Though some of them obtained employment in pre-processing factories near shrimp farms, the pay is low. Moreover, mangrove destruction has resulted in the saline inundation of the fields surrounding the homesteads along the coastline, impeding women's contribution through kitchen gardening, livestock and poultry rearing. In families engaged in weaving, pottery or production of oil or syrup, women have fixed responsibilities in relation to the finished product. In weaving, women undertake all the activities prior to loom work. In pottery, women perform the lower portion of the work in pitching pots and handle the drying.
Women also earn cash income as agricultural wage labourers.
In sericulture, women contribute nearly half the total work hours. Silkworm rearing and cocoon reeling are the two critical activities dominated by women. Women have the main responsibility in post-harvest processing of rice and other agriculture commodities that provide a source of income. Men generate income especially as migrant non-agricultural wage laborers in transportation, construction, service works. In Bangladesh, a very active NGO community serves rural women's credit needs and assist them in micro-enterprise development.