Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan How to improve their bargaining power by Nabeel A. Goheer InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small EnterprisE Development International Labour Office, Geneva and ILO, Islamabad ILO South Asia Advisory Team (SAAT), New Delhi Copyright © International Labour Organization 2003 First published 2003 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. 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ILO Women entrepreneurs in Pakistan: How to improve their bargaining power Geneva, International Labour Office, 2003 ISBN 92-2-113628-0 The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: [email protected] Visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns Printed in Pakistan Foreword The International Labour Organization’s Area Office in Islamabad and the South Asia Advisory Team (ILO-SAAT) based in New Delhi, in association with its InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development (IFP/SEED), are pleased to publish this report on “Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan: How to improve their bargaining power”. This report presents information on an area that has hitherto not received much attention in Pakistan. The report highlights the constraints facing women entrepreneurs in business, reviews their operating environment, describes the predominant gender inequalities, and most interestingly provides the narrative stories of some 20 women selected from various economic backgrounds and family situations. With reference to the economic recession in Pakistan, there is a pressing need to empower women economically and to create employment opportunities and income generating activities to enable them to survive, prosper and provide support for their families. For the development of women-to-women business potential, women entrepreneurs require support in the form of training in strategic business development, access to credit funds, and assistance with marketing skills, product design and development. The report’s recommendations can now be taken in association with those suggested by the key stakeholders and women entrepreneurs who participated on the ILO’s workshop in Lahore on February 15, 2002. Together, these recommendations are useful in mapping out ways and means for targeting and strengthening the capacity building of women entrepreneurs, formulating training and support packages, and providing training to women councillors at district and tehsil level. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDA) and the First Women’s Bank Limited (FWBL) are also to be congratulated on the landmark achievement of opening SMEDA’s First Women’s Desk in association with First Women’s Bank Limited, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2002. Mr. Nabeel Goheer and his team are to be congratulated for their persistent efforts in producing this valuable and interesting report which presents the results of the survey of 150 women entrepreneurs, and provides a situational analysis for business environment for women entrepreneurs in the three major cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. This report would not have been possible without the valuable inputs and support from Mr. Gerry Finnegan, Senior Specialist in Women’s Entrepreneurship Development in IFP/SEED, ILO Geneva, and Ms. Jyoti Tuladhar, the Senior Gender Specialist of ILO/SAAT, based in New Delhi. The suggestions of ILO technical colleagues will provide further important guidance for the development of future action plans to support women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The ILO Office in Islamabad has also played an important role in conceptualizing the study and supporting the implementation of the fieldwork leading to the final report. Particular mention is made of the support provided by Ms. Samina Hasan (Programme Office) and Ms. Ameena Khan (Assistant Programme Officer). We are grateful for the financial assistance provided for this work under the Government of the Netherlands Partnership Programme with the ILO. This topic continues to be one of the most important priority areas of work for the ILO in Pakistan, and it is hoped that the ILO can continue to work actively in the area of supporting the economic empowerment of women in Pakistan. Mr. Johannes Lokollo Ms. Christine Evans-Klock Director Director ILO Office for Pakistan & Infocus Programme on Boosting Employment Liaison Office for Afghanistan through Small Enterprise Development Islamabad ILO Geneva iii Acknowledgements I wish to thank ILO officials, the project team and my colleagues in the development sector who have contributed to this report in one way or another. Mr. Johannes Lokollo, Director, ILO, Islamabad and Ms. Samina Hasan, Programme Officer, ILO Islamabad were the first people with whom the idea of conducting this study was incubated. When I first met Ms. Hasan for this project I found her very eager to support this research as she believed that it would go a long way in improving an understanding of women entrepreneurs, and helping them effectively in the near future. The modalities of the research and cooperation were soon finalized as Mr. Lokollo was eager and Ms. Hasan was committed to facilitate it. Latterly, Ms. Ameena Khan was also involved in providing support to facilitate completion of the report. The concept paper provided by the ILO was very comprehensive and captured almost all the important aspects of women entrepreneurs that were to be explored. I am grateful to Mr. Gerry Finnegan, Senior Specialist, Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (WEDGE), in IFP/SEED, ILO Geneva, and Ms. Jyoti Tuladhar, Senior Gender Specialist in South Asia Advisory Team (SAAT), ILO New Delhi, for their dedicated supervision of this project. I must acknowledge that both of them remained intellectually involved in the project at every stage despite their hectic schedules and other official commitments. I am very grateful to all of the women entrepreneurs who agreed to participate in this survey. They cooperated fully in our research and I thank them for their time and for their patience. In particular I wish to acknowledge the permission granted by the twenty women entrepreneurs who are featured in the short case studies presented in Part III of this report. I am indebted to my project team and Gallup BRB who worked very hard to carry out the field research that was the most difficult part of the project. I must not forget to thank Ms. Abida Aziz, faculty member, Aga Khan University, Karachi; Ms. Saadya Hamdani, Advisor, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Islamabad; Ms. Musarrat Bashir, Deputy Programme Manager, IUCN, Islamabad; Mr. Sohail Ahmed, Programme Officer, JICA, Pakistan; and Mr. Arshed Bhatti, Section Officer, Planning Commission of Pakistan, Islamabad, for their comments and inputs into the research questionnaire. And last but not least my wife, Tasneem Saad, who kept me going by providing assistance in data collection, analysis and secretarial support, in addition to her work on the household chores. I sincerely hope that the outcome of this study will be the starting point of many tangible projects for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Nabeel A. Goheer Islamabad iv Preface This report is the outcome of a research study initiated and financed by ILO. It is aimed at obtaining a better understanding of Pakistani women entrepreneurs and their problems. The report has been organized into two parts. The first section starts with a portrayal of the specific business environment for women. A probing analysis shows that it has taken