LocationsThe Women Reshaping Leadership in Pakistan
Seats that Change Systems
April 20, 2026
The WELD cohort celebrates the completion of the workshop along with Ms. Van Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan.
Leadership often begins when someone realizes their voice is the only one in the room that sounds different. For Zara Zahid, that moment came early in her career. As she walked with quiet confidence into a high-level meeting, she took the only empty seat and scanned the conference table. Senior officials reviewed briefing notes, and conversations moved quickly from budget allocations to administrative priorities — decisions that would shape provincial finances. It was only then that she noticed something that would stay with her. She was the only woman there.
When I heard Zara say those words, I recognized them immediately.
Not because I had read them somewhere, but because I had lived it myself. Early in my career, I joined an organization where having a woman in the office was considered unusual. I sat apart from the rest of the team, not by choice, but because that was simply how things were done. Change didn’t come easily. It was gradual, almost reluctant, shaped by the realization that the work was better when I was in the room. I got my seat on the table, and that felt like progress. But sitting there, I could see exactly what was still missing.
“In my first field assignment, I remember sitting in a room of about 60 to 70 people, and I was the only woman there. When you are the only different person in the room, everyone notices. It makes you realize how rare it still is for women to occupy those spaces.”— Zara Zahid, Deputy Secretary (Budget), Finance Department, Government of Sindh
Zara’s experience is not unusual. It reflects a broader reality across Pakistan. While more women are entering the workforce, leadership spaces – where budgets are set and policies are shaped – have long evolved without their equal participation. Progress is often hampered by systemic barriers, including a lack of professional networks and mentorship opportunities, both crucial for career advancement. As a result, women who do enter these rooms often do so as exceptions, not the norm.
However, a dedicated effort is underway to change this reality by investing in the next generation of women leaders.
Participants engage in a leadership simulation during the WELD programme, exploring how economic decisions and policy choices shape institutions and outcomes.
A New Foundation for Leadership
Later in my career, I had the privilege of working directly under a woman who had navigated her way to the top of her institution. The difference was not subtle. The way decisions were made, the questions that were asked, the issues that were considered worth asking about – all of it shifted. That experience convinced me that this was not just about fairness. It was about the quality of the decisions being made, and who was in the room to shape them.
That conviction became WELD, or the Women’s Economic and Financial Leadership Development programme, jointly launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL).
The idea was not to crease a generic leadership course, but to equip mid-career women with the technical expertise, confidence, and cross-sectoral networks needed to reach senior roles. In August 2025, 55 women from the public, banking, finance, and development sectors gathered for the inaugural cohort, engaging in policy simulations, case studies, and structured dialogue. They examined how decisions made in finance ministries, central banks, and development institutions ripple outward to shape the economy and the lives of millions.
WELD also addressed a less visible challenge: the professional isolation many women experience in institutions where informal networks, mentorship, and sponsorship have historically flowed along lines that excluded them. For many participants, it was the first time they were in a room with peers from such diverse backgrounds. Conversations that might have taken years to happen organically began on the first morning.
Participants connect during a coffee break, exchanging experiences from across the public, private, and development sectors.
Forging Skills, Networks, and Influence
When I sat down with the women I interviewed for this piece, I was not looking for a particular story. But as the conversations unfolded, I found a thread that ran quietly through all three of their experiences: the persistence it takes to keep showing up in rooms that were not designed with you in mind.
Naila Dar arrived at WELD carrying years of experience at the intersection of economics and public policy. As Deputy Chief at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives in Islamabad, she had spent her career examining the data that informs national development decisions. She had also, over time, observed how leadership opportunities do not always unfold evenly for women. At WELD, she found something rare: a room full of women who understood that experience precisely.
“The diversity of participants created a space where we could learn from each other. When women are present in leadership positions, they also become mentors for younger professionals. But the number of women in senior decision-making roles is still very limited.”— Naila Dar, Deputy Chief, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
Sara Shafaq’s journey to leadership began far from strategy rooms. Early in her career, she worked in a customer contact center, helping clients navigate banking services and financial products. Those formative years eventually carried her into product management and, today, into a senior strategic role as Product Manager for Cards CVP in the Consumer Finance Group at Bank Alfalah Limited. Along the way, she learned that being in the minority could make it harder to be heard, but consistency and clarity of contribution could gradually shift that dynamic.
“One of the most powerful realizations for me was that emotional intelligence is not a weakness. It can actually be a leadership strength. Real leadership begins when you are able to influence the decisions being made at the table.”— Sara Shafaq, Senior Product Manager, Bank Alfalah Limited
The programme’s economic simulations brought these insights into sharper focus, highlighting just how interconnected policy decisions and financial systems are, and how consequential leadership in those spaces can be. By the final day, what began as introductions over tea had evolved into substantive exchanges, with participants reflecting on simulations and sharing hard-won experiences from their own institutions.
For many, the most powerful realization was not just the skills gained, but the community coalescing around them – a cross-sectoral network of peers, future mentors, and advocates that would extend well beyond the programme.
Participants exchange ideas during a session, bringing together women leaders from government, finance, and development sectors.
The Work Ahead
I still think about the woman I used to be, the one sitting just outside the room, waiting to be let in. And I often wonder what it would have meant to have a space designed for me to walk into, not as an exception, but as a norm.
Investing in women’s leadership is not just about equity. It is about strengthening institutions and improving the quality of decisions that shape Pakistan’s future. When more women are part of these spaces, the conversations around policy, finance, and development are more grounded, more inclusive, and more reflective of lived realities. That is what WELD is trying to build, one cohort at a time. The next step is the Sindh Chapter, bringing together women officers across government and women entrepreneurs from across the province. The aim is not only to build individual capacity, but to create a platform rooted in Sindh’s development priorities and reform agenda.
As the programme grows, so does a network of women who understand that getting a seat at the table is only the beginning. The real work is making sure the next generation doesn’t have to fight for one.
Story by:
Shahbano Naushad, Development Policy and Inclusion Analyst, Development Policy Unit, UNDP Pakistan
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