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[Article title] A Multi-level Perspective on Equal Employment Opportunity for Women in Pakistan

Author Details Author 1 Name: Faiza Ali Department: University: University of Kent Town/City: Canterbury State (US only): Country: UK

Corresponding author: Faiza Ali Corresponding Authors Email:

fa99@kent.ac.uk

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Biographical Details: [Author 1 bio] Faiza Ali is a lecturer in human resource management at Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK. Her research focuses on gender equality and diversity management in Pakistan and other Muslim majority countries and communities. She has written a number of journal articles and book chapters on this topic. Faiza can be contacted at: fa99@kent.ac.uk

Structured Abstract:

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Purpose Informed by a relational theorisation of equal opportunity, this paper focuses on multi-level experiences and observations of women working in Pakistans formal employment sector considering issues and challenges facing them at three levels of analysis, i.e., macro-societal, meso-organisational and micro-individual. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on in depth qualitative interviews with 30 working women in Lahore, the paper examines multi-level issues of women working in Pakistani organisations. Findings The study reveals that focusing exclusively on organisations and holding them solely accountable for equal opportunity may be inadequate as organisational structures and routines of equal opportunity are affected by both macro-societal factors (e.g., legal, socio-cultural) and micro-individual factors (e.g., intersectionality, agency). In particular, the study highlights unique socio-cultural and structural challenges facing working women in Pakistan and the ways in which these women are able to negotiate and overcome some of these challenges. Research limitations/implications The study is based on six Pakistani organisations located in Lahore, Punjab, and may not be generalized to represent issues and challenges of equal opportunity in other provinces of Pakistan. Practical implications The paper suggests that employers may pay special attention to socio-cultural issues facing women to promote gender equality at the workplace. Originality/value The study contributes to the equal employment opportunity literature by exploring gender equality issues in a Muslim majority countrys context.

Keywords: Equal employment opportunity, Muslim women, multi-level, Pakistan

Article Classification: Research paper

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1 A Multi-level Perspective on Equal Employment Opportunity for Women in Pakistan

Introduction Recent scholarship has suggested that theorising and confining equal opportunity in the domain of work organisation is problematic because it ignores important societal and individual level factors which lie outside the organisation but still have important implications on organisational approaches, experiences and outcomes of diversity management (e.g., Al Ariss and zbilgin 2010; Hirsh and Cha 2008; Joshi and Roh 2007; Syed 2008; Syed and zbilgin 2009; Syed and Murray 2009). In their theorisation of a relational framework for international transfer of diversity management practices, Syed and zbilgin (2009) argue that the mainstream single-level conceptualisations of diversity management within the territory of legal or organisational policy fail to capture the relational interplay of structural- and agentic-level concerns of equality. The authors propose a multilevel framework (of interrelated levels, hence the term relational) to develop a holistic understanding of the various factors affecting equal opportunity in organisations. Previously, Das and Parker (1999) noted that in addition to managerial attitudes and other factors within an organisation, diversity management is also greatly affected by external factors, e.g., social, legal and economic context.

It is, however, a fact that there is a dearth of multi-level studies on equal opportunity. Furthermore, issues of equal opportunity have been, in the main, investigated in industrialised countries in the west (with some notable exceptions, e.g., Littrell and Nkomo 2005; zbilgin and Syed 2010; Rowley and Yukongdi 2008). As such, there is a relative lack of such investigations in the context of countries in Asia and Africa.

2 With an aim to fill this gap, and also taking into account important contextual differences, this paper presents a multi-level perspective on equal opportunity in organisations in a Muslim majority country in Asia, i.e., Pakistan. Drawing on in depth qualitative interviews with thirty women in Lahore, this paper highlights how macro-societal factors (e.g., culture, religion, law) affect meso-organisational experiences and observations (e.g., glass ceiling, income gap, and sexual harassment) of Pakistani women. The paper also highlights how micro-individual factors (e.g., identity and agency) play an important role in these womens experiences as well as responses to the multi-level challenges they face in the workplace.

The paper is structured as follows. First, it offers a brief theoretical background explaining a multi-level approach to equal opportunity. Next, it offers a contextual overview of gender equality (or lack thereof) at work in Pakistan. Finally, the paper presents the qualitative study and discusses its findings and implications.

Multi-level Insights on Equal Opportunity Previous research suggests that societal and institutional contexts may play a major role in shaping the status of disadvantaged groups, e.g., women in employment (Beller 1982; Blau and Beller 1988; Dickens 2007; Jacobs 1992). While in the last few decades, there has been significant progress in many countries regarding legislation on equal opportunity (Kelly and Dobbin 1999; Leonard 1986), legislation per se is not sufficient to explain the progress (or lack of progress) on equal opportunity in a society. There are several other factors (discussed next) which need to be considered to develop a holistic view of equal opportunity.

In their theorisation of a multi-level approach to diversity management, Syed and zbilgin (2009) propose a relational framework that bridges the divide between macro-societal, meso-

3 organisational and micro-individual levels of analyses to arrive at a more comprehensive, realistic and context specific framing of diversity management. The authors argue that a relational approach is imperative in order to fully capture individual choices, organisational processes, and structural conditions all of which collectively account for unrelenting power disparity and disadvantage within social and employment contexts (also see Syed, 2008a). Previously, in their review of research on employment discrimination in the US, Hirsh and Cha (2008) identified factors at the individual, workplace and societal level that contribute to variation in sex and race discrimination across employment contexts. At each level, the authors were able to distinguish between factors that affect employers sex and race biases and factors that affect potential victims capacity to identify discriminatory experiences at work.

