‘Access to job opportunities getting better for women’

ISLAMABAD: Today Pakistani women have greater access to equal employment opportunities and decent working conditions in different sectors of the economy. Besides, the understanding of stakeholders on working women’s issues has also increased.

These observations were made by the speakers at the closing event of International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) national project ‘Promoting Gender Equality for Decent Employment (GE4DE)’ on Tuesday, as they recounted the successes and achievements of the project.

The event was an opportunity to disseminate the project results; good practices; approaches; and the lessons learnt, to a wider group of stakeholders, and solicit their valuable inputs for future course of action.

The proceedings of the event had started with the screening of GE4DE documentary and welcome address by ILO Country Director Ingrid Christensen. She said ILO promotes ending all types of discriminations and ensuring gender equality in the world of work.

She said ILO recognises that this objective was not possible without joint efforts. "We need support from international and national stakeholders as well as our development partners, UN agencies and other supporters to succeed.”

Project GE4DE was started by the Canadian government and the partners included Employer Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers’ Federation (PWF).

Atifa Riffat, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD), highlighted the importance and impact of GE4DE project.

She said the project had supported over 11,000 women and men from disadvantaged backgrounds secure decent work after equipping them with required skills and trainings.

She said it was praiseworthy that the project had assisted its constituents to establish and strengthen national mechanisms by mainstreaming gender in their systems policies, plans and programmes.

“Gender units in all provincial departments of labour have now emerged as gender champions, enabling the provincial governments to draft new policies for the workers in the informal economies,” she added.

Qazi Tanveer from Pakistan Workers’ Federation (PWF) said he was very satisfied and happy to report that the federation under the cooperation of the ILO/GE4DE Project had been able to not only strengthen women’s participation in trade unions, but had got them elected in the leadership roles also.

Daniel Joly, Head of Aid, High Commission of Canada in Pakistan, said it cannot be denied that increasing women’s participation was a matter of democracy and social justice.

"But in addition, it is equally important to consider that ‘Equality is not a threat. It is an opportunity’, as Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rightfully affirmed.” He said Canada has been working for development, hand in hand with Pakistan, since 1950s and would continue to do so.