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IRW
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Finding solutions for a better Pakistan
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“Currently, the government of Pakistan is spending about 2 percent of the GNP on education.
This is insufficient, given the educational needs of the country. The government must commit to
allocate a higher percentage to the education sector, and to proportionally allocate this to

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sectors of education, especially women’s education.”
various sub-sectors

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Labor Policy in Pakistan

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searchwinginsafresearchwingins April 13, 2012

Author: Amna Khan

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Dossier # 001

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Policy

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

Insaf Research Wing (IRW) is a part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (movement for justice a political party,
PTI). IRW was created in 2009 to carry out research in order to find solutions for problems in Pakistan.
The foremost goal of IRW is to keep people of Pakistan and PTI informed and prepared.

The wing is composed of 10 committees. Each committee addresses issues related to its field of expertise.
The committees defined as of yet are (i) Socio-Political (ii) Information & Technology (iii) Economic (iv)
Energy (v) Healthcare (vi) Corruption (vii) Foreign Affairs (viii) Education (ix) Environment (x) Strategic
Thinking.

The research reports/papers are either commissioned by the central executive committee of PTI or
committee members of IRW. PTI members can also suggest IRW to consider researching on a matter they
find important. IRW welcomes any contributions in the form of scholarly work addressing important
issues. Nevertheless, after the author(s) sends the document it is peer reviewed before getting published.
In the process of peer review the document is technically analyzed and scrutinized. The procedure is
necessary to maintain quality control. However, varying opinions & ideas are not penalized.

Apart from working on research reports/papers which shed light on problems and provide basic
solutions, IRW undertakes the task of preparing extensive policies for PTI. These detailed and in-depth
policy documents are a combination of input from several professionals who are well versed in the
subject. IRW also serves as a check on the reigning government’s policies.

The Wing does not follow a preset ideology while carrying out research. IRW does not endorse any
opinion presented in a published report/paper as an official position. Likewise, several research
reports/paper on a similar subject published by IRW can have contradictory recommendations
though it should be noted that these point of views are sole responsibility of the author(s). Very
rarely when there is a complete consensus on a certain research report/paper within IRW only
then it is recommended to PTI for official perusal. Any published document by the wing does not
constitute it as an official position of PTI unless otherwise stated.

Insaf Research Wing works at a national level but its members are located throughout the world bringing
in the much needed international experience. IRW practices an open membership policy valid for all
Pakistanis regardless of religion or race. Nevertheless, members of other nationalities from international
organizations interested in helping Pakistan are always welcome to join IRW.

Published reports of IRW can be accessed at PTI’s website www.insaf.pk. The headquarter of IRW is
located at PTI’s Central Secretariat, Street No. 84, Sector G-6/4, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Copyright © 2009 by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf All rights reserved.

The contents of this report/paper cannot be reproduced without prior permission of IRW.

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF LABOR MARKET POLICY .................................................................................................. 5
PAKISTAN- AN OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................................................ 5
PROBLEM OF ACCESS AND EQUITY ......................................................................................................................................... 6
LABOR POLICY IN PAKISTAN................................................................................................................................................... 6
FEMALE LABOR PARTICIPATION .............................................................................................................................................. 7
DEFINITION OF FEMALE LABOR PARTICIPATION ................................................................................................................... 7
RANKINGS ON INTERNATIONAL INDEXES ............................................................................................................................ 7
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WOMEN’S WORK ............................................................................................................................ 7
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF WORK WOMEN DO ................................................................................ 8
FORMAL SECTOR ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8
WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND TRADE UNIONS ................................................................................... 9
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENDER ON WAGES, INDUSTRY PARTICIPATING ..................................................................... 9
ECONOMIC POLICY REFORMS ........................................................................................................................................... 9
WAGE GAPS BETWEEN GENDER ......................................................................................................................................10
VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF WOMEN .............................................................................................................................12
RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................................................................12
CHANGING SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IS CUMBERSOME, BUT STILL POSSIBLE...................................................................12
ADDRESS THE EDUCATION NEEDS OF WOMEN .............................................................................................................13
THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN SHOULD SPEND MORE ON EDUCATION .........................................................13
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE INTERNATIONAL NGOS SHOULD COLLABORATE TO BUILD MORE SCHOOLS AND
TRAIN MORE TEACHERS ...............................................................................................................................................13
MAKE PRIMARY EDUCATION FREE AND COMPULSORY FOR BOTH MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS ..................... 13
THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD IMPROVE ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH TO PROMOTE FEMALE EDUCATION.......13
ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT MONITORING AND EVALUATION MECHANISM TO OVERSEE EDUCATION DELIVERY
........................................................................................................................................................................................13
DEVELOP ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ......................................................................................14
PROMOTION OF SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES.........................................................................................................14
THE INTERNATIONAL DONOR AGENCIES CAN CREATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR
POTENTIAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS........................................................................................................................14
ESTABLISHING/STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S BUSINESS FORUM ................................................................................14
THE PUBLIC BANKS IN PAKISTAN AND THE FINANCIAL NGOS SHOULD DEVELOP AND ENHANCE MICROFINANCE
INSTITUTIONS................................................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................................................................14
BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................................................................16
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ............................................................................................................................................................16

