British High Commission brings together senior businesswomen from across Pakistan on International Women’s Day

Celina Ali

Islamabad: The UK this week convened women in tech, business and trade to highlight their achievements and discuss shared challenges.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is: Invest in women; accelerate progress. At a trade fair in Islamabad, female entrepreneurs demonstrated the work they are doing on artificial intelligence, medical technology and smart apps.

Umama Nadir, a student from Lahore who was selected to be “Ambassador for the Day”, shadowed the High Commissioner around her engagements.

British High Commissioner, Jane Marriott CMG OBE , said: “The UK and Pakistan are working closely together to further gender equality. It is a priority that runs across all of our work. It is as important as ever to place the economy at the heart of progress in Pakistan, and women at the heart of the economy.”
There is overwhelming evidence that investing in women and girls and breaking down the barriers they face accelerates development, especially when women are helped into the workforce. If women had the same role in labour markets as men, an estimated 26%, or $28 trillion, could be added to global GDP.

The British envoy added: “The UK and Pakistan are working closely together to further gender equality. It is a priority that runs through all of our work. Economic reform is at the heart of progress in Pakistan, and women are the heart of the economy.”