión y los movimientos feministas. El artículo indaga genealógicamente las tensiones de larga duración entre los posicionamientos feministas y los conservadurismos religiosos que atraviesan distintos campos de interlocución, disputando la legitimidad y aceptabilidad de sus argumentos. La articulación analítica de la interdiscursividad con la genealogía permite dar cuenta de los matices tácticos que desafían dicotomías y posiciones irreductibles en las luchas de poder por definir los alcances y los sentidos de la educación sexual. ; Sex education in Argentina has been the subject of contentions and disputes. From a socio-semiotic perspective, we will address the relationships between the different discursive positions that were blocked in the processes of formulation of this public policy. The sanction of the law that obliges the educational system of the entire country to implement comprehensive sex education in schools is part of a historically settled field of disputes, involving discursive formations related to biomedicine, human rights, religion, and feminist movements. The article genealogically investigates the long-term tensions between feminist positions and religious conservatisms that cross different fields of dialogue, disputing the legitimacy and acceptability of their arguments. The analytical articulation of interdiscursivity with genealogy allows us to account for the tactical nuances that challenge dichotomies and irreducible positions in the power struggles to define the scope and meaning of sexual education. KEYWORDS:

The Asia Foundation opened a resident office in India in 2008. The Foundation collaborates with communities, government, civil society, and other development partners to implement evidence-based programs to advance gender equality and social inclusion and to expand women's rights, security, and economic opportunities in India. This includes a focus on changing attitudes and social norms that perpetuate gender-based violence, and specifically human trafficking.

Increasing female labour force participation has been a challenge for the country. These challenges are even greater for night-work and shift-work (hence referred to as non-standard work). There is a growing trend in shift and night work in the service sector in Sri Lanka. As labour force participation rates for males are already fairly high, policymakers are increasingly looking towards females to fill the worker requirements for non-standard jobs. The current literature has given limited attention on the specific challenges faced by females looking to work in non-standard jobs. In this context, based on in-depth face-to-face interviews conducted among a sample of 30 associate professional and semi-skilled women working in the private hospital and supermarket sectors, an IPS study on 'Women, Work and Night Shifts in Nursing Homes and Supermarkets' examined Sri Lankan women's experiences and challenges in non-standard work. The study also analysed existing labour legislation for night work and associated implementation gaps.

The objectives of this research are (i) to explore the factors affecting female labour force participation in Bangladesh; (ii) to examine the effect of technology and automation on female labour demand at firm level; (iii) to explore the opportunities and challenges of expansion of female employment in different potential sectors in the economy; and (iv) to offer strategies and policies for the government as well as the private sector on actions that could address the problems identified.

Nepal is home to 103 ethnic groups and 17 official languages. Apparently, the relationships between these diverse groups appear stable, but grievances arising out of political marginalization, caste-based discrimination, and exclusionary state practices have maintained historical divides between communities. Occasional violent outbursts further impact inter-ethnic relationships, such as the Madhesh uprisings (2007 and 2015) and the Kapilvastu Riot (2007). Political instability, weak public security, and a history of violent conflict have heavily strained the social fabric resulted in lack of trust in civic institutions. Subsequent to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2006, the Nepali state has sought to address social tensions by ending discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, caste, culture, sexual orientation and religion through social and legal reforms. A number of legal and policy reform measures to improve inclusion have been enacted, including: The Act amending Some Nepal Acts to Maintain Gender Equality (2006); Caste-Based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act (2011); and the National Action Plan on Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and1820 (2011). Similar policy-level changes on civil service hiring quotas, Dalit child scholarships, and guidelines for local bodies with spending targets for marginalized are in place. However, implementation of these policies initiatives to promote GESI has been weak, with little impact towards the intended beneficiaries.

This book provides a current and comprehensive analysis of the context in which Pacific women engage in the private sector, as well as a detailed list of strategies to increase their participation in business. Drawing on research and data from seven Pacific countries, it o ffers a diversity of innovative and pragmatic ways to empower women and enhance their economic opportunities. Jointly undertaken by the Asian Development Bank's Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative and the Government of Australia, this study is valuable for anyone seeking to support Pacific women and contribute to entrepreneurship, business development, and private sector growth.

The Women's Empowerment Program strengthens women's and girls' rights and security, political participation, and economic opportunities. These key pillars are mutually reinforcing and are essential to women's advancement. Further, we know that investing in women and girls improves outcomes for economies and societies. In concert with these core elements of women's empowerment, we work to advance gender equality through all Asia Foundation programs.

Unexpected and dramatic reforms in Myanmar since 2011 have begun a transition in this country from half a century of military rule to a hybrid system of government. The military continues to maintain significant power, but competitive elections, a lively parliament, a more vibrant media, and a growing civil society have allowed for debates on a range of issues concerning the nature of the state and the development agenda that were previously not possible. Changes of this magnitude are extraordinarily challenging to manage and can themselves generate new dynamics that may undermine both the nascent democratic reforms and efforts to find a lasting solution to decades of ethnic conflicts. The need to rebuild the country's political, economic and social institutions to meet the needs of citizens is critical, but is challenged by the significant capacity gap affecting all sectors while fundamental questions remain about the role of the military in the political system.

Over the last two decades, the focus of development policy initiatives to reduce poverty has undergone a significant shift. Known as the "inclusive finance" approach, these new initiatives advocate for a "Finance for All (FFA)" approach to bring excluded populations into the realm of mainstream banking, developing new schemes for ensuring better access to financial credit, and educating them about various financial products and services which may help them in making informed decisions. In the context of Bangladesh, the impact of these initiatives has already been felt and over the years, significant efforts have been made to facilitate the level and extent of financial inclusion of the poor into the mainstream banking sector. However, Bangladesh's approach towards inclusive finance differs from the broader FFA policy agenda. Whereas in general inclusive financial market approaches leave a focus on women and gender equality outside the core of the debate, special efforts have been made in Bangladesh for increasing women's access to finance. The introduction and implementation of these policy initiatives raise a few important questions: (1) What are the key barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in gaining access to markets and becoming engaged in different business ventures? (2) How effective are the existing policies and programs in addressing the challenges faced by the women entrepreneurs? (3) What actions can be taken to make the policy and programmatic interventions more helpful and effective? This paper focuses on finding answers to these key questions while providing a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the situation of the women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. At the same time, this paper concentrates on both the demand side factors (i.e., issues related to the capacity and understanding of women entrepreneurs that may hinder their access to credit) and the supply side factors (i.e., the impact of policies developed by the Government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Bank on women's entrepreneurship, as well as the capacity, willingness and commitment of commercial banks to support women entrepreneurs). Further, research suggests women's business chambers with adequate capacity can play a complementary role in advancing women's access to finance. This study explores the role played by the District Women Chambers in the context of Bangladesh.