Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: UN Women and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Wednesday launched an annual report on ‘women’s economic participation and empowerment in Pakistan’.

The report, produced with the support of the governments of Norway and Denmark, by UN Women – an entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women – in collaboration of the NSCW suggested recommendations to improve the social and economic conditions of women in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, UN Women country representative Jamshed Kazi stated, “This comprehensive report captures different facets of women’s economic empowerment from the relations between malnutrition and lesser opportunities in the workforce to the extra burden of humanitarian crises on women. Kazi said provision of safe and affordable transport and accommodation options is imperative to encourage economically inactive women to join the formal workforce.

“Providing equal opportunities for quality education is also critical for women and girls to improve their employment options,” said Kazi.

Danish Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Helle Nielsen said that investing in girls and women is the most effective investment in development, reaching far beyond the individual women. “Investing in women’s economical participation is a direct way to gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth, but 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.

The envoy explained that women spend approximately 90 percent of their salaries on their children and the health, education and well-being of their family, while men only spend 30 to 40 percent.

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 taReport likens women empowerment to economic upliftking place in Copenhagen. During this conference, a wide range of actors, including representatives from Pakistan, are exchanging ideas and solutions 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.

While presenting the report, Dr Yasmin Zaidi, lead researcher and author for the status report highlighted that women’s economic work – paid and unpaid – needs to be recognised, acknowledged and tracked at district and provincial levels in Pakistan.

“Robust data on employment and earnings will allow provinces to plan where to allocate resources so all districts can prosper and generate decent employment opportunities, and manage the flow of economic migration within the country.”

Former NCSW chairperson Khawar Mumtaz, said 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 report suggests multidimensional approach to the analysis of women’s economic empowerment, especially employment, said Khawar.

“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.”

Sana Mahmud, captain of Pakistan women’s basketball team spoke of the wage gap between men and women even within the realm of sport. “Female athletes – doing exactly what the men are doing – are many at times paid less than their male counterparts. This in turn creates an even more difficult situation for women who are already struggling to participate fully and equally in sports, and are further disillusioned by the lack of incentives provided, including monetary remuneration.”

Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Fauzia Viqar congratulated the NCSW and the UN Women for producing an informative report and stressed the importance of data collection for informed policies, actions and to measure progress. “This data would surely help us in correct decision making and we hope that the analysis would inform development schemes of the government of Pakistan,” she said.