LAHORE: South Asia gender indicators are lagging behind the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) indicators. One reason may be that in Asean countries, labour force participation is higher, partly because of higher educational attainments, said Dr Shamshad Akhtar, former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.

Dr Akhtar was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day International Policy Conference on Wednesday where discussions revolved around gender issues.

The conference was organised at a local hotel by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) where local and foreign policy academics and researchers discussed the social economy of gender.

Dr Akhtar added that for Pakistan, education and increasing opportunities for women to participate in the labour force had become absolutely crucial for sustainable development.

PCSW Chairperson Fauzia Viqar said that with the support of UNFPA and Punjab Bureau of Statistics, the commission had conducted a comprehensive survey to understand the obstacles to gender equality. The findings were expected to provide a solid base for policy-making to address women’s issues, she added.

Neil Buhne, the UN Resident Humanitarian coordinator, said that Pakistan was confronted with multiple challenges on the socio-economic and political fronts that required a concerted effort.

Punjab Minister for Women Development Ashifa Riaz Fatyana, and Kemi Williams, Deputy Head of DFID Pakistan were also present on the occasion.

The conference is based on the Punjab Women Commission’s project of generating data for women’s social and economic wellbeing and is in accordance with the objectives and functions in the PCSW Act 2014.

At the conference, statistics were shared about women’s health, justice, representation in government, demographics, economic participation and opportunities.

In the session titled ‘Gendered Dynamics of Female Labour Force Participation’, Dr Katherine Vyborny from Duke University spoke on the PCSW’s ‘Job Asaan’ programme, while Azra Sayeed from the Roots for Equity dilated on issues and constraints faced by women workers in the informal economy. Other panelists included Sarah Aslam, the labour and human resource secretary; Jawwad Khan, chief of the Punjab Skills Development Fund; Uzma Qureshi from the World Bank; and Usman Khan from the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Meanwhile, in the ‘Generating Data for Women’s Empowerment’, the panelists highlighted the role of statistical surveys for evidence-based policy making. They discussed challenges faced and strategies applied in generating data on women.

The Pakistan Gender and Social Inclusion Platform in collaboration with the Poverty Global Practice is preparing a Women in the Workforce Study that will address barriers at different points of the job cycle, especially those that affect women seeking to get into the labour market and in the workforce already.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2018