GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE: LEGAL PERSPECTIVES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

In legal terms, gender equality in the workplace in Pakistan involves a complex journey that cuts across constitutional provisions, labor laws, cultural practices, and institutional behaviors. Although the Constitution is very religious in equality and other labor laws have prohibited discrimination, implementation and enforcement have large loopholes. Some of the issues that continue to occur in the workplace despite the legal and societal limitations include wage inequality, inequality in women's leadership, sexual harassment in the workplace, and insufficient maternity benefits. Courts have provided a road map on what to improve, and new legislation, such as the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, has provided guidelines on what to improve, yet practical problems, such as ignorance, inadequate enforcement policies, and institutionalized patriarchal ideas, continue to hamper real changes. Cultures and religion also influence the interpretation and application of the laws, which contributes to the disparity in the assurance of equity in the working environment. Despite the development of legal advances, there is a necessity.