Space in society

While the participation of women in Pakistan’s labour force has increased by more than 50 percent over the past 15 years, even today only one out of every five women participates in the labour force. This was one of the findings of a case study carried out under the UNDP’s Global Gender Inequality in Public Administration Initiative which recommends engagement with parliament to involve women in decision-making roles. The study notes that tall barriers remain in place, holding back the representation of women in civil service and leaving them out of important policy choices which could alter the situation for other women. The study noted that Pakistan needed a multi-faceted approach to address socio-economic discrimination against women and other realities which made it difficult for them to move into public administration. It was also observed that with the dissolution of the Ministry of Women Development, there is no longer a standing committee on women’s development in parliament. The need for alternatives was stressed.

One of the findings that has emerged is that women being well-represented in public administration roles helps all women in that society. Essentially, slots in civil administration enable women to expand their range of influence and empower others. What is required is for women to be given more public space and more say in political and administrative decisions. Promoting change within the civil service to assist the entry of young women has also been recommended. The prestigious civil services remain a largely male-occupied domain. There has, however, been some change in this with more women showing a willingness to enter the civil service and sitting the highly competitive exam for this. Mechanisms to enable them to play an effective role in initiating change in society need to be developed. An encouraging finding is that Pakistan has reached parity between women and men at tertiary level education, which is relevant given that a bachelors degree is the lowest requirement to enter the civil service. More in-depth studies of precisely what holds back women are required to open up doors which are as yet closed to them. The problem also involves women being held back from the most important positions because of existing structures. It is important to understand such research so that women can be empowered and enabled to play a wider role in determining policy and related matters in the country.