Women Development in Pakistan in the context of HR scenario

Human Resource Management

Group Members
Hirra Asmat Madiha Umar Hafsa Ilyas Sumbal Abrar Maria Tanveer

Submitted To
Dr. Rabia

Date
28/5/2013

Women Development in Pakistan in the context of HR scenario

Woman is a powerful force of economic development. As leaders and managers, they can play a pivotal role in the development of both organizations and nations. This project aims at

depicting the nature and approaches of development of women in Pakistan in the context of the countrys women HR scenario. It also attempts to draw a profile of female managers focusing, the trend and ratio of employment, work place environment, efficiency at work, level of satisfaction, professional commitment, internal and external factors affecting their role etc. In Pakistan, like many other developed and developing countries, women as a vital component of human resource (HR) as well as a distinct gender group, has been a subject of deep discussion and concern among a variety of interest groups i.e. government, research scholars, women forum (national and international), human rights commission, voluntary organizations, civil society bodies, academia, professional associations etc. During the last sixty years of its independence, women can be termed as an agenda of continuous debate, discussion and decision at different levels ranging from local women forum to top policy and decision-making bodies of government. Besides the involvement of women in various national and international forums and bodies, many also have been working as administrators / managers in government, private, NGOs and MNCs and a pretty good number have been able to reach to top managerial level by virtue of their developed professional knowledge and skill. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working actively in Pakistan for female entrepreneurs. They assist women in running small businesses in far-flung areas and provide them opportunity to improve the standard of their products. Gender equality is considered to be the vital concern in the process of development. Therefore, investment in women's empowerment is the key element in improving the economic, political and social conditions in Pakistan,

Challenges to Women HR in Pakistan:

One bigger challenge is to improve the quality of women HR for raising productivity and absorption in the employment market. Like education, female employment is still a neglected field in Pakistan. In order to bring changes in the life of disadvantaged women, there is a need to follow a proactive approach to address all issues affecting their empowerment and development. Changing the mindset of the people at large is the most vital requirement and all other issues can be looked at thereafter.

Percentage of working women:

Economically active female population by age group, excluding armed forces, is 60 million between the age group 1060 and total civilian female employment by status in employment aged 10 years and over in the year is (in thousands, 2001-2002): Employees 2,113, 000 Employers 17, 000, Own-account workers 895, 000 Contributing family workers 2,668, 000

In Pakistan 73 per cent of its women workforce is engaged in agricultural sector and there also exists a plenty opportunity for mobilizing women towards manufacturing and service sectors. The Federal Labor Force survey mentions in its 2005/06 report that the over-all women employment rate is 20.14 percent, rural and urban areas womens participation 23.63 and 12.53 per cent, respectively. But the rate is still very low as compared to the other South Asian countries which are 42% in Bangladesh, 41% in Nepal, 32% in India and Bhutan, 37% in Sri Lanka (World Bank). According to the survey report, a large number of women entrepreneurs are involved in traditional businesses such as boutiques, parlors, bakeries while some of them are in manufacturing, consultancies and service profession also. In the context of HR policies and practices, a majority of women were satisfied with their work environment. While paid maternity leave, flexible hours and emergency leave were the most commonly offered benefits there were still some companies who failed to incorporate paid maternity leave (a basic HR benefit worldwide) in their package.

Profile of Organizations and Women Managers

The size of women leaders and managers working at various levels is 2 20 % of the total managerial staff exhibiting relatively a better participation in organizations namely academic, health, garments, bank, IT etc. As per type of organization 61.85 % of the respondents belong to private 10.88% government 9.10 % MNCs 18.17 % are from others, And as regards nature of work 54.56% are engaged in service 23.63% in manufacturing 21.81% development, charity and others.

Terming the managerial job as a challenging one especially under the unfavorable socio-cultural milieu of Pakistan, the respondents preferred to list liberty, economic and social empowerment, dignity and respect, opportunity to utilize acquired knowledge and skill, flexible work time, prospect of career development etc. as the most important reasons of preference to work in managerial posts. In Education Sector in 2008, 32.80% got enrolled for MBA with major in Finance, HR, Marketing, Health Management etc. And this ratio is increasing every year.

Concluding Remarks
Women involvement in economic activities, though recognized and weighted very high as a potential HR in all societies, but the size of their participation in managerial posts is not substantial even in the developed countries too. Unlike many other developed and developing societies, the rate of participation of women as managers in Pakistan is quite insignificant and working atmosphere is not pleasant and equal in all types of organizations.