WASHINGTON: Pakis­tani women face substantive barriers when pursuing entrepreneurship and do not have adequate access to technology, says a US study presented to Pakistan’s ambassador on Tuesday.

The study, conducted by a group of researchers from John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, however, acknowledges that Pakistani women are employing technology to jumpstart their entrepreneurial ventures, promote their businesses, and facilitate financial transactions.

Ambassador Khan, however, informed the researchers that “massive transformation towards a digital economy and changing societal norms are contributing towards incremental increase and visibility of women entrepreneurs” in Pakistan.

“Nearly 191 million mobile cellular subscribers in a population of 240 million provides a solid base for exponential growth of not only women entrepreneurs of the country but also for fintech and IT companies to expand their business (in Pakistan).”

He underlined the need to provide technology solutions to overcome traditional and non-traditional barriers that have hampered the full participation of women in the workforce.

The researchers — Estelle Thomas, Fatimata Ndiaye, Ishani Srivastava, and Yiran Zha — also raised this point in their study, recommending increased access to the internet and financial technology to facilitate women entrepreneurs.

The study points out that Pakistan ranks 145th out of 146 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2022. At 21pc, women’s labour force participation in the nation is well below the 35pc average for lower-middle-income countries.

Pakistan also has one of the lowest rates of women’s labour force participation in the world, ranking 185th out of 199 countries.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2023