Pakistan has almost half of its population consisting of women i.e. 49.33% as compared to 50.67% men out of 255.22 million people in 2025. Yet, it only projected 22.85% female workforce in 2024 as per World Bank’s reports on labor force participation in Pakistan. Despite several laws and regulations protecting women's rights and ensuring equal opportunities in education and employment, Pakistan is still struggling to enhance women participation in its economic, political and social development. This article argues that the gap in women’s participation in Pakistan's economy is rooted in structural barriers, not women’s inabilities or unwillingness. It further highlights emerging opportunities to empower women by dismantling these barriers embedded in the socio-political and economic fabric of Pakistani society.
Structural Barriers Impeding Women’s Participation in Pakistan’s Economy: Women in the work force of Pakistan is being hindered by several barriers that exist in its social, political and economic system. Following are a few major structural barriers that impede women’s participation in Pakistan's economy:
1) Opportunity Deficit in Education and Skills: Based on data from Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24, the female literacy rate in Pakistan is reported as 49% as compared to the male i.e. 70%, reflecting significant gender gap in education and skill development. Even educated women do not get required training and skills to utilize their degrees. Similarly, women are not even given equal digital access that further increases this gap.
2) Social and Religious Taboos Regarding Working Women: Pakistani society still operates on restrictive social and cultural norms when it comes to working women. The major reasons are lack of awareness, entrenched patriarchy and religious misinterpretation.
3) Occupational Confinement to Traditional Roles: The role of educated women is often confined to teaching and healthcare, with a very little women participation in research and development, technology and leadership, leading to underrepresentation of women in all sectors. As of the recent estimates, women made up only 14% of Pakistan’s IT workforce.
4) Exclusionary Policies and Governance Gaps: Lack of women participation across all sectors leads to their underrepresentation at all levels, specifically in policy formulation and implementation. A significant gap can be seen in the political and governance leadership positions where only about 6% of leadership positions within registered political parties are held by women. This leads to misrepresentation of women’s needs and economic concerns that eventually reinforces patriarchal values and strengthens the barriers impeding women participation in social, political and economic development of the country.
5) Workplace Vulnerability: Another reason for the low participation of women in the work force is workplace harassment, unsafe environments and lack of grievance redressal mechanisms. Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) reported that 85% of women workers face harassment across sectors. This discourages women from joining the country’s work force and contributing to its development.
Women in the Work Force –A Comparative Analysis with Developed Economies: Pakistan’s Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) in the year 2024 stood at 24%, in contrast to women's participation of member states of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) that depicted an average of 67.1%. This gap reveals major structural issues in Pakistan where female labor potential is being underutilized on a massive scale. Unfortunately, all sectors in Pakistan still operate on patriarchal and exclusionary grounds that expand the gender gap. Whereas developed countries are narrowing this gap by adopting inclusive policies that include childcare, anti-harassment measures, flexible work, and equal opportunities in education and skill development. Even developing countries, such as Bangladesh, Rwanda, Philippines etc are surpassing Pakistan through sectoral shifts and targeted reforms to enhance women participation across sectors.
Emerging Opportunities to Enhance Women’s Economic Contribution in Pakistan: Pakistan should introduce structural reforms across all sectors at every level to eliminate gender biases and empower women in order to enhance their participation in the country's development. This would not only ensure gender equity in Pakistan but also unlock broad avenues for social, political and economic development. The following are key recommendations for removing structural barriers and unlocking emerging opportunities to enhance women’s contribution in Pakistan's economy:
1) Equal Access to Education and Skill Development –Leading to Massive Economic Opportunities: Women in the work force have the potential to boost Pakistan’s GDP by 60% by 2025 if their ratio becomes equal to the working men (Mariam Mohisn, PIDE). Based on the World Bank’s 2024 report on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Pakistan, reducing gender gap in economic opportunities would lead to greater female participation in the workforce, hence increasing the overall work force, expanding tax base, and accelerating economic growth.
2) Expanding Women Reach to All Fields – Unlocking Broader Avenues of Development: Women in the workforce must surpass the traditional roles in teaching and healthcare sectors, and take lead in research and development, technology and leadership across all sectors. Such expansion of women's reach would lead to the rightful utilization of women's potential and equal representation across all sectors. For example, the Roshni Baji (Light Sisters) programme in Karachi has trained around 200 women as electricians leading to increased women participation in male-dominant electricity sector. Similarly, Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project resulted in the increase of women employment from 0 to 10% in the transport sector from 2020 to 2024. Such initiatives must be replicated in other urban sectors to empower women participation across all sectors, thereby leading to massive economic development.
3) Inclusive Policy Formulation and Implementation – Creating Holistic, Long-term Solutions: Majority of the issues in Pakistan remain unaddressed because of its exclusionary policy outlook specifically related to women. Women, constituting almost half of Pakistan's population, should be represented equally so that issues halting their progress must be worked upon in the light of their holistic output. Policies related to social norms, safety, infrastructure, education, digital access, and workplace support can only be carved out effectively if driven by an inclusive policy formulation and implementation approach. For example, WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) , owing to its inclusive policies such as on‑site childcare, safe transport, women’s hostels and facilities, successfully achieved a 100% return rate for women after maternity leave in 2022. Similarly, 75% women in Lahore expressed willingness to work if safe transport were provided, highlighting unsafe travel and non-inclusive workplace policies as key barriers to female employment. This shows that only through inclusive policy formulation and implementation –with women being equal stakeholders– can create holistic and long-term solutions leading to enhanced women participation in Pakistan's workforce.
Empowering women through an increased participation in Pakistan's workforce is not merely a matter of equity –it is an economic imperative. The country is forfeiting immense human capital with only 22.85% of women participating in the labor force out of nearly half of its population. Structural barriers rooted in social norms, education gaps, policy exclusion, and workplace vulnerabilities result in suppressing women’s potential across sectors. However, emerging opportunities –from digital access and targeted training to inclusive transport systems– offer a transformative path forward. The implementation of gender-responsive reforms across all levels of governance and industry in Pakistan can unlock a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous economy. Now is the time to act–becasue when women thrive, nations rise.
