President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday stressed the need for gender-responsive policies to ensure women\u2019s empowerment and said integration of the country\u2019s fifty percent population into entrepreneurship was important for a sustainable economy. \u201cWomen need to be given equal opportunities in education, employment, and political domains to help them secure adequate space in mainstream entrepreneurship,\u201d he said at an event themed \u2018Rising Women 2023\u2019, organized by Women\u2019s Business Network (WBN). President Alvi called for devising demand-driven policies including a supportive institutional environment and a workplace free from harassment to encourage women to pursue their businesses. The president highlighted making the information about entrepreneurship more accessible to women and pointed out that only five percent of women availed of the reserved quota of business loans from the State Bank due to a lack of guidance. He stressed the implementation of family-friendly policies for women, such as opportunities for doing business from home and providing them a welcoming environment when they rejoin work after maternity leave. The president emphasized providing household women with contemporary skill sets such as the usage of internet to meet the current trends of the world. \u201cWe need to train these women to adopt innovative entrepreneurial modes through the use of information technology to help them earn from their homes,\u201d he said. He mentioned that women could be turned into a productive workforce if provided with equal opportunities in all fields of life. He said the religion Islam and the country\u2019s constitution ensured equal rights for women and supported their progress. Despite this, he regretted that absurd cultural norms prevailed in the country where women were denied the right to inheritance. Ambassador of Austria in Pakistan Andrea Wicke spoke about the need to end gender discrimination and under-valuation of women\u2019s work. She said equal pay, financial literacy, and legal protection were significant for women\u2019s economic empowerment. Italy\u2019s ambassador Andreas Ferrarese expressed his country\u2019s shared commitment with Pakistan in achieving the goals of gender equality. He said with equal access to resources, women could bring a positive transformation in the society. Founder WBN Sam ALi Dada said her organization was helping rural women rise above challenges and create improvement in their own lives and their communities. She mentioned Khudkafeel Initiative and Women\u2019s Sports Gala as the catalyst programmes in making the women in rural areas self-sufficient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday stressed the need for gender-responsive policies to ensure women\u2019s empowerment and said integration of the country\u2019s fifty percent population into entrepreneurship was important for a sustainable economy. \u201cWomen need to be given equal opportunities in education, employment, and political domains to help them secure adequate space in mainstream entrepreneurship,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-359851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n