There is evidence of the use of multi-level approach in recent academic research. For example, drawing on a qualitative study of Lebanese skilled self-initiated expatriates in France, Al Ariss and zbilgin (2010) adopted a multi-level approach as an alternative to theories of management that frame expatriate careers as either organisationally or individually driven. In doing so, the authors explicated how the international work experiences of self-initiated expatriates can be captured in ways true to their nature as multifaceted and multi-level phenomena. Similarly, in their study of the English language related challenges facing migrant women, Syed and Murray (2009) took a multi-level perspective on the labour market issues and challenges facing migrant women from nonEnglish speaking backgrounds in Australia. The authors theorised their findings through a multi-level construct, examining the macro-societal, meso-organisational, and microindividual challenges facing migrant women in the Australian labour market.

4 Next, the paper offers a description of each level of analysis.

Macro-societal level
From a relational perspective, it is instrumental to understand how societal factors, such as gender, culture, religion, as well as legal and economic factors affect the career trajectories of employees (Syed, 2008a: 31). Together, these factors constitute the macro-societal context of equal opportunity.

At the macro-societal level, it is useful to consider how sociological and institutional forces interact and the way they affect equal opportunity in workplaces and other domains.

Previous research suggests that decisions and practices of organisations cannot be understood simply by analysing organisational policies as rational pursuit of profits (DiMaggio and Powell 1991). Instead, organisations are rooted in societal and institutional contexts, which control decisions and practices that organisational actors assume. The main inspiration in such theorisation is that, just as organisations react to market uncertainty by taking on new economic strategies, they respond to uncertainty of their institutional environment by adopting structures that signal compliance with relevant laws and cultural norms (Guthrie and Roth 1999). Seen from this angle, economic actors act as interpreters of their macro-societal context, responding to the political mandate and the cultural and normative customs of the environment in which they are entrenched.

There is ample statistical evidence of the impact of macro-societal context on the state of equal opportunity in organisations. Syed et al (2005) have highlighted the impact of religiocultural context on emotional labour and societal expectations of female modesty. In Islamic traditions, it is the responsibility of a husband to economically support his wife and children; therefore, there is relatively limited incentive and opportunity for women to engage in paid work. While Islamic law permits women to work, actual expectations of Islamic conditions

5 for female employment and female conduct at job are relatively stricter than those for men (Syed et al., 2005). Besides the impact of macro-cultural values, regulatory context too influences the way equal opportunity is approached and implemented in organizations. Beller (1982) found out that women made gains in employment during the 1970s in the USA after the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Executive Order, which required affirmative action on the part of federal contractors. Blau and Beller (1988) found that womens earnings relative to mens rose significantly in the USA between the periods of 1971 and 1981. Jacobs (1992) shows that womens representation in management increased substantially from 1969 to 1987. Brown (1982) and Leonard (1986) argue that such gains may be attributed at least partly to equal opportunity and affirmative action legislation. In her extensive review of developments in the British legislation, Dickens (2007) suggests that the new single equality body single Equality Act can be cast as a trajectory from a piecemeal approach to the legislative tackling of employment inequality towards inclusiveness, integration and intersectionality in organisations.

Similarly, in a study focused on female employment in China, Cooke (2001) reveals that the achievement of a high rate of womens participation in employment owes much to the effort of the state. The state over the last 50 years introduced a series of progressive regulations and formalised policies aimed at promoting equal opportunity and protecting womens rights and interests in their work and social life.

Meso-organisational level From a relational perspective, the meso-organisational level exists between the macrosocietal and micro-individual levels. Meso-organisational factors (e.g., management approach

6 to diversity structures and routines) have a direct role in determining and influencing the career trajectories of employees (Syed, 2008a: 36).

It is a fact that the formulation of laws or policies per se is not sufficient to enhance opportunities for women. Dickens (2000) argues that the adoption of an equal opportunity policy often becomes an end in itself rather than a first step towards equality: Adopting a policy, therefore, does not necessarily indicate an intention to change the status quo. It can be seen rather as a declaration or symbolic ratification of current practice (p. 157). Particularly when legislation takes a soft or voluntary approach or if it remains restricted by patriarchal culture and societal norms, there is likelihood that policy makers and managers in organisations will interpret and practice legal requirements and recommendations in different ways (Ali 2000; Tomlinson 2007).

In this sense, it may be possible to pull out distinctions between legislation and its interpretations not only in organisational policy but also in actual workplace practices. For example, Hoque and Noon (2004) evaluated the nature and incidence of equal opportunity policies in UK organisations using the Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) data set. They found compelling evidence of what they called an empty shell hypothesis whereby employers often only paid lip service to the equal opportunity policies they claimed to support. For example, while 58 per cent of establishments in their study claimed to have formal equal opportunity policy, however, out of 58 per cent only 37 per cent actually collected gender related statistics on employment. Similarly, only 42 per cent of the firms kept records regarding ethnic origin and 17 per cent claimed to have a special procedure to encourage applications from ethnic minorities.

7 More recently, based on a case study of five service sector organisations in the UK, Tomlinson (2007) explored the extent to which female part-time workers experienced occupational mobility, particularly promotional opportunities, since the introduction of the Part-time Workers Directive 2000 (aimed at advancing part time workers employment). The findings were not very encouraging for part time female employees in five out of six organisations; significant gaps were found between the legislation and its practice, e.g. in terms of equal access to training and promotion opportunities.

Where the meso-level is concerned, policies at this level will clearly be driven by regulatory structures. In other words, the impact of regulatory structures will be determined to a significant part by the enforcement regimes in place. This issue is particularly important in countries where there is weak legislation or enforcement mechanism.