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

Executive Summary

This paper examines gender discrimination at the labor market in Pakistan and how they were addressed by

the labor policy of 2010. The paper identifies labor issues related to women in Pakistan, and explain their

significance with context to the working of the economy. It also provides recommendation guidelines to the

government of Pakistan to help resolve these issues.

The main issues facing women are:

 Low enrollment in schools. The literacy rate which is 54 percent for both males and females - drops

to 35 percent for females.

 Low labor market participation. In 2009, Pakistan had 22 percent of women in the labor force

according to International Labor Organization. They also face multitude of problems at workforce in

the form of sexual harassment, low career progress and low wages.

This problem requires immediate attention and commitment of the government of Pakistan, International

Agencies such as the UN and ILO. The following recommendations will be instrumental in mitigating this

problem

 Increase women education by increasing spending on education by the federal government, building

more schools, making education compulsory for all children irrespective of gender, improving

advocacy and outreach to promote female education and establishing a monitoring and evaluation

agency to oversee education delivery

 Increase entrepreneurial opportunities for women by promoting small medium enterprise by women,

introduce entrepreneurial vocational training for women. Establishing business forums for women

entrepreneurs and lastly by expanding opportunities of microfinance.

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Committee on Socio-Political
Labor Policy in
Pakistan
To have an adequate appreciation
of the far-reaching effects of
disparities between women and
men, we have to recognize the basic
fact that gender inequality is not
one affliction, but many, with
varying reach on the lives of women
and men, and of girls and boys.
Amartya Sen
Introduction
Labor markets are institutions where work is
exchanged for wages. In the current economic
literature stream, studying economic labor markets
is gradually becoming more important. The
literature, however, focuses more on developed
countries. This paper will examine labor markets in
the developing countries. I will use the case study
of Pakistan and look at various labor issues in
Pakistan and how effectively they were addressed
by the labor policy of 2010. The primary aim of this
paper is to identify labor issues related to women
in Pakistan, and to explain their significance. The
secondary aim is to provide recommendation
guidelines to the government of Pakistan to help
resolve these issues. In this paper I will stress more
on the gender issues in the market as I see them as
a market failure, which is pushing the country away
from the natural equilibrium. A very basic
assumption of an operating labor market is that it
will function efficiently without any market failures.
I feel that this assumption does not hold true for
the case of Pakistan. The recommendations
provided below will not be exhaustive but can act
as guidelines for the government to combat the
labor issues related to gender.
Importance of the study of Labor Market
Policy
The Human Capital Theory has been proposed by
Schultz(1961) and developed extensively by
Becker(1964). HCT challenges the notion that
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Labor Policy in Pakistan
labor is homogenous and instead focuses on labor
differentials based on skill sets that labor possesses.
The theory states that increase in education or
training increases workers productivity and
increases their income. Any spending on education
and training should, hence, be considered as an
investment decision. Any investment on education
will increase both personal and national income as
the skill sets of its citizens will increase. But why
should we study labor markets and labor market
policies? Human Capital theory rests on a key
assumption of well functioning labor markets. A
person’s economic wellbeing is determined by how
much s/he and other family members earn for their
labor and by what goods, services, and cash they
receive from the government, the community, and
others. Even with multilateral and bilateral
assistance, governments in developing countries
lack the funds necessary to make a significant
difference in poverty rates through government
spending. This means that creating more and better
earning opportunities for the poor is the only
option available to pull these people out of poverty.
It is hence even more important to create well
functioning labor markets in the developing
countries. This section elaborates on the
importance of human capital theory both as a tool
to increase Gross Domestic Product as well as to
reduce poverty among the citizens. Due to the
importance that Human Capital Theory(HCT) has,
it should be at the core of economic development
planning.
I will now move on to give a brief demographic
outline of Pakistan and the labor issues that the
country faces.
Pakistan- an overview
Pakistan gained independence from the “British Raj”
(British Empire) on 14 August, 1947. After 60 years
of independence, Pakistan is still ranked as a low-
