ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has one of the lowest rates of female labour force participation in Asia, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The bank in its report ‘How Female-Friendly Are Workplaces in Urban Pakistan’ noted that in certain contexts, cultural and social norms surrounding women’s responsibilities at home, their travel outside the home, and their interaction with unrelated men create multiple barriers to their labour force participation.

The report noted that only 22 percent of women participated in the labour force in Pakistan in 2019 compared to an average of 24 percent in the South Asia region, and 59 percent in the East Asia and Pacific region.

Cultural and social norms surrounding women’s responsibilities at home, their travel outside the home, and their interaction with unrelated men create multiple barriers for women who may be eager to enter the workforce. While the lack of safe opportunities for transport acts as a constraint for mobility to work for many women, the lack of viable options for childcare limits others from working.

In such a setting, it becomes especially important to ensure that women who manage to overcome these barriers and enter the workforce, find workplace environments that they deem safe and comfortable.

Based on a representative survey of firms in Lahore, this brief analyses the availability of basic workplace features that could help women overcome some of those barriers, such as separate toilets and prayer areas, safe transport to work, and predictable work hours. The findings suggest that financial support and other incentives to invest in basic facilities for female employees—particularly for smaller firms with limited resources—would increase the number of female-friendly workplaces.

The implementation of more fixed working hours for female employees and the provision of safe and secure transport options for working women would encourage more women to work. Stricter government policies toward employer provision of compulsory maternity and paternity leave could help many women with childcare responsibilities to return to the labour force after childbirth.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022