Project profile — Broadening Economic and Social Transformation for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Recovery

• Pakistan (100.00%)

• Secondary Education: Vocational training (11330) (35.00%)
• Democratic participation and civil society:
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (25.00%)
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (10.00%)
• Business And Other Services: Business Development Services (25030) (30.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to reduce social, cultural and institutional barriers to women’s engagement in economic and social spheres in Pakistan. It seeks to create an enabling environment that supports women’s economic recovery and success in a coronavirus (COVID-19) context. The project will also address the dimensions of unpaid care and care-related work. Project activities include: (1) engaging with leaders, employers, civil society, families and the legislature to increase acceptance and challenge gender norms around women in the workplace in Pakistan; (2) seeking to ensure the legislative frameworks that protect women in public spaces are well understood, accepted and enforced; and (3) enhancing the social and economic agency of women in the Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan regions of (Northern Pakistan) by providing new skills, entrepreneurial and business-incubation training opportunities, plus leadership and confidence-building initiatives.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) reduced social, cultural, institutional, and economic barriers for women’s engagement in economic and social spheres during COVID-19 recovery and rebuilding; and (2) enhanced social and economic agency of women in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan during COVID-19 recovery and rebuilding.

Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) engaged 861 religious and traditional leaders (460 women and 401 men) on the principles of women’s economic empowerment, gender equality and the prevention of sexual-based gender violence; (2) supported 461 poor households (262 woman-headed) with packages and assets such as agricultural inputs, supplies and passive solar greenhouses to aid with economic recovery and rebuilding; (3) provided 14 workplaces with training and financial support to create gender responsive and inclusive environments; (4) provided 293 micro-grants to organizations to support women's economic empowerment, recovery and rebuilding; (5) trained 15,932 individuals (12,308 women and 2,601 men) on life skills and household decision-making; (6) established 16 gender-inclusive digital centers; (7) established 380 Community Based Saving Groups with 8,429 members (8,218 women and 211 men); (8) provided 836 entrepreneurs (753 women and 83 men) with financial and business development services; and (9) trained 847 participants (480 women and 367 men) in bridging and employer-led technical and vocational skills.

• Proactive disclosure