A discussion session held at COMSATS Secretariat on 27th March 2018 took stock of immigration trends in Pakistani population, especially with regard to job opportunities and gender parity. Ms. Tamriz Khan, an Independent Policy Researcher and Analyst, who was representing the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Ambassador Fauzia Nasreen of COMSATS, steered discussion on the trends and tendencies of working women of Pakistan towards immigration and also the perceived and real challenges in this regard. Ms. Khan informed that according to the latest statistics around 5 million people from Pakistan are working overseas, out of which only a negligible minority comprises of women.

It was noted that women account for less than 0.1% of the total employment related immigrations from Pakistan. The low percentage of women workers working overseas was attributed to the overall low number of women employment in Pakistan; cultural, religious and social constraints; international acceptance issues for international employment; and relevant threats and bad experiences of working women abroad. The points of the discussion revolved around some major questions related to the views of professional and skilled women regarding job opportunities exploration and the impediments experienced in this regard.