Also with regard to the meso-level, it is important to consider the business case of diversity management. What happens at meso-level will in part be driven by whether diversity policies have the potential to have a bottom line impact on recruitment, retention, productivity etc. Thus, consideration of market factors such and other relevant influences (e.g., trade unions, human rights groups etc) is also an important consideration at the meso-level.

Scholars have also highlighted the connections between the macro-societal and mesoorganisational levels. Macro-societal factors are an important determinant of administrative structures and procedures in organisations (Scott and Meyer 1991; DiMaggio and Powell 1983). Edelman (1992) points towards changes in organisational policies in response to the broad institutional changes that came with the civil rights legislation in the US. Hall and Taylor (1996) suggest that institutional structures and policies may be seen as much more

8 broadly affected by the societal context, e.g., moral templates, cognitive scripts and the symbol systems, thus breaking down the divide between 'institutions' and 'culture'. Seen from this angle, even the most seemingly bureaucratic of practices may be explained in cultural terms (DiMaggio and Powell 1991; Meyer and Rowan 1977; Meyer and Scott 1983).

Micro-individual level At the micro-individual level, it is important to understand how the dynamic, complex and intersecting identities as well as individual circumstances of employees influence their employment experiences and aspirations (Syed, 2008a: 37). Such perspective helps in understanding how, despite some visible influences of the macro-societal and mesoorganisational opportunities and barriers, diverse employees (particularly those from disadvantaged groups) may remain deprived of equal opportunities in the workplace.

From a relational perspective, instead of strictly acting under institutional rules or cultural norms, individuals also act because of their choices and strategies. Individuals make certain choices or perform certain actions not because they fear punishment or attempt to conform; neither do they do so because an action is appropriate or the individual feels some sort of social obligation. Instead, the cognitive element of the external context suggests that individuals are able to make certain choices by exercising their personal agency and thinking.

The micro-level consideration helps us in taking into account the fact that women have the scope to exercise choice in their labour market decisions. Hence, labour market disadvantage, at least partially, might be a reflection of women choosing certain career paths. Hakims (2006) preference theory suggests that the phenomena of gender inequalities in employment (e.g., pay gap, career gap etc) is also shaped by womens own preferences. The majority of

9 working women seek a large degree of work-life balance (Hakim, 2005), certainly more than men do.

It is important to take into account the extent to which womens preferences are driven by macro-level norms and expectations, e.g., given that a male is responsible to bear complete expenses of his family members (including wife and children), the societal expectation of a woman being a homemaker is much more enhanced, thus forcing her to seek flexible work arrangements.

Also relevant here is the notion of intersectionality, i.e., the fact that individuals comprise more than one dimension of identity, e.g., in terms of their gender, ethnicity, religion, age. In other words, more than one dimensions of identity usually intersect in a person. It is possible to treat intersectionality as a way of approaching multiple, intersecting, and complex social relations (McCall 2005: 1772-1773) in which employees identity construction is embedded. Intersectionality is a relevant consideration at the micro-individual level of analysis because of its ability to explain social categories as influencing the positions, experiences and identities of individuals in the workplace.

The foregoing discussion has highlighted that a multi-level approach is helpful in developing a contextual and holistic understanding of equal opportunity in the workplace. The next section provides contextual overview of womens employment in Pakistan.

Context: Womens employment in Pakistan Not unlike other male dominated societies, women in Pakistan remain subject to traditional patriarchal norms and a variety of cultural and structural challenges (Ferdoos 2005). The

10 nature and sphere of womens participation in the countrys labour market is largely determined by socio-cultural and economic factors. Their occupational choices are limited due to social and cultural constraints and inherent gender bias in the society and the labour market. Their human capital is considered inferior to men because of employers predetermined notion of womens primary role as homemakers. As a result of discrimination against female labour, women are concentrated in the secondary sector of labour market (Syed, zbilgin, Torunoglu and Ali 2009).

One cultural pressure facing Pakistani women is the institution of gender segregation often expressed in the form of the purdah (literally meaning curtain) which refers to gender segregation or seclusion of women (e.g., Balchin 1996: 178; Shaheed and Mumtaz 1987: 75). UNDP (1996) describes the strong inside/outside dichotomy in Pakistan, where women are restricted to the inside space of home and household, embodied in the tradition of veiling. This restricts women's access to education, employment, training opportunities and social services. Further, even women with careers face the problem that they cannot live independently but rather require a male to look after them (Alavi n.d.).

A recent report on Pakistans gender profile deplores the fact that the status of women in Pakistan is among the lowest in the world (SDPI, 2008). However, womens participation in the labour force has progressed from 13.7 per cent in 1999-00 to 19.6 per cent in 2007-08 (Labour Force Survey, 2008). Multiple factors are thought to have contributed to this increase in womens employment, including an increased awareness about womens rights, improving female literacy rate and introduction of equal opportunity policies and laws. For example, various successive governments in Pakistan have taken steps to improve womens employment, e.g., by ratifying the ILOs Equal Remuneration Convention in 2001.

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Previous research points towards some elements of a legislative framework of equal opportunity in Pakistan (Ali 2000; Ali and Knox 2008; Goheer 2003; Mullaly 1995; Syed et al. 2009). The legislative framework includes articles on equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the countrys national constitution, relevant labour laws and the international conventions and instruments ratified by Pakistan.

. Insert Table 1 about here .

