Our persistent gender gap

LAHORE: Women in Pakistan continue to face systemic exclusion from the economic mainstream. Deeply embedded legal and cultural gender biases have long restricted their mobility, access to decent work and fair compensation.

This exclusion has prevented the country from unlocking its full economic potential. The numbers paint a grim picture. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, Pakistan ranks the lowest globally in terms of gender parity -- particularly in economic participation. Women’s labour force participation remains below 25 per cent, among the lowest in the world. But this is not due to a lack of capability or willingness; rather, it reflects deeply entrenched structural barriers.

Most Pakistani women are either entirely excluded from the job market or pushed into low-paid, informal sector roles -- such as domestic help, agricultural labour or home-based handicrafts. These jobs offer neither legal protection nor a living wage. Meanwhile, vocational and technical training opportunities are largely geared towards men, further widening the skills gap between genders.

Alarmingly, there are no constitutional guarantees or labour laws in Pakistan mandating equal pay for equal work. This legal vacuum allows wage discrimination to persist unchecked. In some textile factories and agricultural farms, a good number of women are paid significantly less than their male counterparts for the same work. Worse still, many employers openly cite marital or family status as a hiring criterion, often preferring unmarried women without children over better-qualified married candidates.

In developed economies, asking a female applicant about her marital status or family plans during a job interview would be considered both illegal and discriminatory. In Pakistan, such questions are routine -- and seldom challenged. Women who are hired despite being married or mothers often find themselves with limited flexibility. The absence of legal provisions for part-time work, maternity support or childcare leaves many unable to balance professional and domestic responsibilities.

Legal restrictions also affect working hours and access to industries. Women are barred from night shifts in many sectors and restricted from roles in manufacturing, mining and energy. This not only curtails income-earning potential but also reinforces the outdated stereotype of men as breadwinners and women as dependants.

Even in corporate offices and public-sector institutions, where more educated women are visible, their numbers thin as one ascends the leadership ladder. Boardrooms remain overwhelmingly male, with only token female representation. Opportunities for mentorship, promotion and professional development are more readily extended to men than to women.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has described Pakistan’s gender dynamic as one of “inside/outside” segregation -- where women are expected to remain within the private sphere of home and family, while men occupy the public realm of commerce, leadership and decision-making. This ideology, reflected in veiling traditions and rigid social norms, significantly limits female autonomy.

Nevertheless, there are pockets of progress. Success stories of female entrepreneurs, health workers, and social activists -- whether leading microfinance initiatives in Sindh, running tech start-ups in Karachi, or entering male-dominated professions -- offer some hope. Yet these remain the exception rather than the norm.

For Pakistan to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, it must dismantle the gender barriers that render women economically invisible. This demands urgent legal reform -- guaranteeing equal pay, prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices, and ensuring maternity and childcare support -- alongside a shift in societal attitudes that recognises women as equal partners in national progress.

A country cannot thrive when half its population is left behind. Economic revival and social justice both require that Pakistan move beyond its gender-biased traditions and embrace equity -- not as an aspiration, but as an imperative.