News Desk
LAHORE: To commemorate National Women’s Day in Pakistan, observed on February 12, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) finds that women in Pakistan continue to face deep-rooted barriers to leadership across public service fields, despite constitutional guarantees, affirmative action measures, and workplace protection laws. Titled Women in Public Service in Pakistan: Barriers and Recommendations, the report was prepared with the support of Interloop Limited, and examines the structural and institutional factors shaping women’s leadership outcomes.
These findings were discussed at a report launch and dialogue in Lahore, which brought together women leaders from politics, civil service, law, media, and civil society. Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President, PILDAT and Provincial Ombudsman for protection against harassment, actual designation of Nabila hakim ali khan also joined the session. Participants reflected on how informal power structures, weak accountability mechanisms, and inconsistent implementation of existing laws continue to constrain women’s leadership, despite improvements in formal representation.
The report highlights stark gaps between women’s numerical presence and their actual influence within institutions. Women currently comprise approximately 22% of members of the National Assembly, yet chair fewer than 10% of Standing Committees. Out of 31 federal ministers, only one is a woman. In the federal civil service, women account for just 5.1% of the workforce, with more than 75% of these positions below BS-17. Women make up only 3.2% of the police workforce nationwide, and although they represent about 18% of judges and judicial officers overall, just 5.5% serve as judges in superior courts.
Presenting the report’s findings PILDAT, noted that while 85% of respondents observed an increase in women’s representation in their respective fields over the past decade, only 35% believed that women’s voices are adequately represented in decision-making spaces in their fields. Just 19% felt that women occupy positions of genuine authority, while the majority described women’s participation as a mix of real influence and tokenism. Nearly four in five respondents reported that they had either personally experienced or had witnessed barriers limiting women’s advancement, underscoring the systemic nature of these challenges even among women who have reached senior professional positions.
Respondents identified multiple, overlapping barriers that constrain women’s leadership trajectories. Socio-cultural norms and gender roles were reported as a strong barrier by 40% of respondents, while work-life balance pressures were cited by 43% of respondents as a strong barrier. Respondents also highlighted institutional gatekeeping and exclusionary informal networks, unsafe or hostile work environments, and weak implementation and enforcement of gender equality and anti-harassment policies, as serious barriers to women’s leadership in public service.
Flexible work arrangements and childcare support were identified by 44% of respondents as effective enablers, followed by training and capacity-building initiatives (41%), mentorship and leadership programming (40%). When asked about urgent priorities for the future, 49% of respondents emphasized the need for stronger enforcement of existing laws and policies while 47% pointed to safer, more inclusive work environments.
PILDAT’s report calls for cross-cutting institutional reforms aimed at strengthening enforcement, transparency, and accountability across public service fields, including regular gender audits, standardized merit-based recruitment and promotion systems, effective implementation of existing workplace protections, family-responsive workplace policies, and stronger mentorship linkages.