middle income country. The Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of the country is 161 billion dollars
(WB, dataset, 2009), and the Gross National
Income per capita in 2009 was 1,020 dollars.
(UNICEF, 2010). With a population of over 160
million (WB, 2009), 43 million people lives below
the poverty line of dollar a day (FCO, 2011).
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the
world, with 38 percent of its total population under
15 years old (Leahy, 2007). The United Nations
estimates that Pakistan’s population will increase by
another 54 million people in the next 15 years.
(UN, 2005).
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Committee on Socio-Political
With a steadily increasing youth population,
Pakistan faces serious challenges in ensuring
universal primary education. Literacy rate, which is
based on the ability to write your name, is barely
50 percent (FCO, 2011). This is abysmal when
compared to the literacy rate of the United States,
which is at 99 percent. It is low even when
compared to other countries in South Asia, where
the average literacy rate among countries is 61
percent.
Within Pakistan, there are significant differences in
education across the urban-rural, male-female and
rich-poor divides. For instance, literacy rate which
is 54 percent on the whole, drops to 35 percent for
females. Pakistan is one of five world nations with
the lowest literacy rates and among the twelve
world nations that spend less than three percent of
their Gross Domestic Product on education (Shah
2003; Kronstadt 2004; Farah 2007). There is a high
dropout rate even for primary school students. The
United States Agency for International
Development states that of the two-thirds of
Pakistani children (ages five to nine) who have ever
enrolled in school, only one-third manage to
complete primary education (fifth grade; Kronstadt
2004). 70 percent of these students are male and
53 percent are female. The Primary Gender Parity
Index GPI ratio1 rests at 0.78 (World Bank 2008).
While the literacy rate has steadily increased over
the years for both subgroups of males and females,
the gap between them still remains large. This is of
immense significance for labor policy since lower
education in women will lead to lower labor
participation rates for females. Most women will
thus continue to participate in informal markets,
earning little income and unable to break the
continuous cycle of poverty.
The quality of education provided in most areas is
also low, and great disparity exists within the
provinces and the urban-rural divide. Furthermore,
the primary school completion rate in rural areas
for females is three times lower than that for males.
In urban areas this rate is twice as low (Herz and
Sperling 2004). Surveys assessing the quality of
education which were conducted between 2003
and 2007 under the Learning and Educational
Achievement in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) show that
students were performing well below their grade
levels. By the end of the third grade, barely 50
percent of students had mastered the mathematics
1 government that came to power in 2009. Most of
The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is
a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure
the relative access to education of males and
females. In its simplest form, it is calculated as the
quotient of the number of females by the number of
males enrolled in a given stage of education.
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Labor Policy in Pakistan
curriculum for the first grade (Andrabi 2008). This
is an example of how the current education system
is not only inaccessible to all children but also
greatly lacks in quality.
Problem of access and equity
As explained previously, there are numerous
disparities in the education system of Pakistan. The
lack of access to education across different income
and gender groups further exacerbates the
problem. The overall literacy rate among the poor
in Pakistan is 28 percent, while among the middle
and upper-middle classes this rate jumps to 49%.
The net enrollment rate is 37 percent for the poor
as opposed to 59 percent for the middle and upper
classes (World Bank 2002).
Enrolment remains the lowest in the poorest
quintile, and the dropout rate is highest among this
group. This is a troublesome fact, especially since
65 percent of the population of Pakistan lives below
$2 a day (UNESCO 2006). With commitments to
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
Education for All goals (EFA), extensive efforts will
have to be made to provide equitable education
access to this low-income group. A lack of
education would mean that this group will continue
to be employed in the lower wage informal sector,
with little or no chances of career growth. This
makes it hard for them to break the cycle of
poverty and get a fair chance to improve their lives.
The importance of a better-educated population
grows significantly as Pakistan moves from an
agrarian based to a service sector based economy.
In 1999, 27 percent of the labor force was
employed in agriculture, while 49 percent worked
in the services sector. In 2009, the number of
people employed in agriculture went down to 21.6
percent, and those employed in the service sector
increased to 54.2 percent. This structural change
