KARACHI: Jazz, a multi-sector telecom provider, was announced as the winner of the second “Employer of Choice” Gender Diversity Awards, organized jointly by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) to improve economic opportunities for women.

The awards celebrate private sector employers in the country who are committed to implementing strong gender diversity policies and empowering women in the workplace, while also publicly disclosing this information in order to encourage other companies to do the same.

Companies are judged on five key gender principles—promoting gender equality at leadership and policy level; ensuring a diverse workforce; eliminating gender pay gaps; creating an optimal workplace culture; and providing coaching and mentoring for women employees.

“Women in Pakistan continue to face multiple barriers in terms of economic participation and success in the workplace. By publicly disclosing the gender scorecard of participating companies today at the second annual Employer of Choice Gender Diversity Awards, we are creating a culture whereby empowering female employees becomes an integral part of how companies operate,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, IFC’s Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Second and third place were awarded to PepsiCo and Engro Fertilizers Ltd, respectively. Seven companies received honorable mention awards. They are Bank Alfalah, Bank of Punjab, Daraz, K-Electric, Nestle Pakistan, SCB Pakistan Limited and Syngenta Pakistan (in alphabetical order).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

The article, originally published August 9, was updated on August 10 due to an error in the Press Release.