Zubair Qureshi
The nexus of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and women’s economic empowerment offers tremendous potential for the state to achieve women empowerment in Pakistan.
This was highlighted at a convention on CSR4Women – The Untapped Potential in Islamabad on September 21, 2021.
The event supported by the Government of Norway and chaired by Sima Kamil, the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan brought together business leaders, CEOs of private companies, heads of Chambers of Commerce, development partners and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) experts to deliberate on the potential role of the CSR towards fostering inclusive economic opportunities for women.
Through our collaborative efforts, we will achieve the vision of making Pakistan the 10th largest economy by 2047”, said Sharmeela Rassool, Country Representative of UN Women in her opening address.
The convention provided an opportunity to recognize the role of women Home-Based Workers (HBWs), while identifying possibilities for their economic advancement in the CSR space.
Evidence shows that HBWs contribute 1.5% of Pakistan’s GDP, the available data does not include those who are selfemployed or contributing family workers.
According to the Labour Force Survey for 2017-2018, out of 5.26 million HBWs in Pakistan, 81% are women.
HBWs are playing an increasingly important role in the economic growth of the country. However, their contribution is undervalued with limited recognition and legal protection.
Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor, SBP, sharing a perspective in the keynote address said, ‘the financial sector also needs to realize its role as a key player in advancing regulatory policy and strategies towards promoting women’s access to finance and digital financial inclusion.’
She highlighted the need for introducing digital channels for lending by the financial institutions and capacity building of women for effectively accessing these tools.
UN Women Pakistan has worked with the private sector companies in Pakistan since 2015 through the application of Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
The WEPs are a set of gender responsive principles offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the workplaces and marketplaces.
UN Women has mobilized a fast-growing community of WEP signatories in Pakistan, who are doing valuable and impactful work in this regard.
