STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS, BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND GENDER MAINSTREAMING: A SURVEY STUDY OF PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Pakistan is a country where strong patriarchal values perpetuate the sub-ordinate status of women and debilitate their empowerment. Effective implementation of gender mainstreaming strategy is needed to create the conditions in which women can challenge stereotypical gender roles and utilize their productive potential. The seriousness of the government to promote gender equality and the capacity of women to demand equal opportunities is indicated by the level of gender equity in the environment of public sector organisations and work-conducive behaviour of female public servants. The present study measures both these variables and analyses them in the backdrop of situational factors as well as individual characteristics of female public servants. In doing so, this study attempts to expand the scope of empirical economic literature investigating labor force participation of highly qualified women, which mostly focuses on wage issues and does not give due attention to other important factors namely a gender sensitized work environment and women’s motivation and commitment to work. Findings of study are based on interpretation of descriptive statistics and on results obtained from inferential analysis using Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression techniques. Data was collected by administering a specially designed research instrument through face-to-face interviews with 300 female public servants belonging to administrative, health and higher education sectors. The final research instrument consisted of items constructed to derive the Perception of Work Environment Index (PWEI), the Work Motivation and Commitment Index (WMCI), and questions related to personal and professional profile of respondents. The main findings are as follows: while the work environment may not be openly hostile, female personnel are dissatisfied with arrangements to accommodate their personal and family needs. Unmarried females working on contract are more satisfied with the working conditions than married women on permanent posts. Female personnel are often more comfortable in their professional relationships with male colleagues and bosses, than they are in their relationships with other females in the organization. Although work commitment levels among female public servants, on the whole, are quite satisfactory, there are two points of concern, namely: low levels of work quality consciousness in the public sector and difficulty faced by women in being equally committed to their family and work responsibilities. Age factor has a negative impact on the opinions regarding working conditions of women with more experience if their work motivation declines. There is also evidence suggesting that women who are devoted to their work and profession, sacrifice their leisure to excel at their jobs. Based on the findings of this survey study it is recommended that gender equality policies in public sector organizations should focus on instituting structural changes responding to women’s practical gender needs. Training content must be configured to match the needs of the worker and the organization. Members of selection boards must be sensitized to gender issues in employment to enable them to make gender fair selection of candidates. Public servants must be encouraged to develop confidence in their own ability to transform their organizations into entities which are better equipped to deal with development challenges facing the country.