LAHORE: A panel discussion on ‘Gender equality in the corporate sector – Challenges and opportunities for women’ was arranged jointly by UN Women Pakistan and a multinational food and beverage company.

According to a press release on Tuesday, Justice Nasira Javaid Iqbal (retired) highlighted legal issues pertaining to the advancement of women in the corporate sector, UN System in Pakistan former adviser Salman Asif discussed the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) in detail, while Responsible Business Initiative Adviser Ambreen Waheed spoke about women-focused CSR initiatives of the corporate sector.

Sangeeta Thapa, deputy representative/OIC of UN Women Pakistan, opened the discussion and said the UN women’s department foresaw adoption of the WEP as key to providing guidance to companies on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and the community.

Sue Johnson, global head of gender and diversity at Nestlé, said the company had been making steady progress in enhancing the participation of women in its workforce.

It had also offered benefits aimed at ensuring they could strike a balance between their professional and personal lives, without compromising productivity in the workplace.

The objective of the panel discussion was to raise awareness on the participation of women in the corporate sector, the challenges and opportunities they were facing and identify successful policies and practices for enhancing women’s participation.