Home-Based Women Workers and Social Protection in Pakistan

Home-Based Women Workers and Social Protection in Pakistan

June 5, 2023

This policy paper focuses on the need for social protection for Home-Based Women Workers (HBWWs) in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the goals of SDGs 1 and 8. HBWWs encounter a multitude of vulnerabilities and face limited access to fundamental labour rights and essential services. Although Pakistan has taken steps towards acknowledging the significance of HBWWs through regional legislation, the absence of reliable data pertaining to them poses a substantial obstacle. Matters concerning unfair remuneration and a lack of the enforcement of minimum wage standards further exacerbate their vulnerability. This policy paper proposes an array of recommendation actions, including but not limited to legal recognition, the establishment of implementation mechanisms, strengthening capacities of government departments, the enforcement of minimum wage regulation, granting the right to unionize, conducting rigorous analysis and monitoring, providing skills training and financial support, advocating for mitigating measures, universalizing social security, and creating necessary fiscal frameworks to improve social protection for HBWWs in Pakistan.