英语论文网

hrain, about 27 % are females, making it one of the freest countries (Economic Watch 2009). The strength of Bahrain lies in its education system, which caters for free education for all the Bahrainis, including females. The educated females find it easier to get jobs, as the Government has imposed restrictions on the private companies to prefer Bahraini nationals for employment. Bahrain’s labor force has become one of the most skilled labor in the Arab world owing to free and compulsory education.

Qatar: Although Qatar is also a Muslim country with a large number of its females observing purdah, yet the employment ratio of females is quite high. This is partly due to the encouragement of the government, which provides for free education to all the citizens, and takes interest in capacity building. Female in Qatar are seen working in almost all the sectors, including health, education, banking, marketing and industry.

The analysis of situation regarding female participation in workforce of some South Asian and Muslim countries indicates that there are different barriers to women employment in different countries depending on religious, social, cultural and traditional circumstances. However, the common factor amongst all the countries having low participation of females in economic activity is that their human resource is not fully utilized for national development. Their per capita income varies but their workforce suffers from impairment of underutilization and these countries may become vulnerable. Another important lesson learnt from these countries is that there is a direct correlation between education and literacy of women and their participation in economic activity. It is therefore imperative that more attention is paid towards females education so that their participation in economic activity may be enhanced.

FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN THE WORKFORCE OF PAKISTAN

The labor force of Pakistan, estimated as 55 million, constitutes only 33 % of the total population, which is lower than most of the developed as well as developing countries. When it is taken into consideration that Pakistan has a relatively younger population, with 51.2 % population in working age group of 15 to 59 years, it becomes a matter of serious concern(Labor Survey of Pakistan, 2007-08). One of the factors responsible for low labor to population ratio in Pakistan is that only 34 % females in the working age group participate in the labor force, as compared to 86 % males in the working age group participating in workforce of Pakistan (Labor Survey of Pakistan, 2007-08).

(Source: Data from CIA World fact-book)

Low labor to population ratio has serious negative implications for Pakistan. At macro-economic level, the overall size of labor force available for productive activity is reduced, leading to slower economic growth. At micro-economic level, the dependency ratio, which is defined as the number of persons depending on the earning member of the family, is increased. This leads to high vulnerability of the family, as there may be crisis situation in case of sickness or un-employment of the earning member.

Another problem of Pakistan’s labor force is low skill level of the workers and lack of education. Most of the unskilled and un-educated labor is employed in non-secure jobs, where it is exposed to exploitation by the employers. Since a large