As gender training is applied increasingly as a development solution to gender inequality, this book examines gender inequality in Pakistan's public sector and questions whether a singular focus on gender training is enough to achieve progress in a patriarchal institutional context.

Organizations are gendered with complex patterns of visibility and invisibility embedded in their structure and norms. This paper analyzes the patterns of gender inequality within organizations, which are reinforced by gender-blind policies. My argument is that gender-blind policies promising equality do not always translate into gender equity. I will focus on careers of women in District Management Group (DMG), a prestigious administrative civil service group in the Federal Government of Pakistan, to trace the hidden patterns of persisting gender inequalities in DMG. I use qualitative data from in-depth interviews with middle and upper management DMG officers, to tease out the invisible pattern of inequalities experienced by these women. To identify the differential effects of gender-blind policies I will use the concepts of visibility and invisibility in workplaces. Visible equal opportunity policies fail to provide a level playing field when the model of ideal manager is based on masculine assumptions. Women face systematic disadvantage and struggle to compete in a system that does not take into account their invisible constraints of work and family responsibilities, gender stereotypes, different life experiences and social roles. A model of integrated manager needs to be constructed and acknowledged, where public professional life is integrated with the private life of family, community and personal commitments.

This book explores gender and education in Pakistan by looking at the underlying processes that result in diff erent patterns of educational experiences of and outcomes for females and males. All the chapters are based on research studies that were conducted in different parts of Pakistan and explore diverse aspects of gender in relation to education. The book makes gender issues in education in Pakistan more visible by illustrating how gender is both a very personal and yet, public issue, and calls for more carefully thought out approaches to dealing with gender disadvantage in the education system.

If Pakistan is to reduce gender gaps and achieve its development goals, policy interventions will require a dual focus on near-term and long-term outcomes. In the near term, females need access to basic services and opportunities. In the longer term the economic, cultural, and political environment must sustain improved circumstances for women in health, labor force participation, and other outcomes. Far deeper and more integrated initiatives are needed if long-standing trends in gender inequality are to be reversed. What role does public policy play? In many cases minor changes in laws and institutions can foster greater involvement by women in the public sphere to enable them to pursue activities that further enhance their autonomy and elevate their status. Such changes may encourage parents to educate their daughters, for instance, which will enable future generations of women to make better health-related and economic decisions within the household, and to participate in political life where they can contribute to further social and legal change. What is to be done in the meantime, as institutional reforms and economic growth may make limited and slow progress? Active policy measures to promote gender equality in the present are crucial. In particular, near-term approaches must work around existing constraints on women and girls, augmenting their access to basic services, paid work, and opportunities for decision-making in the public sphere. The analysis in this report has incorporated research and insights from scholars and civil society organizations in Pakistan in order to arrive at precisely these types of near-term approaches.

Extrait de la couverture . "The book is set against a backdrop of the everyday cycle of happiness and sorrow experienced by the common people of Pakistan, in particular its women. The laws and legal confrontation between the sexes have been ably portrayed. The author discusses gender disputes, economic disparities, legal and social inequalities. The culture of violence and crimes against women is illustrated with real cases. Quotations from the Quran are used to illustrate the just and equitable spirit of Islamic laws, but along with this the author discusses the ways in which these laws have been misinterpreted and distorted. Recommandations and remedies with a road map for change in the economic, social and legal environment of the country add to the value of the book. Eminently readable and containing several case studies and real life examples the book is essential reading for all thinking women in Pakistan."

The research for this thesis was concerned with how gender training relates to the problem of sex segregation in terms of issues of women's low representation, access to resources, and institutional policies and practices. The research interviewed 198 public sector employees in Pakistan to seek opinions on women's representation, the changes and policies required in the public sector and actual changes in practices after gender training. The data captured the diversity of views of male and female employees both with and without gender training, belonging to two geographic locations, 10 organisations, and at three levels within the organisations.