ISLAMABAD: The participation of women in business activities could help Pakistan to achieve the target of sustainable economic growth, experts told WealthPK.
They said that entrepreneurship was in its infancy in Pakistan but women could contribute to economic development by joining the workforce as females accounted for half of the population of the country. They added that the role of women entrepreneurs was vital for sustainable economic growth.
M Ali Kemal, Economic Policy Adviser at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, said that the economic empowerment of women and their involvement in small business enterprises would expedite the process of development in the country. He said that women owners of small businesses could alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities for others.
He said that women were 48.4 percent of the total population of the country and their share in the workforce was 20 percent, contributing 25 percent to Pakistan’s gross domestic product. He added that an increase in the number of businesswomen would have a significant impact on the national economy.
Mr. Kemal said that the empowerment of women through their participation in business activities would open a new avenue for economic development besides improving their living standards. He added that most of the women were associated with the informal sector such as the manufacturing and agriculture sector, stitching, embroidery, saloon and sports industry.
He said that women held only two percent of the senior leadership and management positions in Pakistan. He added that women entrepreneurs had more decision-making power than housewives as they faced different challenges.
Mr. Kemal stressed the need for providing government assistance and soft loans to women entrepreneurs for the economic progress of the country. He added that the payment of tax by women entrepreneurs would increase the revenue of the government.
Dr. Aribha Aslam, an assistant professor at the University of Lahore, told WealthPK that Pakistan was ranked 151st out of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index. She added that intensive policy action was needed to combat the issue of gender discrimination at the national, regional and household levels.
She said that gender equity was a must for sustainable economic growth. However, she said that gender discrimination was a global issue, particularly prevalent in developing countries. “When we look at the continental divides, we see that African and Asian countries are more severely affected by gender discrimination,” she added.
Dr. Aribha said that resolution of the issue of gender discrimination was not easy as it needed behavioural, societal and institutional change. “It is not easy but obviously not impossible,” she added.
Sarah Nizamani, a research fellow at the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, said that women’s empowerment was very important for economic growth. She said that the empowerment of women was possible in developing countries with the help of governments. “Empowering women is key not only to the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities but also to overall economic productivity,” she added.
She said that providing incentives to women entrepreneurs and encouraging them to export their products would increase foreign reserves and have a positive effect on the balance of payment. She said that the government of Bangladesh provided incentives to women entrepreneurs and their contribution played a major role in the economic growth.
Ms Sarah said that banks and other relevant institutions should provide soft loans to women entrepreneurs to achieve the goal of sustainable economic growth.
