Pakistan’s Missed Potential: Bridging the Gender Divide in Work, Finance, and Mobility

The World Bank’s Women’s Economic Empowerment in Pakistan: An Evidence-Guided Toolkit for More Inclusive Policies, developed by the South Asia Gender Innovation Lab (SAR GIL) and the Pakistan Gender Platform under the Social Inclusion and Sustainability Global Practice, offers a revelatory examination of the barriers holding Pakistani women back from full economic participation. Framed within the country’s broader development crises, including low productivity, rising poverty, and climate vulnerability, the report paints a stark picture: 47 million working-age women remain outside the labor force, and 55 million are unbanked. These statistics underscore not only an acute gender disparity but also a missed opportunity to unlock national prosperity. Drawing on rich microdata and extensive expert consultation, the report quantifies gender gaps in employment, assets, financial access, and mobility, and introduces a robust policy toolkit aimed at turning research into reform.

Invisible Workers in a Skewed Labor Market

The data highlights Pakistan’s staggering gender gap in labor force participation: only 25.4 percent of working-age women are employed or seeking work, compared to 83.7 percent of men. Over the last two decades, this figure has only marginally improved, and even this modest rise is driven mainly by unpaid agricultural labor. A shocking 68 percent of employed women work in agriculture, and the vast majority, 76 percent, receive no pay. Women in Pakistan are three times more likely than men to be unpaid workers. Entrepreneurship, often celebrated as a route to empowerment, is similarly constrained: while 23 percent of non-agriculture-employed women are entrepreneurs, 81 percent of these run businesses from home, with limited scale or growth. The domestic setting, while more accessible due to social norms and safety concerns, restricts profitability and market exposure. Women entrepreneurs work fewer hours, maintain less formal record-keeping, and are far less likely to hire paid employees. The double burden of housework and marriage, more so than childbearing, is cited as a key constraint. For example, in Punjab, 38 percent of women reported that being married or engaged was the reason they were not pursuing work.

Financial Exclusion and the Digital Divide

Pakistan’s women face extreme financial marginalization. Only 21 percent of women have an account with a financial institution, compared to a significantly higher proportion of men. This disparity, estimated at 15 percentage points, translates to around 55 million unbanked women. The gender gap in access to mobile money services is even wider. These differences are often linked to lower mobile phone ownership, lack of official documentation, and poor financial literacy. Digital exclusion exacerbates this reality. Just 35 percent of women own a mobile phone compared to 84 percent of men. Only 8 percent of women have ever used the internet, and just 9 percent have used a computer. Even among those with some digital exposure, women tend to perform fewer tasks and possess lower proficiency levels than men. This digital divide restricts women’s ability to engage in e-commerce, online education, and digital gig work, all critical growth areas in modern economies.

Property, Assets, and Structural Inequities

The report reveals that only 3 percent of women own a home and just 2 percent own land, figures that pale in comparison to 72 percent and 27 percent among men, respectively. Despite having legal inheritance rights, cultural and familial barriers often divert property to male relatives. This lack of asset ownership has far-reaching consequences: without land or property, women lack collateral to access loans, economic security during marital breakdowns, or a tangible stake in decision-making. The property gap mirrors a broader structural inequity, one where women are present in the economy but lack the resources to fully participate or lead. Women’s vulnerability is also heightened in agriculture, where they make up the bulk of unpaid workers and have little to no control over the land they cultivate.

Reimagining Inclusion: From Evidence to Action

To tackle these barriers, the report introduces a comprehensive, evidence-based policy toolkit drawn from 277 global studies. Using expert input from World Bank professionals working across Pakistan, ten policy priorities were identified, ranging from transport and safety to childcare and digital inclusion. Notably, transport and mobility constraints and safety concerns were ranked as top challenges to women’s employment. Still, paradoxically, these areas are also those with the weakest global evidence base for effective interventions. Skills and vocational training, on the other hand, had robust supporting evidence and ranked highly in terms of effectiveness. This reveals a crucial gap between urgent policy needs and existing research, highlighting the necessity for more localized studies and pilot programs in Pakistan. The report also emphasizes the need for contextual policy design. Solutions must be adapted to local norms and constraints, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all model will not suffice. For instance, while childcare provision has shown strong results globally, there is scant research on its impact in Pakistan. Similarly, policies that expand digital access must also address foundational issues like phone ownership and literacy.

The World Bank’s report delivers a powerful reminder that women’s economic empowerment is not merely a gender issue; it is a macroeconomic imperative. Without addressing the institutional, financial, and cultural barriers women face, Pakistan’s aspirations for inclusive and sustainable development will remain out of reach. The toolkit offers a solid starting point, but the real work lies in translating this evidence into tangible reforms that recognize and prioritize women as economic actors, not just within households, but across the national economy.