THE World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Report provides some information on how the burden of caring for children and the elderly, is borne disproportionately by women. This is one of the reasons why global female labour force participation rates dipped during and immediately after the Covid pandemic, and have only recently risen back to pre-pandemic levels. While there are economies where this burden of care is being shared more equally between women and men, there are regions where inequality is much higher. South Asia is one such region.

World Bank research finds that where women take extended maternity leave, there is a stronger chance that they will not re-join the labour force. However, they also find that extending paternity leave to men has a positive correlation with women re-entering the labour market. As companies in Pakistan think more thoroughly about how to enhance inclusive workplaces, such research and learning becomes critical. A bird’s eye view of various industries, however, shows that while there are some focused on developing their female cohort and talent, many still do not believe the evidence that employing women makes good business sense. The short-term financial costs of integration within a largely male work environment, and the perception of having to give female employees ‘special’ treatment holds them back.

Women face a disproportionate number of barriers when trying to enter or remain in the workforce. Local research on the jobs market has found that in many cases, the way jobs are advertised and interviews taken, are plagued with discrimination. This may not be intentional, but is a result of the normative patriarchal environment which governs our thought processes and behaviours. The more intentional discrimination occurs when women are not considered the ‘right’ fit for the job, and/or assumptions are made about when they will get married/ pregnant and eventually leave the company.

The difficulties women face once married, and lack of support offered within their home environment, often means that these assumptions turn out to be true. Retaining women in the corporate workforce is difficult and the attrition rate is very high. Even where companies try to hire equal numbers of men and women in entry-level positions, they find this ratio skewing back to favour men because many more women drop out of the workforce. Fast forward 10-15 years, when that cohort reaches positions of seniority, the ratio between the sexes drops even further. According to the Global Gender Gap Index, women make up only six per cent of senior officials and senior managers in Pakistan today. The situation is dire.

Women face a disproportionate number of barriers when trying to enter the workforce.

Facilitating women’s entry or re-entry into the workforce requires some fundamental reconfiguration in society’s perception of gender roles. Men are considered the primary breadwinners. This sense of responsibility is fed into their psyche from a young age, and must be a scary burden to carry. Women are not made to feel that they need to bear any economic responsibilities. But they are made to feel that they are burdens. Their roles as wives, mothers, daughters and daughters-in-law, and the responsibilities they bear are given no value. But, this is exactly where the care economy develops. Naila Kabeer and Nancy Folbre, both widely respected economists, have broadened the current debate on what should be determinants of growth by monetising care. Their field of feminist economics brings the intersectionality of inequality, power dynamics and social and environmental benefits into reconceptualising economic theory.

Folbre has made some important contributions in our better understanding of the care economy. She has identified that care work is highly productive, yet greatly undervalued. Caring for children, elders and others leads to enhanced human capabilities which are at the centre of economic productivity. The benefits are available to society as a whole, but carers are either not compensated (in monetary terms) or compensated very little for this work. If women stop providing this service, the cost to the economy and to society cannot be estimated.

Pakistani society cares for its elders. We have the opportunity to break a negative paradigm by using this traditional value. How? By creating avenues which reward men for taking more active roles as caregivers (within the home), and simultaneously giving women and girls better economic opportunities and choices. And by making national policy that enables a more inclusive determination of growth and the goal of equitable progress. At the very least, companies and government offices should provide flexi-timing and child care options to male and female employees. Paternity leave should be mandated. Males should be encouraged to take time out to care for sick parents. And women should be encouraged to take up economic activity. This is where government and corporate policies become essential and the first step towards breaking taboos.

Some of the biggest successes I see when it comes to changing the paradigm have been in extremely poor rural communities. When women are perceived as earners, their status within the home and the community changes. When they understand their rights and find their voices, they become confident and powerful.

My most humbling, yet elevating, experience was in Tharparkar, a few years ago, when I was talking to some women in a remote village. They had received training and financial support to become economically active and over time their incomes had increased sustainably. We talked about business and family, social challenges and their thoughts on the future.

One woman, who had been quiet for the most part, turned to me to speak. Her well-lined face reflected the harshness of living in a remote desert community, but her eyes were sparkling. With purpose and pride she responded, “I have put all my seven children through school with my earnings, not my husband, me”. That, readers, is true greatness.

The writer is an independent development professional and impact adviser with over 25 years of experience designing and managing programmes to improve people’s lives.

samialakhan21@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024