Are we looking forward to accepting that women can work better than men? In this 21st century, women still compromise in their lives, whether it be in marriage, education, work, or politics. In Pakistan, women, who are almost half of the population, live with a low income force.
Even if seen in our current Federal Cabinet, we would find only one ministry given to a woman. Though in Punjab the Honourable Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif (became the first female to be the head of the provincial government), its cabinet consists of a majority of males and only one woman.
The same is true for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government, where only one woman was made adviser to the CM. The situation of the Sindh government is not so much improved with, once again, only one woman as a minister. The higher positions of government officials, like chief secretaries and other government positions, are mainly run by males.
We are overlooking and underestimating our 50 percent of the population. A UNDP report notes that the country’s gender wage gap results in a cumulative wage loss of Rs500bn across women’s lifetime earnings. Moreover, a recent human development report has been released and unfortunately, Pakistan scored 164 out of 193, which comes under low human development.
According to the Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI), it states that half of the world’s people believe that men make better political leaders than women do, and two out of five people believe that men make better business executives than women do. The index revealed that 85% of the global population, close to 9 out of 10 men and women, hold fundamental biases against women. Thus we can say that on an international level, the bias against women is of various kinds of fields, like education, politics, and economics, and it will take much more time than we think to eradicate this gender-based discrimination fully. In 2023, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 131 years to close the global gender gap.
There is not any doubt that women can work far better than we think, as women think long term. A survey conducted last year by Change Research found that young women in the US lean more politically left than young men, with 41% of women identifying as progressive in comparison to 24% of men.
Scholars argue that gendered preferences, or gender discrimination, are a result of socialisation, shaped by different life experiences rather than inherent biological differences. As a result of social patriarchal norms, historically men have tended to dominate the public space (e.g., politics and economics), while the private sphere (e.g., taking care of the home and the family) has been reserved for women. (This is because they historically followed this; women did household stuff and men controlled the politics and business.)
That’s why women have historically been more directly concerned with issues of health and nutrition. These experiences are also manifested in politics. Survey evidence from various contexts shows a significant gender difference in political preferences, where women tend to show stronger support for social policies related to child care, family, and women’s rights than men.
However, in this 21st century, things have changed; men can control household things while women can control politics and economics or business. However, culture or norms will not let women be the leaders of a country or we can say, ‘men do not even see women as leaders,’ said by Bina Shah in the Women Emerging article.
For example, evidence of this difference in countries in the Asia-Pacific region shows that women, first, have a greater sense of the social issues and the well-being and welfare of their communities and factor these into the decision-making process. Secondly, promote policies and activities that strengthen communities. Thirdly, encourage participation. Fourthly, emphasise the importance and the practice of good communication with the community. Fifth, have a different approach to the way their local authority is governed. Sixthly, develop a team approach. Seventh, set different priorities. Eighth, bring the mediation skills that they have developed as mothers, the ability to have clear goals, the ability to juggle many tasks at once, and the ability to be practical. Ninth, they are dedicated and responsible, practice what they preach and show a great deal of spirit and tenth, they stimulate and encourage other women to be part of development.
In the end, the government should consider increasing the quota of women in parliament and they should also be appointed to higher positions in government offices. Not including women in the political leadership is harmful to democracy and the country. Efforts to bring women into the mainstream come with the change of perspective and mind-set. More women in government will mean better futures for other women and their children and for future generations
