A status report on women’s economic participation and empowerment in Pakistan was launched at an event jointly hosted by the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s newly launched ‘Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment – Status Report 2016’ emphasises the complex and multifaceted concept of women’s economic empowerment and in using the national survey data and qualitative studies documents the status of Pakistani women to different dimensions and determinants of economic participation.
The report also documents the economic situation of women affected by humanitarian crises and complex emergencies over the past decade. The status report, produced with support from the governments of Norway and Denmark, by UN Women in collaboration with NCSW looks at the social and economic vulnerabilities that keep the Pakistani women underpaid and overworked.
The report highlights specific aspects of women’s economic empowerment and recommends a concerted effort to improve women’s access, opportunities and capabilities in order for them to participate as full economic actors in the development and growth of a dynamic Pakistan that the Vision 2025 seeks.
UN Women Pakistan Country Representative Jamshed Kazi in his welcome address stated: “This comprehensive report captures different facets of women’s economic empowerment from the relation between malnutrition and lesser opportunities in the workforce to the extra burden of humanitarian crisis on women. The report delineates a meticulous overview of the working women population of Pakistan. It is imperative to position gender responsive infrastructure in places such as daycare centers, anti-sexual harassment mechanisms and safe and affordable transport and accommodation options to encourage economically inactive women to join the formal workforce as well as ensure retention for the existing women workforce. Providing equal opportunities for better quality education is also critical for women and girls to improve their employment options.”
Danish Embassy Charge d’Affaires Helle Nielsen said that investing in girls and women is not only the right thing to do, but also a smart thing to do, as research shows that investing in girls and women is the most effective investment in development, reaching far beyond the individual women.
Nielsen gave the example about how women spend 90% of their salary on their children and the health, education and well-being of their family, while men only spend 30 to 40 percent. She also highlighted that by removing the barriers that prevent women from entering the labour market, a country’s productivity can increase.
“Investing in women’s economical participation is a direct way to gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth, but in order for the world to experience progress, we need to give girls and women the equal opportunities to which they are entitled. This will not only benefit girls and women, but societies at large”, said Nielsen.
She also shared that Denmark was proud to be hosting the world’s largest global conference on women and girls rights, ‘Women Deliver’, which was currently taking place in Copenhagen. During this conference, a wide range of actors, including representatives from Pakistan, are exchanging ideas and solutions on how to ensure that the needs and rights of girls and women are fully taken into account in the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Director Center of Gender and Policy Studies and Lead Researcher and Author for the Status Report 2016 Dr Yasmin Zaidi in presenting the report highlighted: “Women’s economic work, paid and unpaid, needs to be recognised, acknowledged and tracked at the district and provincial levels in Pakistan so that Pakistan can report on SDG 5. Robust data on employment and earnings will allow provinces to plan where to allocate resources so all the districts can prosper and generate decent employment, and manage the flow of economic migration within the country.”
Speaking during the panel discussion, panelist and former Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women Khawar Mumtaz stated that “Authentic official data and its analysis are imperative to establish the reality on the ground for giving direction for appropriate policies and action. The reports significance is the multidimensional approach to the analysis of women’s economic empowerment especially employment. This publication also deserves special appreciation for developing the Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index for the first time in Pakistan. The Index will help in ranking the WEE status by districts and provide a mechanism to measure progress and pinpoint areas that require more concerted attention.”
