KARACHI: Procter & Gamble (P&G) has partnered with United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to contribute towards the economic empowerment of women in Pakistan. The initiative includes supporting women entrepreneurship and gender-responsive procurement in the country. The partnership was announced after a meeting between UN Women Country Representative for Pakistan Jamshed M. Kazi P&G Pakistan Vice President Sami Ahmed at the P&G General Office in Karachi. The partnership stems from P&G’s commitment to gender equality which is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5 – to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The initiative will help marginalized but enterprising women in Sialkot district to start small-scale business ventures. Around 50 women will receive training and skills development, emerging as self-supporting individuals and equal partners of mainstream life on a gender-responsive basis. Speaking at the occasion, P&G Pakistan Vice President Sami Ahmed said, “We are delighted to partner with the UN Women to empower Pakistani women. This is a new step in our journey to fulfil P&G’s gender equality mission in the country.” “We aspire to build a better world, free from gender bias, with equal representation and an equal voice for women and men. We are creating an inclusive environment within the company where men and women can contribute to their full potential. We are helping to remove gender biased barriers by using our voice through brand advertising campaigns, enabling education for girls and supporting women’s economic empowerment. Our partnership with UN Women symbolises our expanded commitment to work towards the inclusion of women entrepreneurs in the country,” he added. An evidence-based research study on “Stimulating women’s entrepreneurship through affirmative public and private procurement in Pakistan” will also be conducted through this initiative. The study will gather data on women-owned enterprises operating in the country. It will also identify and deepen the understanding of the challenges faced by women-owned businesses in the public and private procurement sphere and their capacity enhancement needs. It will also provide corporate organisations information and access to relevant women-owned businesses with potential for integration into corporate supply chains. Moreover, The World Bank will provide technical support to UN Women in conducting this research study. Commenting on this partnership, UN Women Country Representative for Pakistan Jamshed M. Kazi said, “UN Women is committed to engaging with the private sector to enhance gender equality and accelerate progress in this area. In addition to socio-cultural barriers that hinder women’s opportunities for mobility, education and skills to participate in the workforce on an equal footing, research indicates that inadequate data and women’s unpaid work also impact their participation in the labour force. The lack of access to viable economic opportunities is one of the main factors that have prevented women from engaging in entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, women entrepreneurs have been largely excluded from this sizeable market due to lack of access to information on bids, understanding of procedures, and ability to meet requirements.” He further highlighted, “the findings of this study will serve as a powerful public procurement tool and will also be shared with key stakeholders in the country to aid in the formulation of policies to support women-owned enterprises. We are pleased that P&G has joined us in supporting this cause.” P&G in a statement said, “P&G is committed to advancing its gender equality mission in the country. Gender diversity is an important aspect of P&G’s overall diversity and inclusion mission. The company aims to attract, recruit and retain the top talent in Pakistan with a special focus on women via a range of strong diversity programs. As a result, today women constitute around 42% of the employees at the P&G General Office in Karachi and 50% of the P&G Pakistan Leadership Team” “P&G has joined the US-Pakistan Women’s Council (USPWC) in its mission to promote the economic participation of women in the workforce in Pakistan. As the founding member of the USPWC’s corporate initiative, P&G is playing an active role in supporting the council’s efforts to promote supplier diversity in Pakistan. P&G participated in the Supply Chain Diversity Expo and training sessions for women entrepreneurs organised by the USPWC in collaboration with WECREATE. The sessions aimed at counselling women entrepreneurs about how to successfully enter the corporate supply chain and creating awareness about the procurement processes at corporate organisations”, the conglomerate said. “In partnership with Health Oriented Preventive Education (HOPE) and READ Foundation, P&G has provided quality education to over 3500 girls from underprivileged communities in Pakistan. Furthermore, P&G brands have been committed to empowering women and young girls with confidence in Pakistan through campaigns such as the Always #MyFutureStartsToday and Pantene #StrongIsBeautiful. Moreover, the ‘Always School Education Program’ has reached over 9 million Pakistani girls with essential health and hygiene education to date”, P&G said. Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2017.