According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan (2020-2021), Pakistan’s IT sector achieved one of the highest annual growth rates in the region. If the pace of Pakistan’s digital development is reflected in these numbers, together with the public and private sectors, especially IT & telecom’s sustained focus on digitization, Pakistan could well be at the cusp of a technological revolution. However, a large section of the population, especially women, transgender and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) continue to be off-board this much-vaunted progress.
“Large proportion of women continue to be excluded from the digital sector and the untapped potential of women in ICT restricts Pakistan’s economic growth,” stated Lubna Aijaz from Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMBL), a recipient of the Youth Parliament Awards for Women's Empowerment in 2022. Hailing from Quetta, Balochistan Lubna was the first female in her family to move to Islamabad independently after successfully achieving a scholarship from HEC, to pursue a Master's from the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), whose continued efforts for empowering fellow women were recognized at the August forum this year.
Lubna, a Certified Cyber Security professional, has been working in the banking industry for over seven years. She has a vivid notion of what blocks women’s progress on the digital front. “Despite constituting nearly half of the country's population, women remain under-represented in most areas of ICT,” she asserts. Lubna and other fellow digital activists call for equal opportunities for women and have relevant examples and case studies to back their demands.
“We have many examples of women who proved that Cyber Security is a diverse & emerging field and offers countless career opportunities for women,” she says while she optimistically highlights that the parochial notion that ‘Cyber Security is a man’s job’ is rendered irrelevant by the growing demands in the Cyber Security- sector and the proven abilities of women professionals to drive innovation and success in this field.
She however realizes that in Pakistan, women aspiring to pursue careers in Cyber Security continue to face more hurdles compared to men. “Pursuing a profession in Cyber Security is not easy especially because the sector is continuously evolving. I was only able to tear down the barriers that restricted my professional growth because my organization, MMBL constantly supported, enabled and empowered me through dedicated capacity building and strategic counseling programs.”
She gratefully acknowledges that the Bank’s continued support laid stepping stones to enable her to clinch the recent award and others, including the first prize at the Google DevFest Women’s Online Safety Hackathon 2021. She also recognized the mentorship by her peers that further empowered her to promote digital literacy and campaign for the inclusion of women.
Lubna believes workplaces need to be more gender-inclusive, diverse and pluralistic. “There is a growing demand for digital skills and organizations need to hire more women to bridge the digital gap,” she advised. Lubna wants governing bodies to play their role and take actionable measures to reduce the digital gap, as she is convinced that inclusivity and empowerment will help women to excel professionally and accelerate the country’s socio-economic growth.
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