Family & Society

How large is Pakistan’s gender gap in employment?

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Answer

Direct answer

Pakistan’s 2020–21 Labour Force Survey recorded 51.9 million employed men and 15.3 million employed women, illustrating a very large gender gap in measured employment. Men also participated in the labour force at much higher rates. The difference should not be reduced to individual willingness: care responsibilities, mobility, safety, job availability, social norms, education, and undercounting of informal or home-based work all affect the recorded totals. Employment counts also differ from population shares and unemployment rates.

Evidence

Sources used

Government Data · 2021

Labour Force Statistics

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

Official labour-force source covering activity, employment, sex, age, marital status and education variables.View source
International Organization · 2020

Female Labor Force Participation in Pakistan

World Bank

Research context on women’s work, marriage and structural barriers to labour-force participation.View source
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