means that traditional, brute force work,
agricultural work is in gradual decline in Pakistan
(Labor force survey, 2010).
Labor Policy in Pakistan
The labor policy of Pakistan, 2010 addressed many
important labor issues. The effectiveness of this
labor policy will be discussed below. The 2010
labor policy was presented by the democratic
the features were the same as past labor policies
but there were some notable differences. I will
discuss the salient features of this policy that
currently affect labor issues, especially women labor
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Committee on Socio-Political
participation, in Pakistan. The minimum wage in
Pakistan has increased from Rs. 6000 (around $70)
to Rs. 7000 (around $80). Although this is an
increase in monetary wages, if we take into
consideration the inflation rate of over 30 percent,
it amounts to a fall in terms of real wages.
The policy also emphasized that it would regularize
the informal workers (the majority of which are
women) within the “shortest time possible”. It is
interesting to notice that no time frame or actions
were promised by the government on how it plans
to regularize such workers.
Another salient feature of this labor policy was that
“Matric-Tech” schemes were introduced in worker
welfare schools. Schools which receive funding
from the labor department are commonly known
as worker welfare schools. In these schools free
education is given to children of the laborers. In
such schools, Matric-Tech schemes promote an
education curriculum in which vocational training is
provided along with the regular high school
curriculum. This is done to provide vocation
training to students, so that they may be better
equipped for the labor market after school. Here, it
is important to recognize that women are generally
excluded from vocational training and once again
no commitment came from the government to
address this dire issue.
It is interesting to highlight that this labor policy is
merely a list of recommendations and suggestions.
There is no budget attached to it, and the
government and other stakeholders are under no
obligation to implement it as emphasized in the
labor policy.
Female Labor Participation
Females have lesser access to education than their
male counterparts. They also form a smaller
amount of the labor force. According to
International Labor Organization, in 2003-2004 the
female labor participation rate in Pakistan was 11.2
percent. This section will explore in detail the
reasons for low female labor participation. I will
also be discussing various issues, both social and
institutional that affect these participation rates.
Definition of female labor participation
As in most developing countries, measuring the
extent of female labor force participation in
Pakistan is sensitive to the definition of work used
and the duration (a week, month, or year)
considered. The measurement of male participation
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Labor Policy in Pakistan
in the labor force tends to be less affected by such
issues. According to the Pakistan Integrated
Household Survey, which measures work
participation over a reference period that is longer
than that used by the Labor Force Survey, 67
percent of males and 25 percent of females were
participating in the labor force in 2001-2002. This
includes both paid and unpaid (family labor) work.
Women who participate are much more likely to
do so in unpaid work, while men are more likely to
participate in paid work. Almost 60 percent of
women involved in the labor force are unpaid
workers. This is a very high rate compared to that
of men; among those who participate in the labor
force, only 19 percent of men are unpaid family
workers.
Rankings on International Indexes
Pakistan is a country that does not do well on
international gender related indexes. It is ranked in
the UNDP gender related index at 135 out of 174
countries. In terms of gender empowerment,
Pakistan is ranked at 100 out of 102 countries. The
ranking in gender empowerment is primarily a
function of low female education and labor
participation rates.
The Significance of Women’s Work
Research on women who perform paid work in
Pakistan reveals that they work out of economic
need. They face a hostile environment of limited
employment options, unequal wages, bad work
conditions, and an extra burden due to unremitting
domestic responsibilities at home. This is true
whether women perform agricultural wage labor in
the rural areas or piece-rate work in the cities.
Even those in the formal sector are not free from
discrimination in the workplace and sexual
harassment.
Pakistan is an Islamic country and many times
religion is attributed as a reason for low female
labor participation. I feel, however, that the low
labor participation among females has more to do
with cultural factors than with religion. A statistical
comparison indicates the same hypothesis.
Bangladesh, which is an Islamic country as well, has
much higher female labor participation. As
compared to the anemic labor force participation of
11.2 percent in Pakistan in 2003-2004(Labor Force
Survey, 2004), Bangladesh had a female participation
rate of 57.6 percent (International Labor
Organization, 2000)
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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

