News & Events

Held on March 10, 2025, the International Women’s Day Symposium, organized by UNDP and KSBL, tackled gender equity in Pakistan’s financial ecosystem. Speakers like Ms. Ammara Durrani (UNDP), Mr. Ahsan Zafar Syed (CEO, Engro Corp), and Zubair Channa (Govt. of Sindh) focused on barriers to women’s leadership and inclusive growth.

Key Findings by Mr. Aijaz Haq:

• Women comprise only 24.5% of the labor force.
• Gender-balanced leadership could raise Pakistan’s GDP by 60%.
• Only 0.6% of women hold managerial roles.

Panel Discussion Highlights:

• Abdul Ali (OICDI): Corporate governance for gender inclusion.
• Yasmin Hyder (New World Concepts): Mentorship and networking empower women.
• Nazish Abbasi (Garage Cloud Jazz): AI’s role in gender equity.
• Nadia Ali (UNDP): Access to leadership and decision-making for women.
• Misbah Naqvi (I2I Ventures): Addressing biases women face in entrepreneurship.
• Fatima Atarwala (Dawn): The need for better media portrayal of women in leadership.

Key Quotes:

• Misbah Naqvi: “Women face defensive questions about risk when pitching to investors; this bias must change.”
• Nadia Ali: “It’s not just about women getting jobs; it’s about access to leadership and economic power.”

Dr. Ahmed Junaid’s Remarks on Character-Driven Leadership:

• True leadership is about integrity, self-awareness, and honesty, not authority.
• He emphasized the importance of speaking the truth, both to oneself and others, and understanding different perspectives to create a leadership culture based on merit rather than bias.
• Leadership requires personal transformation and should be driven by character and ethical values.

The event concluded with a call for systemic reforms to close the gender gap and emphasized that empowering women is an economic necessity for Pakistan’s progress.