The national Policy of Development and Empowerment of Women is a statement of intent of the government of Pakistan to specify its measures for the development and empowerment of women. With the policy providing the guidelines, the Ministry of Women Development (MoWD) is responsible to ensure within the overall operating framework of the government that the gender perspective is reflected in all national policies and plans.

Key Policy Measures for Economic Empowerment of Women

• Ensuring that government agencies adopt a gender sensitive approach to development preparing needs based, participatory and implementable programs and projects.

• Gender sensitization to be institutionalized and integrated into all sectors of development and to include the private sector as well

• Developing multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approaches for women's development, with horizontal and vertical linkages at every level

• Mainstreaming gender issues through integration into all sectors of national development

• Eliminating all negative social practices Sectors of policy dealing with economic Empowerment of Women

Though women are an essential part of the country's economy, their share in economic benefits, opportunities and access to resources is not proportionate to their share in the population. Furthermore increasing poverty as a result of structural adjustment programs and globalization disproportionately impacts women.

Access to Credit

Providing women easy access to micro-credit especially through available windows such as Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF); Rural Support Programs (RSPs); First Women Bank Limited (FWBL); Zarai Taraqeate Bank, Khushali Bank. Ensuring that women in general and female headed households, women bread earners, and women with disability in particular, have priority in accessing credit on soft term from FWBL and Khushali Banks and other financial institutions for setting up their business, for buying properties and for housing building.

Remunerated Work

Increasing women's capacity to earn by improving access to sources of livelihood, particularly in agriculture and livestock production. Providing equal opportunities for women in remunerated employment which also accommodate women-oriented work patterns. Improving facilities for the education, training and skill development for women, to enter and re-enter the labour force, including special arrangements, as specified in the draft Labour Policy for women relatives of workers. Ensuring appropriate legislation, including the following measures as proposed in the draft Labour Ploicy. Give effect to the ILO convention 100 ratified by Pakistan in 2001 by enacting a law to ensure equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Under take measures to make work places conducive for women workers so they can work without fear of discrimination and harressment. Enact a law and guidelines to provide protection against sexual harassment at the work place and relief/remedy in cases where it occurs. Providing special courses for women in entrepreneurial skills to assist and engage them to establish their own small scale enterprises.

Initiatives for Subsistence (Micro) Businesses

The last decade has seen a number of initiatives using micro-credit as a tool for poverty alleviation. Examples include the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), the National Rural Support Program (NRSP), other Rural Support Programs (RSPs), and more recently the Khushali Bank. These programs have tried to target women in their lending programs for two reasons. First, because the success of micro-credit in Bangladesh is partly linked with lending to women borrowers whose conservative and trustworthy behavior has made it possible for the bank to sustain its lending operations. Second, the rising levels of poverty in Pakistan and the preponderance of poor women have forced policy makers to give special attention to women who intend to start a tiny or micro business activity. It is ironical, though, that despite this focus, the best ever outreach recorded for the RSPs is a 25% coverage of women as borrowers.NGO programs offer micro-credit to women much more frequently than the RSPs but their overall coverage is very small. The Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) which is the largest development finance institution in the country has also started a small-scale credit scheme for women. The micro-credit programs focus on the survival skills of the beneficiaries and their major thrust is on poverty alleviation. Business Development Services Besides the above financial assistance, the government has also established institutions to support businesses. These include Small & Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Trade Development Authority (TDAP), Punjab Small Industries Department (PSIC), Sind Small Industries Department (SSIC) etc. Each of these institutions offer a number of incentives for business promotion to both women and men

It is quiet apparent from above that besides working towards creating a conducive business environment in general, women specific policy measures to induce Women Entrepreneurship Development is a priority of the government and various incentives towards the attainment of this objective have already been initiated and other programs are in the pipeline.