𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧

A critical discussion on Scaling Up Women’s Economic Empowerment in Pakistan took place as part of the launch of “𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭,” hosted by the 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐍 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧. The conversation focused on the structural challenges and policy gaps that hinder women’s full participation in the economy.

Dr. Lubna Shahnaz 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧:

• 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟-𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠?
• 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎-𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛’𝑠 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡?
• 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛’𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛?

Addressing these issues requires a commitment to evidence-based policymaking and institutional support. Advancing women’s economic empowerment is not just a policy goal—it is a fundamental driver of sustainable economic growth.