The decision to work

One of the biggest factors underpinning the decisions surrounding work is social norms.

Twenty-four percent of the working population is comprised of women. This figure undercounts women’s work, particularly the work they do in the informal sector or from home—areas where the majority of working women in Pakistan remain concentrated. But working from home does not carry the same empowering potential that working outside the home does. Similarly, the informal sector typically houses precarious, even hazardous work.