Spotlight on women’s economic empowerment: Access to decent jobs

Our multi-million pound Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme in Pakistan is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (now called the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) as of 2 September 2020). We take a closer look at our multi-pronged approach to this work, through a five-part blog series covering:

• Quality training
• Developing entrepreneurship
• Linking businesses to market
• Financial inclusion for all
• Access to decent jobs

Access to decent jobs

Though the increased presence of women at work is hugely beneficial to the economic health of a country, the representation of women in labour markets remains unequal to that of men. In fact, the global male employment-to-population ratio stands at just over 72 per cent, while the ratio for females tails behind at just 41 per cent.[1]

The figures are even more alarming in Pakistan which ranks 143 out of 145 countries in economic participation and opportunities for women.[2]

The types of jobs women are doing are also very different to that of men. As well as being overrepresented in low-paid and undervalued jobs, women are also more likely to end up in informal[3], or non-legislated employment, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

Therefore, there is a clear need to give women a leg up to access decent employment, not just for their own economic security, but as a powerful tool to strengthen local, national and international markets.

The British Asian Trust’s Women’s Economic Empowerment programme in Pakistan will tackle this by training women and supporting them into jobs, or better jobs. We will do this by identifying relevant employers and employment opportunities and support trained women into full time work, by assisting them with applications, placements and interview preparations. We will also facilitate access to internships, apprenticeships and self-employment opportunities.

But the work doesn’t end there. The programme is designed to consider the ongoing needs of women once they have entered the workplace, ensuring they are supported to stay in jobs and encouraging employers to also play a role in helping women get and stay at work.

To ensure sustainability of the programme and make strides in improving women’s participation in decent jobs in Pakistan overall, it is vital that we continue to learn and share examples of what works. Our work will use focus groups and more in-depth interviews to capture vital evidence as well report back on the impact made.

Neha Kotwal, Communications Officer, British Asian Trust

[1] Global employment trends 2014, World Labour Organisation, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_233953.pdf

[2] The Global Gender Gap Report (2015), http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR2015/cover.pdf

[3] UN Women, Progress of the World Women 2015-2016, http://progress.unwomen.org/en/2015/chapter2/