Pakistans constitution places a ban on discrimination on the basis of gender (Articles 25 and 27) and provides that steps shall be taken to ensure full participation of women in all spheres of national life (Article 34). In order to adopt a gender-neutral approach, Article 263 (a) states that words importing the masculine gender shall be taken to include female. Several constitutional provisions undertake a positive obligation on the part of the state for affirmative action to improve the status of women. For instance, Article 25 (3) states, Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children. Within employment contexts, the constitution requires the State to take special measures for the protection of women workers. According to Article 37(e), The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work, ensuring that children and women are not employed in vocations unsuited to their age or gender, and for maternity benefits for women in employment. (It is hard to ignore the sexist and ageist undercurrents inherent in this Article in its suggestion that there are vocations that

12 are not suited to people of certain age or gender, which is per se an evidence of socio-cultural stereotypes.)

In addition to constitutional guarantees, Pakistan has also ratified or signed a number of international conventions for the advancement of women in employment. Table 1 offers a summary of such instruments. However, there is no institution solely responsible for issues related to equal opportunity in Pakistan. The current legislative framework is dispersed in various institutions and departments (see Table 2).

Table 2 offers a summary of various institutions responsible for governing equal opportunities in the country. However, a recent survey report reveals that women have no resource to legal redress or judicial process in issues of (in) equality (PILER 2007). The report notes that in a span of labour courts of various cities of Pakistan (e.g., Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad etc), no complaints were filed in any court by women. The PILER report identifies the following reasons of this lack of legal activity by women: male-dominated gender biased labour, judiciary and governance structures, lack of unionisation among women workers, lack of legal information and lack of access to legal, technical and financial support networks and institutions. (p. 45)

. Insert Table 2 about here .

There is also an element of womens protection in Pakistans labour laws (Ali and Knox 2008). Illustrating the protective nature of Pakistans labour laws, the 1934 Factories Act

13 (Act No. 25) and the 1969 Shops and Establishment Ordinance regulate night work for women in Pakistan. The Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969 prohibits women and young persons from working in any establishment between 7.00 p.m. and 9.00 a.m., except with the permission of Government (Ordinance No. 8 of 1969). Similarly, under the Factories Act women may only be employed in factories between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. The stated purpose of section 45 of the Factories Act is to secure a night rest of not less than 11 hours for women.

There are currently no laws in Pakistan that contain explicit provisions for equal remuneration for equal work for women, protection of labour rights for domestic workers and protection of labour rights of home based workers. This disjuncture between policy (e.g. ratification of the ILO conventions) and practice points towards a cosmetic approach towards equal opportunity. Most recently, the pro-left wing government of the Pakistan Peoples Party has passed a new law to address sexual harassment at work, titled Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010.

While the foregoing points towards a rudimentary institutional pressure for equal opportunity in Pakistan, over time, public awareness of womans abilities, rights and status has somewhat improved (probably as a result of ratifying key ILO conventions and other international policy doctrines). Apparently, this has had some positive effect on womens employment; e.g., female participation in the labour force has increased over the years from 13.7 per cent in 1999-00 to 19.6 per cent in 2007-08 (Labour Force Survey, 2008). Yet, the overall female employment rate is very low even when compared to other developing countries in the region, such as India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (Ali 2010).

14 Also relevant here is to consider the internal heterogeneity of Pakistani women because of their multiple and intersecting identities, e.g., based on their family status, education, religion, ethnicity etc. The status of women in Pakistan is not uniform because of the intersection of gender with other forms of identity (Syed et al., 2010). There is considerable diversity in the status of women across classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide, which may be attributed to uneven socio-economic development and also the impact of tribal, feudal and capitalist formations on womens lives.

The study The empirical study focuses on the following primary research question: How is the multilevel framework of diversity expressed through the workplace experiences of women in Pakistan? A qualitative method of inquiry was adopted to explore multi-level experiences and observations of women working in Pakistani organisations. The study focused on highly qualified (bachelors degree or above) female employees working in three sectors, i.e., banking, telecommunication and education.

The data were collected through exploratory interviews of 30 women working in the aforementioned sectors. Since all participants were Muslim by religion (Muslims constitute the 97 per cent of Pakistans population) and geographically belonged to the same city (Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan with a population exceeding five millions according to 1998 census), some similarity was expected in the socio-cultural issues and challenges facing the participants.

All participants were currently employed. Participants were recruited using the researchers personal networks using snowball and criterion sampling methods. This sampling method

15 was deemed appropriate because of the personal nature of the questions and also in view of access issues. Criterion sampling ensured that the participants fitted the following criteria:

Highly qualified employees holding at least a bachelors degree Even representation of married and single women Employed in formal organisations in three sectors: banks, telecommunication and education

Location: Lahore, Punjab

While only 25 years ago, no women were employed in banks in Lahore (Nestvogel and Klein 1986: 161, 168), nowadays many organisations, including banks, have female employees (Ferdoos 2005). However, because of this papers focus on the multi-level issues of diversity, the unit of analysis in this study is individual women (instead of organisations).

A semi-structured, in-depth, qualitative interview protocol was used to investigate and explore issues and challenges facing participating women. The interview instrument was divided into the following sections: macro-societal level issues (laws, culture, religion), meso-organisational issues (recruitment and selection, sexual harassment, income, promotion, maternity policies, and health and safety) and micro-individual issues (family status, socioeconomic background, agency). The questions sought to encourage participants to share their individual experiences, perceptions, and reflections on issues related to equal opportunity their work life. An open-ended format was used allowing participants the ability to control the depth and breadth of information shared. The semi-structured format provided deeper understanding of the key issues. This methodology also presented opportunities to ask follow-up questions to clarify and elicit additional information.