Table-1 circumscribe women’s work options. The following

Pakistan: Labour Force Participation Rate constraints are most common.
• Social norms regarding suitability of particular
2001-02 2003-04 occupations in eyes of family members and
employers
Female 9.9 11.2 • Work in non-farm sectors further away and in
nearby urban centers is not acceptable as it is
Male 48 48.7 perceived to be not compatible with domestic
duties
Total 29.6 30.4
• Gendered work patterns keep women in low-
Source: Labour Force Survey 2003-04 paying, low-status activities.
• Restricted job options and low returns inhibit
parental motivation to invest in their
Table-2 education, particularly where resources are
Bangladesh: Labour Force Participation limited. (Kazi 1999: 387-88, 410)
Rate

1995 1996 2000

Female 67.8 57.2 57.6
Male 88.9 89.8 89.2
Total 78.6 73.7 73.8
Source: www.ilo.org
The reason women are less dominant in even
formal high paying jobs is the cultural constraint
that reinforces the traditional role of women as
home makers. Women usually work full time in
their homes, but this is not recorded in the labor
market statistics. The low female labor participation
acts as a disincentive to invest in women’s
education. Parents who lack resources prefer to
invest in a male child’s education over a female’s
education, since he can participate in the labor
market while she might not be able to. Women
who do work before marriage are sometimes
barred from the workplace by their husband’s
families. This adds another element of uncertainty
that discourages employees from making any
significant investments on women. The cause and
effect relationship between female education and
labor market participation is strong. Severing this
link will be hard for the government but it is very
important to break this perpetuating cycle that
discriminates against women.
Factors That Determine What Kind of
Work Women Do
There are various factors that influence a woman’s
choice of occupation in Pakistan. Shahnaz
Kazi(1999) researched the gender equities in
Pakistan and explains that multiple constraints
Formal sector
The society in Pakistan is male dominated and
patriarchal. The culture is against working women
who are viewed negatively by a large portion of
society. Women, who work in the formal sector,
face harassment of various forms at the work place.
Harassment at the workplace is not recognized as a
punishable offence in Pakistan. A bill is pending at
the legislature which will make it a punishable
offense, with jail time of up to 3 months. Lack of
awareness about harassment and the fear of
retaliation from co-workers and supervisors force
women to let many cases go unreported.
Data on the number of women affected by
harassment is hard to come by since there is no law
under which cases can be registered. This means
that estimates are anecdotal at best. "I see about 50
to 70 women per year," says Ambreen Ajaib, who
has been working for three years as a psychologist
for victims of harassment at Bedari, a women's
rights NGO.
However, even she admits that such numbers may
not reveal the actual situation since many women
are not willing to admit being targeted. "It's difficult
to get exact figures because few women have
access to us and because many women believe that
the fault lies with them -- that a woman normally
lures the man and that if she is dressed a certain
way she will be harassed and so on. Any woman
who reports harassment always mentions what she
was wearing." A woman’s sense of self is
determined by societal rules, which are perceived
to endanger her family’s reputation. This reflects
how the culture and the society are reinforcing
gender discrimination, reducing opportunities for
women to participate in the labor market, and
placing them in precarious and vulnerable positions.

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

In the formal sector based in the urban areas, there improve their work conditions, 30 percent voted
is an overwhelming concentration of women in for home-based workers’ unions (40 percent voted
certain sectors. Women tend to be concentrated in for a loan facility) and 65percent said they would be
the “respectable lines of teaching and medicine”. willing to make contributions for their benefit to a
These norms emphasize on “the low social status social security organization.
of sales and secretarial jobs that involve contact
with men at a personal level.” (Kazi 1999: 391).
This means that women who do not have the Difference between gender on wages,
professional training to be a doctor or a teacher
industry participating
end up in the informal sectors in home based
earning activities (409). The table below is taken from the Pakistan Labor
Force survey of various years. It shows that
women’s share in industry has grown by 3.8
percent between 2000 and 2008. Their share in
Women’s Employment Organizations and
agriculture, however, has grown by a mere 0.1
Trade Unions percent whereas their share in the service sector
There are over seven thousand registered trade has fallen by 3.9 percent. Women’s share in the
unions in Pakistan. The total male membership of labor force is the highest in the agriculture sector.
reporting unions was around 245,400, while female
membership was no more than 2,134 in 2002.
Table-3 Federal Bureau of Statistics, Labor force
Among registered trade unions, membership above Survey, Multiple years
ten thousand is only limited to the
industries of textile/hosiery,
post/telecommunications, and
chemicals/dyes (Federal Bureau of
Statistics 2005a: 255-6).

