Investigating the Gender Gap and Economic Participation of Women in Pakistan—A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Pakistan's economy has failed to experience any kind of rapid growth due to the gender disparity, and the country is currently ranked among the worst countries across the world. Regarding women's economic involvement in Pakistan, there is a significant difference across each of the labor market indexes. The study aimed at investigating the gender gap and economic participation of women in Pakistan. It adopted SLR to explore the most relevant articles from 2018 to 2024. From the in-depth study of a wide range of scholarly articles, the study concluded that patriarchal society in Pakistan controls the lives of women, as women in such societies do not enjoy equal rights, and the absence of representation of women in Pakistan's economy highlights issues of gender equity and development. The study recommended that the government and private sectors organization focus on placing an emphasis on programs for female entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on technological and advanced levels of education for the women, thus increasing their chances and ability to become financially independent.