Family-friendly policies are essential for working parents, especially mothers
In recent years, women’s participation in Pakistan’s labour market has increased due to various factors, including economic pressures. Female employment is currently at 23% and is expected to grow as education and job access improve, creating an urgent need for supportive environments. Promoting workforce gender equality requires policies to boost women’s involvement and ensure fair division of caregiving responsibilities.
Family-friendly policies are essential for working parents, especially mothers. They promote work-life balance, improve employee wellbeing and increase productivity, while helping parents manage work and family duties. They include paid parental leave, flexible hours, breastfeeding and childcare support and elder care. These policies contribute to a more inclusive and equitable society while driving economic growth and workforce sustainability.
Pakistan’s traditional joint family system reduced reliance on formal childcare. However, migration and modernisation have shifted family structures toward nuclear units. Combined with economic pressures and the need for dual incomes, demand for formal childcare is rising. Without family support, women are forced to leave careers to care for children as there are major challenges in accessing quality childcare.
For many, this career break becomes permanent, limiting their return to the workforce or confining them to lower-level roles with little advancement. Others, unable to afford quitting, juggle work and childcare at the expense of their health and career growth.
A study by UNICEF Pakistan, the Pakistan Women Council and UN Women examined family-friendly policies in the formal sector. Conducted mainly in Karachi, with smaller samples from Lahore and Islamabad, it engaged parents, childcare and school administrators and policymakers. It also assessed legislation and international best practices.
The study found high awareness of family-friendly policies but low implementation due to gender inequality, cultural norms and employer restrictions. Childcare utilisation was low due to cost, limited access and poor quality. Most unemployed parents identified lack of childcare as the main barrier to workforce participation. Both employed and unemployed parents cited poor quality and limited hours as major obstacles and strongly preferred onsite childcare to support employment continuity.
Pakistan’s parental leave and childcare policies show progress but remain inconsistent. Paid maternity leave is relatively established, though coverage varies. Paid paternity leave exists only under federal law and in Punjab but is absent elsewhere. Workplace stigma discourages men from using paternity leave, while women often face career stagnation due to caregiving demands. Organisations offering six months of maternity leave, 1530 days of paternity leave and onsite childcare tend to retain more employees.
Childcare facility demands also vary. Federally, employers with 70 or more employees must provide childcare. In Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the rule applies to organisations with 70+ female employees. In Sindh, the requirement is triggered when women make up at least 10% of staff. However, there is no legal obligation for onsite childcare or financial support for working parents.
Most childcare models in Pakistan are urban, private and expensive, accessible mainly to higher-income households. Employer-provided childcare is rare and mostly found in banking, IT and multinational sectors. Other options include home-based care, house helpers and NGO-run centres.
Expanding access to affordable, quality childcare is key to helping more parents, especially women enter or re-enter the formal workforce. Current disparities highlight the urgent need for targeted strategies to improve flexibility, availability and quality of childcare.
70% of Pakistani women work in the informal sector, yet there is little data on their childcare needs. Challenges are even greater in rural areas, home to 60% of the population. Despite progress in gender equality, deeply rooted norms continue to assign childcare to women. Addressing this requires a societal shift and rethinking traditional gender roles.
Article published in the Express Tribune on 31 July 2025
