Token seats won't empower women entrepreneurs

The issue is therefore not simply whether women have been given seats at the highest level of business decision-making, where Pakistan's business policies and priorities are shaped, but whether the structure of representation allows the many different categories of women entrepreneurs across Pakistan to have meaningful roles in influencing the governance that shapes the business environment.

If Pakistan is serious about bringing women entrepreneurs into the economic fold, they must have meaningful representation in institutional leadership. A limited number of seats for women at the highest level cannot reflect the diversity, geographical spread, sectors and scale of women entrepreneurs across Pakistan.

Business chambers and associations provide representation for different regions, sectors, associations and categories of businesses, yet women's representation within these structures remains limited, restricting their ability to influence policies that directly affect them.

The Director General Trade Organisation (DGTO) requirement that 50% of the executive committee of every women's chamber comprise corporate members with an annual turnover of at least Rs50 million is one such example – an unrealistic requirement for many women's chambers to fulfil.

It is difficult to justify a system in which a turnover threshold can determine institutional representation when the overwhelming majority of women-owned businesses are micro, small or emerging SMEs.

When women's chambers are unable to fulfil the corporate requirement, their ability to function effectively and represent a broad spectrum of women entrepreneurs is undermined, weakening women's representation within Pakistan's formal business institutions. The result is the exclusion of many of the very women entrepreneurs these chambers were established to represent.

Whether these policies are being implemented by design or inadvertently, their practical consequences are clear. Women entrepreneurs need meaningful and reserved participation within the institutions that shape the business environment.

This is not about seeking privilege; it is about ensuring that women are institutionally empowered to influence the policies, priorities and governance shaping Pakistan's business and economic landscape, where women constitute approximately 52% of the population.

Representation only becomes meaningful when the very criteria for leadership allow the majority of women entrepreneurs to participate in the structures that determine their economic future. Women entrepreneurs span a wide spectrum, and Women's Chambers and Associations therefore serve as an institutional gateway, ensuring that every businesswoman is represented, supported and connected to the opportunities and institutions needed for growth.

Every woman starting a business, operating a home-based or micro enterprise, running a small or medium-sized business, or building a growth-stage, export or corporate enterprise should have the right to be represented. A tiered system of membership and representation can recognise these different stages while creating a clear pathway for growth from one level to the next.

Such an approach would not simply categorise women entrepreneurs. It would connect them. Established and successful women entrepreneurs can mentor and support those at earlier stages, while Chambers and Associations can facilitate access to finance, skills, certification, procurement, markets, technology and export opportunities.

In this way, the growth of one segment can strengthen the next, creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem where women can progress rather than remain confined to the level at which they begin. This is also essential for effective government policy.

If women entrepreneurs at every level are represented through organised business institutions, their different needs can be identified, understood and communicated to government. Policies can then be developed with a clear focus on the realities of women entrepreneurs, rather than being designed around those who have already reached a certain scale.

Representation, therefore, is about ensuring that every category of woman entrepreneur is visible, heard and able to contribute to the decisions that shape her economic opportunities and the country's economic future.

Meaningful reserved participation can empower women at the highest level, while a tiered system within Women's Chambers and Associations can ensure that every woman entrepreneur has a pathway to participation and growth.

The real test of reform is whether Pakistan's business institutions evolve beyond token inclusion to ensure that women have a meaningful role in decisions that affect them, their businesses and their economic future, including greater participation in executive leadership. THE WRITER IS THE FOUNDING EXECUTIVE MEMBER AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF WOMEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY KARACHI SOUTH