Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Ratification of ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration.

245. 
     Pakistan ratified ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration on 15 August 2001.
     

Studies for the development and adoption of job evaluation systems based on gender-neutral criteria that would facilitate the comparison of the value of those jobs of a different nature, in which women presently predominate, with those jobs in which men presently.

245. 
     The criteria for recruitment in Government service are gender neutral. No gender preference is cited in advertisements placed by the Government in newspapers, unless the job is being advertised to fill the 5% quota for women. The only consideration is qualification and merit.
     
246. 
     Studies comparing jobs in which women predominate to those in which men predominate have not been carried out in Pakistan. It may also be argued that there does not appear to be a tendency in the society to hold jobs in which women predominate to be less important or valuable than those performed by men. Indeed the two professions in which women predominate – teaching and nursing – are considered to be vital to the functioning of the society.
     

Creation of implementation machinery and encouraging the efforts of the parties to collective agreements, where they apply, to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

245. 
     Pakistan is party to ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining respectively. The Constitution also guarantees the right to form associations and unions under Article 17 (1) which states “Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law …”. As such trade unions are an integral part of the system of labour relations in Pakistan. Trade unions tend to be among the most liberal and progressive segments of the society and they are staunch advocates of all workers rights, including equal remuneration for work of equal value.
     

Information submitted in response to General Recommendation 17.

Time-use surveys as part of national household survey programmes and collecting statistics desegregated by gender on time spent on activities both in the household and on the labour market.

Steps to quantify and include the unremunerated domestic activities of women in the gross national product.

245. 
     Integrated household surveys are regularly undertaken in Pakistan. However time use surveys have not yet become a part of the household surveys. The Ministry of Women Development, as a consequence of preparing this report, is initiating action to request the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the national data collection machinery, to include time use surveys in future integrated household surveys. The Federal Bureau of Statistics is of the view that the Pakistan integrated household survey (PIHS) and the Labour Force Survey are amenable to meet the information requirements of the committee in this regard through a few alterations in the relevant questionnaires.
     
246. 
     At present the unremunerated domestic activities of women are not quantified in Pakistan and the results are not included in the gross national product. Again as a consequence of preparing this report, the concerned agencies in the Government of Pakistan are being apprised of the Committee’s recommendation and will be requested to take appropriate actions in this regard.
     

Information relating to women in the field of employment in Pakistan

245. 
     The following tables give some idea of the situation in Pakistan as it relates to women and employment.
     

TABLE 11.01 Labour Force Participation
Year	Total (%)	Female (%)	Male (%)
1981	---	2.1	50.6
1990-91	---	8.2	46.3
2000	29.0	9.3	47.6
2001-2002	29.6	9.9	48.0
Source: Federal Bureau of Statistics. Last two rows on the basis of Labour Force Survey 2001-2002.