Pakistan’s Vision 2025 connects a policy commitment to greater gender
equality with inclusive growth. It prioritises a ‘good quality of life and high
living standard for all citizens across regions, gender’ and to ‘achieve an annual
average growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent that is inclusive and endogenous’ as its
first two objectives (GoP 2014a).
These commitments respond to the multiple inequalities and the
increasing polarization that characterise the South Asian country. Rather than
indicating its economic strength, Pakistan's relatively high average income of
current USD 1,290 is a reflection of the multiple inequalities that characterize
the South Asian country. This is illustrated, for example, by the high incidence
of poverty that paralleled even periods of high growth since the turn of the
millennium. Despite international and national commitments, Pakistan is
characterized by the most severe extent of gender inequalities in the areas of
health, education and labour market participation as well as labour conditions
in the South Asian region.
While positive economic growth rates are often assumed to go hand in
hand with rising employment levels and opportunities for income-earning,
growth and indicators of gender equality in Pakistan do not seem to be
systematically correlated. This article explores the connection between
economic growth performance and gender inequalities in Pakistan. We ask the
question how empowering macro-economic growth has been and can be for
women in Pakistan. The present paper addresses this question, offering a
concise review of related research as well as an exploration of aggregate data
on sectoral gendered employment and economic growth. Based on this it
formulates tentative policy conclusions and an outlook for further research.