International Women’s Day: Pakistani Women’s Growing Presence in Science & Technology

• International Women’s Day celebrates Pakistani women’s involvement.
• Over half a million enrolled in STEM courses.
• Several leading the country’s startup ecosystem.

It is International Women’s Day on March 8, and its theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.

It’s a day to celebrate Pakistani women’s involvement in science and technology. Nearly half a million Pakistani women are currently enrolled in university science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, accounting for nearly 46% of all STEM students in Pakistani higher education institutions.

Several Pakistani women are at the helm of the country’s startup ecosystem. Others occupy significant positions at world’s top research labs, tech firms, universities and other science institutions.

They are excellent role models for young Pakistani women interested in careers in science and technology.

Pakistani Women in Science: 

An increasing number of Pakistani working women are contributing to science and technology. Dr. Nargis Mavalvala and Dr. Asifa Akhtar are two of the most well-known names on the list.

Mavalvala is the dean of Harvard’s School of Science, and Akhtar is a vice president of Germany’s prestigious Max Planck Society.

Dr. Maheen Adamson works as a senior research scientist at Stanford University. Tasneem Zahra Husain is a theoretical physicist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who is well-known for her work on string theory.

Hibah Rahmani is a NASA rocket engineer (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Dr. Syra Madad is an epidemiologist who currently serves as the Senior Director of New York City’s System-wide Special Pathogens Program.

Pakistani Women in Technology: 

Maria Abrar works as a data scientist at Reality Labs of Meta (Facebook), a Toronto-based research lab. She was named one of Canada’s top 25 women in artificial intelligence by ReWork, a London-based artificial intelligence (Al) and deep learning content producer.

Sundas Khalid works for Alphabet (Google) in the United States as a data scientist. Forbes magazine has named her a “trailblazer” in its series of trailblazers.

Kalsoom Lakhani, a co-founder and general partner at i2i Ventures, is assisting in the development of Pakistan’s tech startup ecosystem. She and her co-founder, Misbah Naqvi, are staunch supporters of women-led tech startups in the country. Jahan Ara, the CEO of Katalyst Lab, is in the same boat.

In Pakistan in 2022, several women-led startups raised venture capital. These startups, among others, provide solutions in Fintech, Edtech, Healthtech, and Logistics! Tania Aidrus of DBank, Maha Shahzad of Bus Caro, Vladimira Briestenska of Neem, Meenah Tariq of Metric, Saira Siddiqui of MedIQ, Aiman Bashir of Outclass, Anusha Shahid of OkayKer, and Fatimah Zafar of Remoty are among those leading this charge.

Pakistani Women Freelancers:

According to a 2020 global survey conducted by Payoneer, a global payments platform company based in Silicon Valley, Pakistani women freelancers earn $22 per hour, 10% more than men.

While Pakistani male freelancers earn the same as the global average, Pakistani female freelancers earn more than the global average.

Not only is the digital gig economy allowing women to earn more than men, but it is also lowering barriers to women’s labour force participation in the country.

According to the survey, having a university degree does not help you earn more in the growing gig economy. The survey was carried out in 2015.

Male-Female Ratio of University Students in Pakistan: 

Females make up nearly 46% of the over 3 million students enrolled in Pakistani universities. Over the last five years, the proportion of female enrollment has increased. Female STEM students account for approximately 46% of the student body.

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