- By Arfa Zaheer Azmat
A
whole lot of these women are highly qualified with professional degrees, a
greater percentage with specialized Masters and MPhils. According to a study
out of the total females’ students’ successfully completing MBBS, only 20 %
work as doctors in the hospitals. A larger percentage gets married and chooses
to stay home to take care of their kids or parents.
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The irony is that, most of these
women belong to the middle class or the upper middle class who work hard to
make ends meet. They are mostly dependent on one male bread-earner of the
family. Now being in need and even being capable and available to work for a
white collar job, these women do not step out of their homes for the fear of
neglecting kids, parents or their homes.
Now the question is how can we
help this particular set of highly qualified stay at home moms and incur equal
benefits from them and make them a part of the nation’s main work force? For
this we need to look deeply into the issues and problem faced by these women.
Tapping the Untapped Potential
As we understand SAHM are not
willing to work full hours, they may be able to spare a few hour in the morning
or evening or however they please; therefor, they will be willing to take a
particular task for a lower remuneration. They can be paid on hourly or fixed
cost basis. While a majority may be willing to ‘Work from Home” others may be
able to step out of their homes for a few hours like mothers who have school
going kids may be able to spare a good 3-4 hours on a regular basis, while
still others may be available on need basis but are willing to work and pursue
their ambitions, dreams or financial goals.
Young mothers with babies and
toddlers may not be able to find straight four hours for a task but can spread
their work over the day or a week and achieve short targets in return for a
reasonable compensation.
These women are contributing a
lot to their home and they are an asset for the society as well. They may be
highly capable or possess a great deal of talent but they need avenues where
they can show case their knowledge and abilities.
- This is Pakistan’s untapped human potential that we need to explore. We need to formulate an effective strategy to tap this potential human capital. First of all we need to identify this potential human resource, their field of interest and strength.
- Next we need to channelize this potential in the
right direction by bridging the gap between the business and service industry
and available human resource. It will not only reduce the unemployment ratio
but will also raise the per capita income and consequently raise the standard
of living. Ultimately bringing many positive economic and so
cial changes.
We have learned during this
period of Covid-19 that ‘Work from Home’ is not only doable but is more
cost-effective. Not only the employer is able to save the office rent and
overhead expenses but also the employees are more available and don’t need to
take leaves or off days to manage a domestic errand or an issue.
This further strengthens the
argument that channelizing the 60 % of the potentially qualified women for a relatively
lower monetary package can be a symbiotic economic opportunity for both the
employer and the employee. Moreover, it will prevent the job gap and the
mid-career crisis women face when they return to full time jobs after a gap.
It will also bring about
financial independence for women which in itself a great step towards progress
for any country’s economic and social development.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272252/pakistans-untapped-human-potential
