Women as economic drivers

Women hold up half the sky, an old Chinese proverb remains a desire than a fact. The world would become perfect if gender equality becomes more than just an aspiration. But even today, gender disparity in income, work, education, health and social participation in both advanced and developing economies persists by varying degrees. This is sad because the world has realised how women today can be key drivers of economic growth and yet they remain the largely underdeveloped. According to the International Labour Organisation data, world female labour force participation rate is nearly 50 percent. Women worldwide require more than gender equality to be able to contribute to the waning economic performance. They need to be equipped, educated and empowered legally, socially and financially. The Women Economic Opportunity Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit looks beyond gender disparities. The index defines womens economic opportunity as "A set of laws, regulations, practices, customs and attitudes that allow women to participate in the workforce under conditions roughly equal to those of men, whether as wage-earning employees or as owners of a business." The East Asia region has witnessed quite a growth in terms of economic opportunity for women in the last couple of years as highlighted by the report. On the other hand, the growth in South Asia region has been more modest compared to the eastern half. This is especially true with respect to education and training. The development in primary and secondary education in South Asian peers, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, has been meager at low levels. The situation looks wretched as the report states that the girls enrollment in schools in Pakistan is comparable with the situation in US in 1,810. With female participation rates as low as 29 percent in South Asia, the region lags far behind many developing economies of East Asia. With an overall score of 35.5 (out of a total of 100), Pakistan ranks the last amongst its regional peers. However, it is worthy to mention that both Pakistan and Bangladesh has made strides to combat violence amongst women in general in the recent past. The CY12 index score of Pakistan has moved up 4.2 points compared to the last administration of the index in CY10, bringing Pakistan amongst the improved countries. In CY11, Pakistan made acid attacks against women illegal for the first time by taking punitive measures against the perpetrator. Well its easier said than done. A womans ability to work in Pakistan is dependent on many underlying limitations that still remain unabated. The incidence of domestic violence and family rows are everyday routine, and even with the efforts of international and local NGOs/organisations, women especially in the rural areas remain restricted by the consent of the men of the family, let alone economic empowerment.

===============================================
                2012
            South Asia      Overall       Score
               Regional    Womens      (0-100)
Country         Ranking   Economic
                        Opportunity
                            Ranking
===============================================
Sri Lanka          1           84          47.6
India              2           98          41.9
Bangladesh         3          105          39.2
Pakistan           4          116          35.5
===============================================

Source: Womens Economic Opportunity 2012 (EIU)