Inclusion of more women in IT sector stressed

LAHORE

Speakers at a seminar organised by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (MKRMS) (Jang Group of Newspapers) in collaboration with Sanjh Preet Organization and USAID Pakistan on Enhancing Employability of Women Graduates in Information Technology (IT) Sector called for the inclusion of more women in the growing information technology sector of the country. 

The seminar at a local hotel on Tuesday was presided over by chief guest Punjab Governor Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana and Punjab Minister for Women Development Hameeda Waheed-ud-din. Speakers at the event included Chairperson of Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Fauzia Viqar, Principal Punjab University College of Information Technology Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar, Director of Programmes at Sanjh Preet Pervaiz Akhtar, Qazi Afaq Hussain, Waseem Ashraf, and Muhammad Usman Khan.

The noted speakers including the governor observed that even though women constitute 51 per cent of Pakistan’s population, only 14 per cent of them work in information technology jobs. Women have made numerous strides in other male-dominated workplaces but the IT sector is still to recognise and benefit from their skills and talents, they remarked. They urged the government to take measures to increase awareness of the developing sector amongst women enrolled in different colleges and universities. Private companies were also appealed to in order to rectify the gap in women’s employment. It is important to make women financially independent and productive members of society, Women Development Hameeda Waheed-ud-din commented. Speakers said women could play a crucial role in the economic development of Pakistan and more efforts need to be made to place them in decision-making positions. They appreciated the work of Punjab government and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to increase the number of women serving in government jobs under the Punjab Fair Representation of Women Act and other measures under the Punjab Women Empowerment packages. Director of programmes at Sanjh Preet Organization detailed the organisation’s work in collaboration with USAID Pakistan for empowerment of women in the IT sector. Sanjh Preet Organization is a non-profit registered organisation based in Lahore which is going to start the three-month internship programme for female IT graduates under USAID funded project ‘Women Empowerment Project to Enhance the Female Employability in IT sector.’ Sanjh Preet’s proposed venture has been designed to address these gaps by working with the IT companies in selected areas of Lahore.

Being the first intervention of its kind it is presently being carried at a small scale, with plans of extending its ambit in the future. Objective of the proposed project are to enhance employability of females in Information Technology (IT) Sector by facilitating creation of a gender friendly environment in 10 IT Companies, placing 120 female graduates as internees in the same, and ensuring regular employment of the top performers at the same companies.