Gender Inequality Among Youth Employment in Pakistan
Gender Inequality in Employment among Youth in Pakistan
Aisha M Ahmed
The foundation of economies and societies today and in the future are build by young men and women. Youth is a time which is crucial for the young as they strive to achieve and gain productive employment and decent work. According to ILO estimates the number of young people reaching working age is increasing and will reach one billion by the end of the next decade. Rapid globalization and technology is offering opportunities for productive work to some, however for a large number of youth the transition to productive work is a difficult and pain taking process. The investment of governments in education and training will be lost if young people do not move into productive jobs that enable to support themselves and contribute toward their families and society as a whole. Fragility of youth in labor market has further increased in the wake of the global economic crisis. According to ILO estimates youth unemployment after the economic crisis has sharply increased from 11.9 to 13.0 per cent.
Pakistan with an approximate population of 173.51 million in 2010 and a median age of around 20 years is experiencing a youth bulge. It is estimated that approximately 104 million Pakistani are below the age of 30 years. Nearly half the population of Pakistan consists of females with proportion of female population in existing youth cohort (15-29) being relatively higher. It is very important to mainstream female youth cohort along with male as equal contributors and beneficiary of the socio economic development process in Pakistan. Tapping the youth female labor force is critical in order to reap the benefits of Pakistan’s demographic dividend, as it will not only benefit the household income and welfare but also contribute to the overall economy.
The youth labor force participation rate has increased from 40.5 to 44.2 in 2006-07, with female labor force also increasing. However labor force
Aisha M Ahmed
The foundation of economies and societies today and in the future are build by young men and women. Youth is a time which is crucial for the young as they strive to achieve and gain productive employment and decent work. According to ILO estimates the number of young people reaching working age is increasing and will reach one billion by the end of the next decade. Rapid globalization and technology is offering opportunities for productive work to some, however for a large number of youth the transition to productive work is a difficult and pain taking process. The investment of governments in education and training will be lost if young people do not move into productive jobs that enable to support themselves and contribute toward their families and society as a whole. Fragility of youth in labor market has further increased in the wake of the global economic crisis. According to ILO estimates youth unemployment after the economic crisis has sharply increased from 11.9 to 13.0 per cent.
Pakistan with an approximate population of 173.51 million in 2010 and a median age of around 20 years is experiencing a youth bulge. It is estimated that approximately 104 million Pakistani are below the age of 30 years. Nearly half the population of Pakistan consists of females with proportion of female population in existing youth cohort (15-29) being relatively higher. It is very important to mainstream female youth cohort along with male as equal contributors and beneficiary of the socio economic development process in Pakistan. Tapping the youth female labor force is critical in order to reap the benefits of Pakistan’s demographic dividend, as it will not only benefit the household income and welfare but also contribute to the overall economy.
The youth labor force participation rate has increased from 40.5 to 44.2 in 2006-07, with female labor force also increasing. However labor force