Gender Discrimination in Pakistan

Executive Summary
Gender discrimination has been an issue for managers since organizations came into existence. The world that we live in today is evolving on a day-to-day basis with ground breaking discoveries being made at frequent intervals. Living standards have touched new heights; entrepreneurs have pushed the boundaries of the business world even further. Despite all these developments, the primitive knowledge that men are superior to women remains embedded in our societal structure. Although, the western societies seem to have overcome the discriminatory practices, there is still a part of the culture that practices it.
Pakistan has been host to discrimination practices since its inception about 60 years ago. Till the late 1990s, it was impossible for women to attain high ranking posts in any organization of the country. However, with the inception of telecom giants, Telenor in the market, the issue was highlighted. Telenor brought with itself the employment laws which allowed women of the country to work alongside men and even provided them with leadership opportunities. Mobilink also adopted similar policies in order to maintain its superiority in terms of market share, over Telenor. Thus, the competition provided a step towards the eradication of gender discrimination in Pakistan.
However, the study conducted also highlighted the various causative agents for gender discrimination practices in Pakistan. Majority of the men are agree on the fact that women are inferior in terms of mental capability and thus cannot handle strenuous activities. Women on the other hand encourage this concept by their lack of confidence to defend them. Moreover, our society is yet to come to terms with the fact that a woman can play a vital and constructive role outside the home as well. Men also had orthodox views about women being in positions of authority.
The roots for gender discrimination in a society such as Pakistan go deep. It is impossible to eradicate this issue. However, corporations are beginning to accept the fact that female work force is proving as proficient as the male work force. With the cut throat competition existing in the market, it becomes common knowledge that organizations will look for creative minds irrespective of the fact that they’re encased inside a male body or a female body.
The recommendations that can be proposed include the re-formulation of office policies and improvement of the working environment. Moreover, emergence of multinationals like Telenor can lead to improvement of women’s position in the business world.