Women’s inclusion in economy stressed

Islamabad:The Male Champions of Change is a unique platform of diverse industry leaders who have committed to lead and inspire change and diversify workplaces by consciously enabling and empowering women leaders.

‘Power to create inclusive gender equality in the workplace’, members will explore how power is attained and attributed, make visible the systems of power that exist in their organisations and act to disrupt power dynamics that can impact progress towards achieving inclusive gender equality. Male Champions of Change Pakistan Members adopted an action plan to uncover the power dynamics in their own organisations and networks, and disrupt the status quo, during their quarterly meeting, hosted here.

On the occasion, Neil Hawkins, Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, congratulated Champions of Change Coalition members in Pakistan on their ongoing actions to improve gender equality, saying “all societies including Pakistan and Australia, need to increase women’s inclusion in the economy - we cannot afford not to, and it’s the right thing to do”. Basing their plan on the Champions of Change resource, PepsiCo Pakistan highlighted the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, such as the Sheroes programme, which established Pakistan’s first all-female distribution centre in Sialkot, breaking stereotypes in sales and distribution roles previously considered exclusively for men.

Furqan Ahmed Syed, CEO PepsiCo Pakistan and Afghanistan, said “We firmly believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are the cornerstones of economic progress. Women decision-makers at the top inspire a positive change that benefits businesses, industries, and societies. We are pleased with the progress that we are making as a group and the company remains committed to be at the forefront of driving this meaningful change.” The Champions of Change Coalition is dedicated to achieving gender equality, advancing more and diverse women into leadership, and building respectful and inclusive workplaces for all. Members are united in their pursuit of sustainable gender balance at the board level and in executive teams, through a long-term focus on achieving gender balance across their organisations.