Women Employment Concerns and Working Conditions (WEC-PK)

A national project adopting the ILO Decent Work Agenda aimed at enhancing the quantity and quality of women’s employment in Pakistan by working with key ILO’s constituents: government, workers' organizations, employers’ organizations and civil society.

Given its poverty reduction thrust, the project seeks to contribute towards Pakistan’s efforts towards the attainment of the MDG goal of promoting gender equality and empowerment and the reduction of poverty in the country. The integrated and holistic approach of project focuses on economic empowerment of women and seeks to:

  • Ensure non-discrimination and equality at the workplace through sensitization of state functionaries and policy makers;
  • Provide direct assistance to 6,000 women to attain decent employment to developing women’s and skills, especially entrepreneurial capabilities;
  • Strengthen women’s participation and leadership in trade unions; and
  • Promote gender equality in private sector organizations through developing affirmative action and strategies at the industrial level.

So far 694 Government officers at NIPA5, CSA, and STIs are sensitized through training on ILS, women employment concerns and gender diversity at work place, 267 Parliamentarians have been trained on issues that women come across in the world of work. Women Councilors and Master Trainers have been trained to develop supplementary modules. Thirty-seven participants including members of NCSW, 35 officials of GRAP Punjab have been trained with Gender Audit Skills. And Fellowships have been offered to ILO’s constituents for international trainings at TURIN.

Eleven day care centres are in the process of being established for working women in Islamabad. Facts based Documentary on mobility concerns of working women will be launched early 2008 followed by establishment of Task force on physical mobility of working women. Integration of gender studies at local universities and mini programmes with NGOs on empowering women home based workers have been developed. Direct services to upscale women’s skills focus on Skill Development leading to self or wage employment, Business Development services and Women employment in Earth quake hit areas. Trainings are in progress with 11 civil society organizations in four provinces.

In collaboration with Telenor, the initiative of Bridging the Digital divide between Rural and Urban areas of Pakistan has been quite a success through which 20 women and men have been trained on ICT and 5 are provided hardware to set up ICT Kiosks. Skill Training to 700 women in Garment factories in collaboration with Ministry of Textile has been another important target that has been met.

In addition, under the project best practices on GE policy implementation in 50 Pvt. Sector Organizations have been compiled. Series of Training Workshops on Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management have taken place training over 350 women and developing 5-8 young women students as entrepreneurs and capacity building seminars to advocate for gender equality policy at work place has been arranged at 4 out of 7 regions.

Training needs assessment has been carried out for women and TU leaders for Advanced Leadership Programme. Series of Gender Sensitization Seminars in 6 regions targeting 228 women and men trained unions members haven been arranged. Promotional material on issues such as “Gender sensitization”, “Overview of women employment concerns & working conditions in Pakistan” and posters are developed in local language.

For further information please contact:

Ms Munawar Sultana
Project Officer
Tel: +51 2276456-8 Ext. 233
Email