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Average duration of each interview was 60 minutes. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed both manually and electronically through NVivo (a qualitative software by QSR Australia used for computerised classifying, sorting and arranging information), for cross-verification of the emerging themes. Repeated readings of the transcripts led to the identification of key multi-level equal opportunity related experiences, relationships between categories within and across each level. Table 3 provides a summary of interviewees profile.

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The next section presents the findings of the qualitative study. In discussing the various themes that emerged out of this study, there are various quotes provided from the actual interviews to add validity to the themes. Each quote is followed by a code to refer to the participant, e.g., AF1 refers to the first female interviewed from organisation A.

Findings The findings of this study are categorised in three different levels, i.e., macro-societal, mesoorganisational and micro-individual level issues of equal opportunity. This framing of results is consistent with Syed and zbilgins (2009) multi-level, relational framework of diversity management. The narratives of participants in the present study reveal the multi-level issues and challenges facing these women within and outside the workplace.

17 Macro-societal issues At the macro-societal level, the study points towards a number of socio-cultural challenges facing female employees in Pakistan. While some socio-cultural challenges are embedded within the organisation (e.g., gender stereotypes), others are rooted in contexts outside the organisation. For example, one participant, a customer service officer in a bank, thus described the socio-cultural problems facing her in the organisation.

.. People and colleagues bother you a lot. Customers no doubt create problems but colleagues do not spare you as well. But we cannot talk about it because of our culture. (AF2)

The above account suggests that despite a culture which is at times averse to female presence in the workplace, women exercise inhibition. Indeed, owing to socio-cultural norms of female modesty and inhibition, Muslim women do not like to discuss certain problems, such as those related to sexual harassment at work (Syed, 2008b). This point will be further explained in the section on meso-organisational level issues.

The present study also reveals how the socio-cultural practice of gender segregation affects career opportunities and occupational mobility of female employees. This is evident from the following quote by a participant working in the education sector:

I think women face problems outside the organisation not inside. I can be transferred to a better place because I have two masters degrees, but I do not accept it because this is my hometown and if I work somewhere else (outside town) how would I survive. (EF2)

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Syed, Ali and Winstanley (2005) have discussed in detail the female modesty related issues and experiences of working women in Islamic societies. The present study suggests that while female modesty occurs as a value in many cultures, it is a particularly explicit and strong feature of Pakistani culture. For example, one participant working in the education sector stated:

I have to be really careful and reserved in front of male colleagues because otherwise people will consider me a girl of bad character. What can we do... our social set-up is like this. (EF1)

Similar themes were recurrent in other women's narratives. For example:

We also know that our culture is like this that if you talk about such things [sexual harassment] the female is considered as if she must have done something [inviting or suggestive] that is why the male was attracted towards her; we are already a victim and do not want to be a victim again (AF2)

There are other issues cultural issues related to sexual harassment (constant staring by fellow passenger as wells as by bus staff while commuting to work), which bring discomfort and stress for female employees.

...you know how bizarre people are out there. Every day is a torture. Everyday someone will say something while going to office that you will feel tensed throughout

19 the day. I am facing this problem these days and not able to do anything about it. (CF3)

The study also revealed that women in general are not aware of their legal rights and are unsure about any legal course available to them to seek redress against gender discrimination by their employer. For example, a bank employee reported that she was drawing a lesser salary than her male colleague (of similar qualification) working in the same bank:

I dont think they [bank] are bound by law to give equal pay to men and women. If they are I dont know. The HR guy told me they are not... Legal system in this country is a joke. I dont want to waste my time in court procedures which are plagued with bribery. (DF3)

Overall, the participants accounts suggest that macro-level factors especially socio-cultural issues influence their career trajectory either directly or indirectly. Socio-cultural issues such as modesty and inhibition appear to influence greatly the lives of working women in the formal sector. It is to be noted that these socio-cultural issues are not directly caused by the organisation rather these are created by culture, values and societal practices.

Meso-organisational issues The emerging themes which could be categorised in meso-organisational level were interesting in a way that most participants were only superficially aware of organisational policies of equal opportunity. However, when questioned in depth it was revealed that in reality many female employees were facing issues such as sexual harassment, glass ceiling and income disparity within the organisation.

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Sexual harassment: an invisible phenomenon. Nearly 80 per cent of the working women in Pakistan are reported to be sexually harassed at workplaces (AASHA 2002). However, the current study reveals that women do not feel comfortable discussing or complaining about sexual harassment at work.

The study reveals that women face sexual harassment in different ways in organisations. It suggests that sexual harassment is a common invisible crime in Pakistani organisations. However, women tend to hide the issue because of female modesty and inhibition embedded in the culture.

According to an unmarried woman working in a private sector organisation:

...in our culture it [sexual harassment] is considered a shame to openly discuss especially for unmarried girls... Our culture is like that if something like this happens people will not say anything to men but they will blame girls to be main culprit behind such issues. (DF2)

In their narratives, the participants refer to organisational policies on sexual harassment; however, the system of implementing such policies is either weak or inadequate. The participants revealed that there was no specific or explicit procedure outlined in sexual harassment policies in the organisations they worked in. The participants were aware of policies on sexual harassment but when further asked it was revealed that there were not any adequate formal procedures to lodge a complaint. Some participants suggested that in case of

21 sexual harassment, their only course is to contact the senior supervisor. For example, a victim (lecturer at a university) of sexual harassment revealed this fact:

I took this action all by myself. I brought written complaint in front of senior authorities. Although I did not know what to do but I had to do something. (EF1)

The study also reveals that that any complaining women are likely to face victimisation in the workplace. Such women are sabotaged through different tactics by other male or female colleagues. For example, one participant revealed how her career growth was sabotaged because she complained against her senior.

