KARACHI: More than 10 signatories of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) from Pakistan participated in the 2023 Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum under the auspices of UN Women and UN Global Compact.
The two-day WEPs Forum held in Manila, Philippines, on November 07 and 08, 2023, was a platform for “learning and networking and to further catalyse business actions towards gender equality.”
The forum was organised as part of the new supported program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, ‘Advancing the implementation of WEPs for accelerated business action for gender equality in Asia & Pacific’. At the forum, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was represented by its Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer (CMBDO), Raeda Latif.
Speaking at the occasion, the PSX CMBDO, Raeda Latif, highlighted the fact that Pakistan Stock Exchange furthers the empowerment of women and adopts practices for gender equality as a signatory of Women’s Empowerment Principles. She outlined how women are faring in the economic landscape, particularly the corporate sector, in Pakistan. She also briefed the participants that PSX as an entity, being a self-listed company and as a frontline regulator, advocates and adopts women-friendly, gender responsive policies and practices in line with the provisions of Women’s Empowerment Principles.
In a panel discussion at the forum, Ms. Raeda Latif apprised the participants that PSX is promoting gender equality in terms of furthering this agenda on five pillars of materiality, namely governance, workplace, supply chain, consumers and community not only as a listed entity but also as a frontline regulator. She further briefed that keeping in view that 80-90 percent of businesses in Pakistan are family owned, PSX has worked with educational institutions and family businesses to focus on legacy matters whereby the women progeny and offspring can lead a business through succession planning.
She explained that as proponents of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) including SDG 5 for advancing gender equality; ESG, particularly the ‘S’ & ‘G’ elements; and being the signatory of the seven principles of WEPs, PSX makes consistent efforts for an all inclusive business and corporate sector for the overall progression and universality of gender equality and women empowerment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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