Women’s participation in financial sector vital

Pakistan may increase economic activities significantly by supporting women to play their due role in different stages of management and labour in businesses, as gender diversity has worked well in developing and developed economies around the world.

Women’s participation in Pakistan’s economy stands at 21% compared to 79% for men at present. However, women lead from the front in the rural economy in the country, said speakers at the “Employer of Choice” Gender Diversity Awards 2022 hosted by IFC World Bank Group and Pakistan Business Council on Tuesday.

“The country (Pakistan) could increase its GDP (gross domestic product) by an estimated 30% if women contributed equally economically, according to an IMF study,” IFC World Bank Group said in a statement.

Speaking on the occasion, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Sima Kamil said the centre has launched the “Banking on Equality” policy in the recent past to increase women’s participation and support economic activities in the country.

The central bank is working on two fronts to improve gender diversity in the financial sector including providing banking services to unbanked women under its financial inclusion programme. Besides, it is working to increase women’s staff in banks nationwide.

There are around 70 million active bank accounts of men in the country at present compared to 14 million for women. The central bank is working to increase the number of active women’s bank accounts.

Secondly, the ratio of women staff stands at 13% in the financial sector at present. “We have targeted to increase women workforce to 20% by the end of next year,” she said.

“The central bank has given targets to (commercial) banks to increase women participation through job creation and financial inclusion,” she said.

Unilever Pakistan’s former chairman Musharraf Hai strongly argued that women should be supported to be in leading positions at organisations. They must be given hiring and firing authority and be brought into top decision-making positions so that economic activities would grow at their potential faster pace.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2022.

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