This is what I call discrimination. I worked here for two years and now on the recommendation of that director against whom I complained sexual harassment case the university authorities did not extend my contract while other juniors got extension. I do not know what will be my future. The contract is expiring in July so there are very strong chances that I will not be here anymore. (EF1)

Glass ceiling. Another major challenge which women face in formal organisations in Pakistan is obstacles to career growth. The participants general agreed that women in Pakistan cannot be career oriented because of their expected social (family oriented) roles. The findings suggest that women do get employment opportunities at lower level jobs in organisations but moving up the ladder becomes difficult for them. While participants acknowledged that they were treated equally at the time of recruitment, they also stated that they faced obstacles in their promotion.

22 Women are getting opportunities these days. They are getting better education. But female employees face problems at higher and managerial level. If such problems are solved then I think employment opportunities will increase. (AF1)

The study revealed that women are discouraged by their male colleagues to be promoted to senior level. The participants reported that women face many barriers created by male colleagues regarding job promotion. For example, one participant described how she faced resistance from male senior colleagues in her promotion.

If a female is senior and she is eligible to be promoted then senior males colleagues will never let her promote. They will rather transfer a male from other branch office but they will never want an eligible female of the branch to be promoted at a managerial level. Here in this culture males will never like to work under a female. (DF2)

From an organisational policy perspective, the above stated experiences of female employees seem contradictory to the spirit of equal opportunity. One reason for such duplicity of attitude could be societal non-acceptance of women working outside the home. The above account also suggests that macro socio-cultural stereotypes may be overlapping with mesoorganisational factors. Hence, while some (if not all) formal organisational policies might be gender neutral, in practice, embedded cultural traits may remain dominant in the organisation.

Income gap. Income gap based on gender is one of the highest in Pakistan as compared to other developing countries in South Asia (UNDP, 2009). Even highly qualified women face

23 income discrimination in organisations. An employee in a private bank thus explained her issue of unequal pay in the organisation where she had been working for the past three years.

Will you believe that my junior males are getting more pay than me? I do not know the exact reason for that. (DF2)

It was interesting to find out that most participants in the present study did not complain about income discrimination on the basis of gender. However, when they were asked in depth questions, it was found out that women do face income discrimination but they are not able to explicitly identify the issue as gender discrimination.

Structural issues. The participants accounts also pointed towards a number of structural issues and barriers. One common theme, perhaps unique to the Pakistani context of gender equality at work, was the issue of daily commutation to work. The participants discuss how important transport facility is for them in order to remain active in employment. Women do not feel secure using public transport and prefer to work in an organisation where transport facility is provided by the employer.

The issue of transport is of such significance that females may ignore better job opportunity and go for lesser value job just to avail transport facility provided by the organisationWhen I was looking for job I was looking for pick and drop facility in particular. I think that is the biggest problem. (BF1).

24 Living in large cities (such as Lahore), women have additional opportunities to work, educate themselves and perform other household related tasks, but are refrained from doing so owing to inadequate transportation system.

Overall, the participants accounts point towards a range of meso-organisational level issues such as sexual harassment, career hurdles and income inequality at work. The findings suggest that social stereotypes encountered in the workplace have important implications not only for female employees experiences but also for workplace efficiency.

Micro-individual issues At the micro-individual level, issues related to individual identity and agency are relevant. Each recollection in the present study reflects unique personalities, and different account of experiences and interpretations. Intersectionality takes into account relationships between various forms of identity, and may be defined as a theory to analyze how the production of power and processes between gender, class, ethnicity etc may be simultaneously examined (SDPI, 2008).

In the present study, the participants accounts demonstrated some kind of connection between their gender, marital status and the employment practices. Single, unmarried women were generally more vulnerable to sexual harassment. One participant (an unmarried woman) was a victim of sexual harassment and left her job because of the harassment she faced.

In my opinion, there is difference between men and women. If there was not a difference then I did not have to leave my (previous) job. Difference is still there. It was in my previous organisation and even in this organisation as well. (AF2)

25

The results reveal that married women in particular face a cultural conflict between their domestic and public roles.

I think the biggest problem for a married female employee is that she is doing two jobs. If husband and wife are working and when they come back from work at the same time, man will lie down to take rest and woman will leave the bag on the table and she will straight away go to kitchen. (DF2)

While there were some obvious differences on the basis of gender in organisations, participants also acknowledged being more advantaged than their male colleagues because of their gender. One participant expressed how women are more advantaged than men due to the women-only transport facility provided to them in their organisation.

I think females are getting more opportunities than males for example, female employees in this organisation get pick and drop facility while male employees do not have any facility like that. (AF1)

Participants also acknowledged the overall protective nature of Pakistani society towards women. For example, one participant working in a bank mentioned that her male colleagues took special care of women in their organisations.

Our male staff is very caring. If there is a customer who is a bit annoying then male staff will deal with it and we do not have to worry about it. (DF1).

26 The issue of inadequate childcare facility is an important structural barrier which most married women face. In Pakistan, childcare centres are only available in big cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. However, the number of such centres is extremely low and there is no proper quality assurance system in place. Further, childcare centres tend to be very expensive, usually unaffordable by the middle level employees. It was acknowledged by a newly married female employee (at a senior level) that women sometimes have to leave job because of almost non-existence of childcare facilities.

I think the biggest problem is childcare...I feel at times leaving my job when I have family/kids of my own because of no day-care facility at work. That is a concern. (BF2)

The other reason for not sending children to day-care facilities is the insecure environment of such institutes. The government does not hold any specific safety and quality guidelines for childcare centres. Therefore, most women leave their children with their parents or parent inlaw. However, such extended family support may not be available to all women.

