In a statement released on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said that 5,145 of the 21,168 companies registered with the regulator between March 2020 and March 2021 have at least one female director.
The commission acknowledges the important role that women play in economic development and has taken a range of steps to strengthen gender mainstreaming within the organization, according to the release.
The SECP lists the steps as increasing maternity leave from 90 to 180 days, ensuring 48 percent female representation in new hires, and 23 percent female representation in recent promotions.
The SECP has a 29 percent female representation at senior levels and a 23 percent female management cadre.
According to the SECP, Pakistan improved its score on the entrepreneurship indicator of the World Bank’s Woman, Business, and the Law (WBL) index from 50 to 75 points out of 190 countries.
Mobility, job, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, savings, and pension are all protected by the WBL index. Pakistan increased its score on two metrics in the 2021 study, entrepreneurship and workplace, resulting in an overall score of 55.6, up from 49.4 in 2020. Pakistan is one of five economies that have adopted reforms to boost women’s entrepreneurship prospects.
SECP Commissioner Sadia Khan urged women to actively volunteer for various events on the occasion of International Women’s Day celebrations.
Ms. Khan suggests that diversity activities should be organized on a regular basis during the year so that women can focus on their accomplishments and prepare for the future.