There are currently trade unions in

major government organizations, such
as the airlines, railways, post office,
education institutions, hospitals, water
and the power development
authority. They all employ women, yet
women do not have significant
membership or decision-making
powers in these unions. At a recent
meeting with government, civil society
and labor stake-holders, one of the major
recommendations by the female labor activists was
to increase the number of women workers in the
industry. This would ultimately lead to an increased
number of women in trade unions, and to that end Economic Policy Reforms
a specific quota was proposed for women in each In Siddiqui’s (2006: 3-4) study on women workers,
industry as well as in trade unions. Another and the effects of stabilization and structural
recommendation that was made called for trade adjustment programs in Pakistan, various findings
unions to include a specific clause in their come to light:
constitutions to allow women key leadership
positions, and to provide an independent section • The country has experienced a slower
for women to discuss their issues. (Ministry of growth rate of output, declining
Labour et al 2005: 26-7). employment, and a rise in poverty.
• Expansion of female employment in the
The National Commission of Status of Women manufacturing sector is taking place
survey of home-based workers in Pakistan finds outside the regular factory workforce, and
that although the majority of women say they are is mainly in the form of temporary and
satisfied with their work conditions, the leading contract workers. This reflects the low
causes for dissatisfaction are related to low absorptive capacity of the large scale
earnings and low rates in the market. When asked industrial sector, and also indicates a
what kind of legal cover they would like to have, to deliberate policy by employers to exploit

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

female workers as a cheaper and more
pliable form of labor.
• Female workers are concentrated in a few
occupations and industrial groups, and this
depresses their wages. They have low skills
and less mobility, hence they have not
increased their participation in the modern
highly productive sector of the economy.
Many people argue that this gap is due to males
having more skills and education than females. The
next figure refutes that claim. It shows the average
real wage of the employees by aggregated major
occupational groups.
Figure-2 Federal Bureau of Statistics, Labor force
Survey, Multiple years

In rural areas, more women work than

their urban counterparts, but the work
is in agricultural lands and is often
poorly paid or paid in the form of
agricultural produce. Figure 1 is also
taken from various labor force surveys
across the years and reveals that over
time the gender gap in labor
participation is decreasing in rural and
increasing in urban areas.

The findings suggest that the sectors

which employ females are poorly paid,
temporary, or involve contract based
work with little chance of career
progression.

Figure-1 Federal Bureau of Statistics, Labor force

Survey, Multiple years

Figure 3 (next page) suggests that across all skill

levels, females earn substantially less than males.
The most striking comparison can be found
between highly skilled males and females. A
highly skilled female was being paid as much as a
skilled or unskilled male would earn. This
discrimination occurs across all levels of skills.

Figure 4 (next page) shows the gender gap

across various dimensions. Women have a low
labor participation rate, a low employment to
population ratio, a low share in non agricultural
employment, a low share in wage and salaried
employment, and a higher share in vulnerable
employment. Women across all these
dimensions are at a vulnerable position.

Wage gaps between gender

The discussion so far has identified various
problems women face when they enter the labor
market. This section will discuss the varying wage
gaps among genders. The following Figure 2 shows
that the wage gap between males and females
continues to increase. Women, on average, earn 38
percent less than their male counterparts.

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Figure-3 Federal Bureau of Statistics, Labor force

