Improving parity.

Byline: Sadaffe Abid

THE World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index 2020 is out, and the results for Pakistan are dismal. Pakistan has consistently been placed amongst the bottom 10 countries and this year it is ranked 151 out of 153 countries. WEF's Global Gender Gap Index measures differences between men and women in four key areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment, thereby providing a yardstick for measuring gender gaps.

Why do we find ourselves here, and more importantly, what can we do to improve parity? How can Pakistan accelerate the pace of change, innovate and create momentum towards parity?

Pakistan faces a critical issue with only 26 per cent female participation in the workforce, one of the lowest in the region. Lack of women's economic participation has meant a 30pc loss to GDP, with the majority of Pakistan's educated women not joining the workforce. Furthermore, according to labour statistics, women are concentrated in low-paid, non-technical fields, mostly in the informal sector with low chances of growth and job security.

How can Pakistan accelerate the pace of change for its women?

The challenges that women face range from the lack of safe and affordable transport that makes many women dependent on their male family members, and family mindsets where women's careers are not seen as a priority, to non-inclusive policies in the workforce, poor facilities and a serious absence of role models in the senior leadership. Public spaces tend to be male-dominated and even today, business conferences abound with 'manels', a panel with only men.

Developing and deploying only half its talent has a huge bearing on Pakistan's growth, competitiveness and future readiness. I have worked on women's empowerment and advancement involving efforts to promote financial inclusion, increase women's access to technological skills and enhance women's leadership capabilities. Here are five ideas to move the needle and disrupt past trends.

First, the commitment of the leadership is pivotal to addressing the gender gap. It is a moral imperative to ensure that women have the same opportunities as men. It also makes business sense to increase the number of women in the workforce. Diversity boosts the bottom line and leads to stronger long-term performance. Research shows that diverse teams consistently outperform homogeneous ones as they integrate diverse perspectives...