Women can work economic wonders: Shamshad

LAHORE: Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) on Saturday urged the women to play their due role for economic turnaround.

“Annual global output could be boosted by $28.4 trillion by 2025 through increasing women’s participation in the economy,” Dr Akhtar, who has also been governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during 2006-09, said while speaking at a seminar. 

The event themed “Be Bold to Bring a Change” was organised by the newly constituted Chartered Accountant Women’s Association (CAWA) in collaboration with IDEAS with a focus on gender equality, challenges faced by women at workplace, health, and education. 

Dr Akktar continued that by closing gender gaps in the hours worked, participation, and productivity, could result in GDP gains of up to 48 per cent in South Asia by 2025.

 “It is important to highlight that failure in achieving gender equality affects sustainable development goals,” she asserted. 

The UN official added that poverty, lack of education, higher female mortality rate and vulnerability of ecosystem remain the major driving forces behind the challenges faced by women globally.

“If women are provided equality in health and education, greater agenda of stability can be achieved,” she stressed.

The former State Bank of Pakistan governor was of the view that tackling gender-based inequalities in
economic opportunities as well as in access to land, financial instruments and
information and communication technologies’ (ICT)
tools would both improve economic growth and
 support the broader 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, especially in the developing countries of the region. 

“Currently only four percent of top positions within the corporate segment of Pakistan are held by women and it was agreed that in the coming years, more opportunities should be given to women to bring in workforce diversity,” Dr Akhtar observed.