Survey, Multiple years

Figure-4 International Labor Organization, 2009

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Committee on Socio-Political
According to the World Bank’s World
Development Report 2000/01, closing the gender
gap in schooling would have significantly increased,
and sometimes more than doubled economic
growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), South Asia
(SA), and the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA). Despite international declarations on
gender equality, as, for example, in the Millennium
Development Goals2, only a few countries have
actually achieved gender equality in primary and
secondary education. The differences are even
more pronounced in higher education. In South
Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, for example, girls only
make up a third of the number of students in
tertiary education.
Equally alarming are labor-market indicators, which
clearly highlight that countries do not adequately
use their available human resources, in particular
those of the female population. In many developing
countries, women’s economic activities are
marginalized to the informal sector, small-scale
farming and/or domestic work. Cases in point are
South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa: in
both regions, only around 20 percent of all wage
employment outside agriculture is held by women.3
Vocational training of women
Vocational training available to women is limited in
Pakistan4. The government does not have a large
enough budget to cover vocational training for all
women. Various national and international NGOs
are experimenting with various models to provide
this training to women. Most of the NGOs teach
skills such as embroidery, stitching, embellishment,
etc. This model builds a centre near a rural village
and equips it with basic tools such as sewing
machines. Women trainers then teach the local
women the skills required to start production.
Those trained can then choose to work from home
or from the centre. Such centers also build
relationships with boutiques, exporters of
handicrafts and others outlets. In this way, they can
provide the local women with continuous demand
of their product. The advantage of this model is
that it requires low capital and is easy to replicate.
It is also sustainable as women soon start learning
from each other. The downside of this model,
2
MDGs or millennium Development goals are by the
United Nations that member countries have
committed to achieve
3
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/970
4
Interview with Kamilah Shahid, Khidmat
Foundation
Insaf Research Wing
Labor Policy in Pakistan
however, is that women remain tied to these low
paying jobs, relentlessly working on completing
product orders, often with no career mobility.
The sections above have explained vital labor issues
related to gender. Before I move on to the
recommendation, I would like to mention a few
encouraging facts about the status of women in
Pakistan.
There is a steadily increasing representation of
women at the legislature. The quota for women
seats currently stands at 33%. This will serve as a
platform to introduce reforms that will positively
affect women. There has also been a rise in women
NGOs that are actively fighting for laws against
harassment, discrimination and employment. This
indicates that advocacy of such issues has increased
substantially in Pakistan over the past few years.
Recommendations
My recommendations in this section propose
institutional changes, increase in education and an
increase in women entrepreneurship, if
implemented correctly, could transform labor
policy in Pakistan.
Changing social institutions is
cumbersome, but still possible
A lot of countries are committed to change the
institutional frameworks that limit women’s
employment and skills. These efforts are having the
positive results. For example in Tunisia, 30-50
percent of judges, physicians and schoolteachers
are now women. Similarly in India, women have
risen to the highest levels of politics and business in
recent years. However, these are relatively rare
cases, and such changes still face dire resistance.
For example in India, still women are being
murdered over disputes about dowries.
In order to strengthen reforms, many development
experts have called for more funding - for instance,
to build more schools. This has to be accompanied
by a strong advocacy campaign to promote
education and by addressing the fundamental causes
of discrimination and low incentives for education.
Extra spending, while badly needed, will generate
real returns only if the fundamental causes of
discrimination are also addressed.
That may mean institutional and legal reforms as
well as better enforcement of existing laws. The
harassment at work law should be introduced with
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Committee on Socio-Political
dire penalties. This will provide women with the
sense of security at workplace and reduce the
social disapproval of working women.
Many countries are willing to change, and most
have signed the 1979 UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women and, more recently in 2000, the UN
millennium goal of empowering women and
combating discrimination. Helping countries
improve gender equality is therefore not only
important to the government for increased growth
but it is an international commitment as well. While
assistance of international organizations is
encouraged, lasting change has to be come from
within communities themselves.
Address the Education needs of women
The Government of Pakistan 5 should
spend more on education
Currently, the government of Pakistan is spending
about 2 percent of the GNP on education. This is
insufficient, given the educational needs of the
country. The government must commit to allocate
a higher percentage to the education sector, and to
proportionally allocate this to various sub-sectors
of education, especially women’s education. The
new National Education Policy of 2009 has made
strong commitments and policy recommendations
for such steps. Immediate implementation of these
will help Pakistan get closer to achieving the
Education For All goals and Millennium
Development Goals. A recent analysis of budget
and public sector expenditure on education has
revealed that spending on education has actually
declined during 2007-2009, which is a matter of
great concern.
The government and the international
NGOs should collaborate to build more
schools and train more teachers
The government of Pakistan needs to take
pragmatic steps to ensure a sufficient number of
schools for both males and females, and a sufficient
number of trained teachers (again, both male and
female), especially in rural areas. Ensuring an
adequate number of teachers requires increasing
5
In Pakistan only the federal government has the
authority to tax its citizen hence an active role of
federal government is emphasized in all these
recommendations. In Pakistan there is no local or
school taxes and the revenue is distributed by the
federal government.
Insaf Research Wing
Labor Policy in Pakistan
salaries, formalizing standard contracts for teachers,
and guaranteeing the provision of transport and day
