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number of workers compete for the fewer jobs available in the market, there is a pull-down effect on the wages. Low wages and periods of un-employment make the workers vulnerable to fall in the poverty trap, which means that they cannot afford education and human resource development of their children and their next generation also falls in poverty (a term of generational poverty is sometimes used for this category). This lack of skill development is more marked in females and the ratio of unskilled female workers in the total female workforce is much higher. This is one of the factors contributing to gender disparity in wages in Pakistan. The following graph indicates the average monthly wages for different levels of education in Pakistan (Irfan, Dr. Mohammad, 2008).

The total number of female workers in Pakistan is around 11 million, which constitutes only 20 % of Pakistan’s total labor force, whereas the global average of female ratio in workforce is 40 % (Report in Daily Jang 2009). Low ratio of females in workforce of Pakistan highlights the underutilization of human resource for its economic development. Moreover, deprivation of the females from participation in income generating activity leads to their impoverishment. Since women comprise about half the total population of Pakistan, their general impoverishment has been the one of a reason for Pakistan getting overall low ranking in Human Development Index (Akram 2005).

Human resource is the most important and vital factor for achieving sustainable economic development. Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq has termed the people as the real wealth of a nation (1990). The pro-poor potential of labor-intensive growth is based on the recognition that labor power is the primary asset at the disposal of the poor and hence labor market is the key transmission mechanism through which the benefits of growth can be distributed to the poor (Kabeer 2006).

Pakistan’s inability in achieving its development objectives can be attributed to the lack of the suitably equipped human resource. There is a huge gap between potential of human resource in Pakistan and its actualization. Pakistan’s development goals can only be achieved when it is in a position to convert its unproductive and underutilized human resources into dynamic and self-sustained capital and potential accelerator of economic growth.

This inability to transform the human capital into utilizable resource may be imputed to incoherent human resource policies followed in Pakistan over the years after independence. There has been a serious lack of commitment to invest in human resource by the successive regimes in Pakistan. Insufficient allocation of resources for this purpose was further blighted by inefficient use of the funds, rent-seeking and pilferages. Another reason for low productivity of labor in Pakistan is the lack of work ethics. The poor state of Pakistan’s human resource is indicated by high illiteracy rate of 50.1 %, low number of high school qualified students and small percentage of university graduates, which is estimated at only 3 %(CIA Fact Book 2008). Pakistan is ranked at 139 in the world in Human Development Index (HDI), according to the latest report of UNDP (2008). These indicators present a dismal picture, even in comparison to many developing countries.

CAUSES OF LOW FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN THE WORKFORCE OF PAKISTAN

Socio-cultural constraint