NSU Economics Department Hosts Third Brown Bag Seminar of Spring 2026. The Department of Economics at North South University successfully held the third session of its Spring 2026 Brown Bag Seminar Series on March 5, 2026. This academic gathering brought together faculty members, students, and local researchers for an afternoon focused on data-driven discussion and professional networking.
The keynote speaker for this episode was Dr. Sibbir Ahmad, an Assistant Professor within the NSU Department of Economics. Dr. Ahmad shared his latest research paper, which explores how high school backgrounds and individual identities impact job opportunities in Bangladesh. The study specifically looks at how factors like gender, religion, and the type of school a person attended can change their success in the labor market.
Several important findings were shared during the presentation that highlight current challenges in the hiring process. One major discovery was that college graduates who attended religious high schools often receive much fewer responses or callbacks from employers compared to others. The research shows that this gap stays the same even when these candidates have very strong resumes, suggesting that there is a deep bias in how hiring decisions are made.
The study also looked closely at gender in the workplace. While the research did not find strong evidence of general discrimination against women across all jobs, it did find a specific pattern. Female candidates tend to get more interview requests for roles that pay less or involve facing clients directly, rather than high-level technical positions.
The seminar ended with a lively question-and-answer session where participants exchanged ideas about how to make the job market more fair. This event is part of a continuing series at NSU designed to encourage new research and help students understand the real-world impact of economic studies. The department plans to host several more episodes throughout the semester to keep the academic conversation growing.