care centers for female teachers. Incentives can be
offered to teachers locating to a rural school in
form of a better salary and a safe and improved
environment.
Make primary education free and
compulsory for both male and female
students
If education were free and compulsory, more
parents would send their girls to school. The
government should ensure that not only are school
fees covered, but that girls from low income
families receive free text books, uniforms,
transportation and daily lunch. This strategy has
been successful in other countries in the region.
For example, the people of Sri Lanka have been
enjoying free education for the last 50 years. As a
result, Sri Lanka has seen remarkable advancements
in human development, in spite of internal conflicts
and political upheavals. Also, the government
should introduce flexible school timings and region-
specific school calendars in order to cater to
children who work to supplement their family
income. This should specifically apply to girls who
are engaged in household or farm work during
typical school hours.
The government should improve
advocacy and outreach to promote
female education
To win supporters, the government should conduct
a campaign on television and radio to highlight the
importance of education for both girls and boys,
and should encourage parents to send their
children, especially girls, to school. Such advocacy
can help address and change the cultural norms and
the traditional mindset that many people have.
Under the devolution plan of 2002, citizen
community boards are formed to monitor
community progress. Such boards are elected and
can also be assigned the task to improve advocacy
and outreach campaign to increase women
participation in education.
Establish an independent monitoring
and evaluation mechanism to oversee
education delivery
A monitoring and evaluation mechanism should be
established for the elimination of corrupt elements
and practices from the education system.The
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Committee on Socio-Political
District Community Office (DCO) should be
assigned responsibility to monitor quality and
infrastructure of schools. A separate monitoring
cell should be placed under the Ministry of
Education to periodically monitor public schools.
This will help make non-functional schools to
function efficiently, particularly in remote, rural
areas of the country.
The recommendations above address both the
demand and supply side. The supply side strategy is
to focus on the availability of schools and female
teachers, whereas the demand side considers
various initiatives to increase demand.
Develop Entrepreneurial Opportunities
for Women
Promotion of Small Medium
Enterprises
There are a small number of federal and provincial
institutions working specifically for the
development of SMEs. These institutions usually do
not reach out to women entrepreneurs; their
operations are normally targeted at businessmen,
especially since business is generally considered a
male domain in Pakistan. SMEDA or small medium
enterprise development agency, a federal institution
dedicated to providing enterprise development
services, should undertake research that identifies
gaps and distortions in existing services that could
be rectified in future operations. SMEDA should
also be given grant money by the federal
government to assist women in setting up small and
medium sized businesses.
The International Donor agencies can
create Entrepreneurship development
programs for potential women
entrepreneurs
A multilateral arrangement should be formed which
includes the International Labor Organization as a
consultant, a donor agency such as the Asian
Development Bank for funding, and Pakistani
government institutions as executing agencies to
introduce entrepreneurial vocational training to
women..The probability of doing business increases
significantly for Pakistani women if they have
acquired formal education. At present, however,
there are very few women entrepreneurs in the
labor market who possess such education. A pilot
project can be launched for a selected group of 25
businesswomen in each of the four provinces of
Pakistan. This program would prepare a new group
Insaf Research Wing
Labor Policy in Pakistan
of successful women entrepreneurs to serve as role
models for the next generations.
Establishing/strengthening women’s
business forum
The small numbers of women’s business forums
that exist in Pakistan have extremely limited
outreach and offer few quality services. They do
not exist as institutions but as personalities: they
have limited membership and confined regional
outreach. This explains why no such business forum
has emerged as a national lobby group for women
entrepreneurs. Currently there is an urgent need
to assist self-sustaining institutions, and to associate
them with the regional Chambers of Commerce
and the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan and
other national forums.
The public banks in Pakistan and the
financial NGOs should develop and
enhance Microfinance institutions
Micro financing is increasingly seen as a way to
empower women in developing countries by the
international organizations. After the success of
Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, many countries have
experimented with the model. One such
organization that is working in Pakistan is called
KASHF. Its goal is to empower women by providing
financial assistance to them. Such organizations can
make a great difference in the lives of women, but
they need to have an effective follow-up strategy on
their clients, and strong accountability to ensure
that the funds are used to assist businesses and
investments, rather than being used on operational
expenses. Currently, KASHF is only working in one
province of Pakistan (Punjab). This model can be
adopted by the public banks and other financial
NGOs to remove the roadblock of limited finance
out of the way for women. The loans can have
other preconditions attached to them as well. For
instance, such loans will only be given to women or
they must enroll their female children in schools in
order to qualify for such loans. The provision of
loans can create an incentive to achieve positive
social results.
Conclusion
This paper presents the background to the gender
issues that are present in the Pakistani society and
how they impact the labor market in the country.
Needless to say, the government of Pakistan needs
to end disparities and discrimination, and form a
national agenda to assist women participation in the
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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

labor market. A strong commitment is required

from the government and the international donors
to change the social structure of gender
discrimination in the labor force. The
recommendations mentioned above are not
exhaustive but they are important guidelines for the
formation of a labor policy that will end
discrimination and encourage labor participation for
women.

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Committee on Socio-Political Labor Policy in Pakistan

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