Undergraduate Female Students in Lahore: Perceived Constraints to Female Labour Force Participation

Abstract

A large number of women successfully make it to college; a total of 166,808 women are currently enrolled in government degree and postgraduate colleges in Punjab (Statistical Pocket book, Government of Punjab, 2018)– twice as many women as men are enrolled at the undergraduate level in public colleges within Punjab. Interestingly, labour force participation rates for these females are low with 31 percent of females as compared to 81 percent males in the sub-sample of individuals with a higher education degree participating in the labour force. The overall female labour force participation rate (FLFP) in Pakistan is even lower at 15 percent, which is less than a third of the male labour force participation and much lower than the participation rates in other comparable countries such as Bangladesh and Turkey. The entry of educated women in Pakistan’s labour force has the potential to be a major catalyst for improving economic productivity for at least two reasons. Firstly, along with the demographic transition, Pakistan can equally harness the huge potential of its gender dividend. Half of the 110 million population of Punjab is female, and one third of them fall in the 15-29 years age bracket. At present, Punjab has a critical mass of around 18 million women who are in their youth and 1.8 million of them reside in urban Lahore (Population Census, 2017). Timely investments in female youth at this critical age can make them an asset for the country, with the potential to accelerate economic growth (Pakistan Jobs Diagnostic, 2017). Secondly, by helping these women to become economically active, the country can realise additional human capital 2 Undergraduate Female Students in Lahore: Perceived Constraints to Female Labour Force Participation benefits. Studies in several developing country contexts have shown that spending on child education and nutrition increases when women are principal recipients of monetary resources (Lundberg, 1996; Duflo, 2003; Rawlings and Rubio, 2005; Handa and Davis, 2006, Pitt et al., 2006). Therefore, economically empowering young women in the country can address key human development issues in the country. Our setting This paper examines both external and internal factors that can impede young, educated women in Punjab from participating in the labor force. Specifically, it examines external constraints such as transport, parental educational and occupational background; and several internal constraints measured by standardised psychometric scales. Findings from surveys conducted with 1600 randomly selected final year undergraduate students from public, women-only colleges in Lahore provide insights into priority areas that can be targeted to help graduates to successfully enter the labour force.