Yes we do have some day-care but we are scared of leaving child there because of safety reasons. (BF3)

Despite various forms of barriers, what is evident as a common theme in most interviews is a positive outlook towards career and life, a belief in their own potential, goodwill towards organisational aspirations of diversity and equality, and a ray of hope in a world of work otherwise characterised by discrimination and stereotypes. A common theme in the participants narratives was their belief that career growth and opportunities mainly depend

27 on performance, and that women are not being discriminated against on the basis of their gender.

I think the girls who come for career development they do progress. Initially they do get into this mess [stereotypes about womens performances] but when they keep on performing well I think nothing can stop them [from getting promoted]. (BF2)

Overall, the participants accounts suggest that their individual identity, including their gender, age, family status, marital status as well as skill, play a key role in shaping their employment prospects. However, despite certain individual and external influences and constraints (e.g. social and legal challenges, family responsibilities), the study suggests that participants were generally able to utilise their unique resources to tackle the issues and challenges they encountered in the labour market.

Discussion This study has highlighted how societal, organisational and individual level factors are interrelated to each other and have a joint effect on equal opportunities (or lack thereof) available to women in organisations. The study focused on equal opportunity related issues and challenges facing highly qualified female employees in Pakistani organisations. It revealed that women face many issues which can be categorised into three different levels, i.e., macro-societal, meso-organisational and micro-individual level issues. At the macrosocietal level, the study highlighted socio-cultural, legal and other structural factors. At the meso-organisational level, workplace related issues and challenges and issues of gender stereotype were outlined. At the micro-individual level, issues related to identity and agency were discussed.

28

First, at the macro-societal level, socio-cultural factors seem to cause some key barriers women face in their endeavour to participate in formal employment. The issues of modesty, inhibition and gender segregation were explored. Syed et al (2005) argue that while female modesty occurs as a value in many cultures, it is a particularly explicit and strong feature of Islamic doctrine. The influence of such cultural practices is huge on working womens lives. It is practiced everyday within the organisations, even at a highly skilled employment level. This view is also consistent with a neo-institutional perspective which considers the role of culture in shaping organisational policies and practices (Meyer and Rowan 1977; Meyer and Scott 1983; DiMaggio and Powell 1991). Although the constitution of Pakistan supports gender equality, the implementation of such constitutional guarantees and equal opportunity laws is yet to be achieved.

While it is fair to say that there may be deeply embedded societal cultural issues that organisations need to face up to when employing female staff, organisations, per se, are an important subsystem of society and hence can play a role in shaping the culture of the society in which they are embedded. Its not our aim to exonerate organizations of their ethical and legal duties to equal opportunity, however, the aim is to highlight that organizational response itself is shaped by the legal, ethical and socio-cultural contexts which surround the organization.

Secondly, it may be noted that while direct forms of discrimination are becoming increasingly less prevalent, indirect, subtler forms of discrimination are becoming more common (Deitch et al. 2003). In Pakistani organisations, sexual harassment exists in one way or the other but this crime remains invisible. This study reveals that the process of sexual

29 harassment in Pakistani workplaces has three main aspects; female inhibition and modesty which is related to the socio-cultural factors, inappropriate redress system, and victimisation. The role of organisations in this regard can be understood as empty shell where employers pay lip service to equal opportunity policies (Hoque and Noon 2004).

At the meso-level, there is clearly little in terms of regulatory pressure requiring organisations to do much in terms of implementing equal opportunity policies. Significant improvements could, therefore, clearly be brought about by the implementation of proper sexual equality and equal pay legislation that is rigorously enforced. There is also the possibility that companies might introduce better policies of their own volition in line with the business case of diversity management.

The study also highlights the issue of the gender gap in income. However, it was interesting to note that the majority of the participants were not aware of the income gap issue and were at the same time not concerned about it. Again this may be seen as an embedded sociological bias within and outside the workplace, which has been perhaps pragmatically accepted by women. The issue of income gap in Pakistan can be related to two different types of obstacles. One obstacle relates to the cultural practices where employees bring their beliefs and values to work. The other issue relates to the organisational policies and practices where obstacles such as lip service to policy, lack of explicit policy, or managers negligence of policy play an important role in creating a lack of equal opportunity (Liff and Dale 1994). Further, at the macro-societal level, there is no legal mechanism to deal with equal remuneration at workplace in Pakistan which further complicates the matter.

30 Barriers to career growth were also evident in the study. Women identified a number of reasons which hamper their promotion. First and foremost is the gender hierarchy entrenched in a male dominated culture, which is also replicated in organisations. Further, the issue of gender inequality in career also suggests a lack of clear policies and procedures in organisations. It is evident from the study that the meso-organisational level issues and challenges are influenced by the macro-societal level issues.

Finally, in terms of internal heterogeneity of women, there is a range of experiences for female employees expressed in this study, e.g. based on their family status and socioeconomic class. This is consistent with SDPI (2008) report which notes that womens experience of exploitation and discrimination is varied across groupings, and that they experience different levels and natures of suppression (p. 17). It is, however, acknowledged that there may be many other experiences of female employees that are not captured here, e.g. across various provinces and industries. Furthermore, some views of the interviewees in this study were retrospective accounts of their experiences, which might not be entirely related to their specific organisation. Also, interviews in this study were conducted with those participants who were already employed and who were classified as highly qualified working women. Presumably those who are not highly qualified may have different experiences. Table 4 provides an overview of the multi-level issues of (in)equality facing female employees in Pakistan.

