ISLAMABAD:- Participants in the International Engineering Day event recognized the ongoing challenges in achieving gender equality in the engineering profession and reaffirmed their desire to provide equal opportunities for innovation, leadership and leadership for women in shaping the future of engineering.
International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) brought together stakeholders including government, employers and workers’ organizations to celebrate International Women’s Day. and others at the country office of the Organization for International Cooperation in Islamabad. The event highlights the contributions of women in engineering and highlights the challenges of entering and maintaining an engineering career.
International Women in Engineering Day is a global initiative to increase the visibility of women in engineering, showcase diverse career opportunities, and celebrate the outstanding achievements of female engineers worldwide.
In Pakistan, women occupy about 21% of the workforce, most of which are concentrated in unskilled and low-skilled jobs. Only 1% of women hold management positions. This disparity extends to the engineering sector, where women are significantly underrepresented.
The event highlighted the need for increased investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education for girls. It also called for initiatives to promote gender equality and create a more inclusive and violence- and harassment-free work environment in male-dominated areas of Pakistan.
UNOPS Pakistan Country Manager Ms. Jennifer Ankrom said it is important to involve men and women in infrastructure design, delivery and review. UNOPS has developed a series of infrastructure inclusion guidelines to guide practitioners and policy makers. Part of this assumes that a workforce without women cannot create an inclusive infrastructure. UNOPS Pakistan is committed to expanding women-led businesses and women engineers, noting that women are underrepresented in both. “
He also stated that UNOPS has no tolerance for unsafe working conditions. “We strive to be reliable and consistently deliver the highest quality work to our partners and communities that support us. UNOPS’s recognition of female engineers demonstrates our commitment to creating an environment that allows women to flourish professionally and support inclusive and sustainable development in Pakistan,” he said.
Dr. Arshad Mehmood, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development attended the event as the chief guest and said, “Empowering women engineers in Pakistan can unlock a large talent pool, significantly increase and contribute to the participation of our country’s workforce. who are more diverse and skilled both domestically and internationally.”
CEC representative Engr. Khadija Qureshi “Although 50% of the population, only 30,000 women are registered engineers and only 3,000 are professional engineers.
Mr Guillermo Montt, representing the ICO, said: “ICO improves the policy environment and the use of International Labor Standards to ensure equal opportunities for women and men in education and employment through the regulatory framework. “We do this through social dialogue with governments, employers and labor organizations. “
The event also featured a panel discussion with experienced female engineers and discussed three key issues: violence and burnout, the need for a supportive environment to enable women with family responsibilities to continue their careers, and access to training opportunities.
