ISLAMABAD, March 7: Members of the Male Champions of Change Pakistan Group release their first progress report, providing transparency and accountability for their individual and collective actions taken to accelerate gender equality, and women’s representation in their organisations.

The Male Champions of Change Pakistan 2022 Progress Report presents the 2022 results for Member organisations and was signed off for release by the Group during their first meeting in 2023 hosted by Aamir Ibrahim, Jazz CEO.

Jazz CEO, Aamir Ibrahim, said: ” We are honoured to be hosting the Male Champions of Change Pakistan quarterly meeting where we continue our work together to tackle the barriers to equality, share experiences and learn from each other. Public reporting on the impact of the actions we are taking as leaders is an integral part of our commitment to drive change both in our own organisations and our society.”

The Male Champions of Change Pakistan Group is committed to continuing their efforts towards gender equality in 2023. Convenor of MCC Pakistan, Fiza Farhan, said: “Pakistan’s leaders coming together and committing to collective action towards creating diverse and inclusive workplaces, gives us all hope for a more progressive and equitable future for our women and girls.”

The 2022 Progress report measures individual and group initiatives to accelerate gender equality in MCC Pakistan’s organisations.

Over the past twelve months the Group continued their work on enabling flexible work and return to workplace, gender-balanced recruitment and creating a gender-balanced public image. These focus areas were extended mid-year, with Members’ efforts also applied to preventing and addressing sexual harassment, understanding and closing gender pay equity gaps, and conducting Listen and Learn activities around everyday respect and Everyday Champions of Change.

Mainstreaming flexibility in work and care:

61.9% of Members have mainstreamed flexible work with policy, tools and technology and leadership support, up from 50.0% in 2021.

71.4% of Members have policies or initiatives in place to enable flexible access to parental leave for all parents.

Creating respectful, inclusive workplaces for all employees:

90.5% of Members have taken specific action to address backlash and amplify buy-in on gender equality, up from 83.3% in 2021.

90.5% of Board and/or executive leadership teams have committed to eradicate sexual harassment and articulated their zero-tolerance position.

81.0% of Members have established regular reporting on sexual harassment into their regular Board and/or executive leadership team reporting cycles.

L’Oréal Pakistan CEO, Qawi Naseer, said: “We stand for fair treatment, access, advancement and opportunities for all - for our team members, for our consumers, for our partners, stakeholders and people in the community.”

The Male Champions of Change Pakistan results also demonstrate year-on-year progress on gender balance in leadership teams and across all key indicators of leadership pipeline and representation:

Advancing women’s representation in leadership:

18.1% women’s promotions achieved overall across the Group. Up from 13.1% in 2021.

MCC Pakistan Members achieved or moved closer to gender balance across 47.8% of leadership categories in 2022.

Syngenta Pakistan General Manager, Zeeshan Baig, said: “Gender equality is one of the key levers for ensuring a healthy society and a successful organisation. As a company we understand the importance of taking bold action to disrupt the status quo and achieve greater representation of women in leadership.”