. Insert Table 4 about here .

31 Future researchers may wish to conduct more detailed investigations in other sectors such as manufacturing industries in Pakistan, and elsewhere, for further understanding of equal opportunity. It is suggested however that the multi-level approach adopted in this paper might assist policy makers and managers, both in the public and private sector organisations, to better understand the range of issues at stake (Syed and Pio 2010). The approach may also assist other stakeholders to develop a realistic understanding of equal opportunity policies in various societies and organisations.

Organisational leaders and HR practitioners may wish to focus on indirect and invisible forms of discrimination (Ogbonna and Harris 2006) to address organisational issues such as sexual harassment, income inequality and glass ceiling. To achieve better equality at work, it is important to consider not only issues such as pay equity and career growth, but also to maintain a flexible work environment that allows women to meet both their job and family responsibilities, and to establish a culture with zero tolerance for prejudice and harassment.

Conclusion Pakistan, as a developing country and as an aspiring economy, needs its women and men to work together to help achieve the goals of economic growth and prosperity. For working women to achieve their full potential, the state and organisational policy makers need to recognise and address equal opportunity related issues facing women at multiple levels within and outside the workplace. When policies informed by multi-level insights are put in place to fight structural and social barriers, more women will be encouraged to pursue formal employment. State and organisations both need to play their role to achieve better equal opportunity outcomes in the workplace also taking into account internal heterogeneity of women based on their multiple forms of identity. Through increased awareness, cultural

32 transformation and institutional monitoring at multiple levels, it will be possible to realise the lofty dream of equal opportunity in Pakistani organisations.

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35

Table 1. Equal opportunity related conventions ratified by Pakistan

Conventions ILO Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 ILO Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the right to organise Convention, 1948 UN Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 1953 ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 Ratified by Pakistan on 25 March 1938 14 February 1951 14 February 1951 7 December 1954 24 January 1961 12 March 1996 11 October 2001

Source: Adapted from ILO 2010

36

Table 2. Institutions governing equal opportunity in Pakistan

Legislative and administrative institutions Courts and tribunals

Ministry of Labour Management and Overseas Pakistanis

The Supreme Court of Pakistan

Directorate of workers education (DWE)

Provincial High Courts

National Commission on the Status of Women

Labour Courts

Ministry of Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education

Special Courts

Pakistan Law Commission

Subordinate Courts

Federal Ombudsman

Administrative Courts and Tribunals

Source: Adapted from ILO 2002

37 Table 3. Interviewees profile

Participant Code Age Marital status Employment sector Time in organisation (in years) 2 3 3 2 4 1 0.5 1 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 4 2 2.5 2 1.5 3.5 0.5 2 2 3 2 3 1 1.5 3.5

AF1 AF2 AF3 AF4 AF5 BF1 BF2 BF3 BF4 BF5 CF1 CF2 CF3 CF4 CF5 DF1 DF2 DF3 DF4 DF5 EF1 EF2 EF3 EF4 EF5 FF1 FF2 FF3 FF4 FF5

20-29 20-29 20-29 20-29 30-35 30-35 30-35 30-35 20-29 30-35 30-35 20-29 30-35 20-29 20-29 30-35 20-29 30-35 30-35 20-29 30-35 20-29 20-29 30-35 20-29 20-29 30-35 30-35 20-29 20-29

Single Single Married Single Married Single Single Married Married Single Single Married Married Single Married Married Single Married Single Single Married Married Single Married Single Married Single Single Single Married

Bank Bank Bank Bank Bank Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication Bank Bank Bank Bank Bank Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education

38

Table 4. A multi-level perspective on womens experiences in Pakistani organisations

Specimen Experience

Description

Multi-level experiences Macro-societal level Socio-cultural issues

Inadequate legislation

Patriarchal traditions Islamic female modesty Lack of monitoring bodies Insufficient laws

I have to be really careful and reserved in front of male colleagues because otherwise people will consider me a girl of bad character. What can we do... our social set-up is like this. (EF1) I dont think they [bank] are bound by law to give equal pay to men and women. If they are I dont know. The HR guy told me they are not... Legal system in this country is a joke. I dont want to waste my time in court procedures which are plagued with bribery. (DF3)

Meso-org level Sexual harassment

Inhibition inadequate redress system victimisation

Glass ceiling

Career growth Mobility

Income gap

Structural issues

Gender stereotypes Lack of awareness Transport Child care

This is what I call discrimination. I worked here for two years and now on the recommendation of that director against whom I complained sexual harassment case the university authorities did not extend my contract while other juniors got extension. I do not know what will be my future. The contract is expiring in July so there are very strong chances that I will not be here anymore. (EF1) Women are getting opportunities these days. They are getting better education. But female employees face problems at higher and managerial level. If such problems are solved then I think employment opportunities will increase. (AF1) Will you believe that my junior males are getting more pay than me? I do not know the exact reason for that. (DF2) The issue of transport is of such significance that females may ignore better job opportunity and go for lesser value job just to avail transport facility provided by the organisation When I was looking for job I was looking for pick and drop facility in particular. I think that is the biggest problem. (BF1).

Micro-individual level Intersectionali ty

Family role Religion Education

Agency

Resistance Career orientation

I think the biggest problem for a married female employee is that she is doing two jobs. If husband and wife are working and when they come back from work at the same time, man will lie down to take rest and woman will leave the bag on the table and she will straight away go to kitchen. (DF2) I think the girls who come for career development they do progress. Initially they do get into this mess [stereotypes about womens performances] but when they keep on performing well I think nothing can stop them [from getting promoted]. (BF2)