Women already play a key role in Pakistan’s economy and strengthening their role in energy will create a real difference in national prosperity, said United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Distribution Program Chief of Party Craig VanDevelde at a gender equity workshop organised by the USAID to reinforce the role of women in the energy sector.
With inflation spiking to 12.7 percent against the 1.4 percent it has been for the past seven years, the single salary of the earning male member can no longer feed a family, thus necessitating women in the professional workforce. It is becoming imperative to double the number of the female workforce at a rapid pace and in order to achieve this, missed opportunities for women must be identified, said VanDevelde.
The USAID Power Distribution Program is currently holding gender equity training sessions at all government-owned power distribution companies (DISCOs) of Pakistan. These trainings are in line with the constitution of Pakistan, which discourages discrimination on the basis of sex and allows for measures to ensure total participation of women in all spheres of economic life. These trainings will also uplift fundamental freedoms of women in every field, bringing the status they hold if not in parallel to, then close to that held by men, serving as a positive measure in eliminating discrimination against women.
The national economy is experiencing important losses because of low participation of women in the economy and this also makes women heavily dependent on their families, said VanDevelde, adding that “Development of a gender equity strategy for operations in the areas of employment and career development, recruitments and treatment in a work place in DISCOs is a cross-cutting initiative of USAID Power Distribution Program.”
USAID supports women in energy sector
