‘Women’s empowerment vital to socio-economic growth’

Islamabad:At the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we view women’s empowerment and capacity development as central to Pakistan’s socio-economic growth. Our programming strives to engage more women as leaders and promote gender equality to help reach all Pakistanis.

The Director of Education Office-USAID, Anne Flaker, expressed these views Monday while addressing the opening session of a training workshop on ‘Women’s Leadership in Higher Education,’ organised by the USAID-funded Higher Education System Strengthening Activity.

The three-day workshop is designed for women leadership in higher education wherein 30 women faculty including heads of departments, administrators, finance experts, as well as management and academic affairs officers from HESSA partner higher education institutions (HEIs) participated.

Anne Flaker welcomed the women faculty participants and highlighted the need for them to identify their leadership strengths and areas of growth. Speaking as chief guest, the Executive Director of Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr. Shaista Sohail, commended the Higher Education System Strengthening Activity project for implementing a timely initiative geared toward grooming a cadre of women leaders in higher education. “I look forward to taking this discourse further in creating a conducive and wholesome work environment for women leadership in Pakistan,” she remarked.

The former advisor to the PM on Social Sector and current President of SZABIST, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, during her keynote speech, shed light on the significance of women leadership in creating a more informed society. She also highlighted the importance of problem-solving skills.

The Higher Education System Strengthening Activity is a five-year $19 million project being implemented by the University of Utah and its consortium partners—the University of Alabama, and the Institute of International Education, in collaboration with select 15 public sector Pakistani universities, which include five women universities. The project focuses on strengthening the capacity of HEIs to deliver market-driven education and research to enhance employability of graduates.