:Representatives of various provincial departments and civil society organizations reviewed progress, challenges and policy priorities related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on gender equality, decent work and climate action during a consultative meeting organized by HomeNet Pakistan in collaboration with the Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC), Punjab, here on Thursday.
Stakeholders call for stronger measures to advance SDGs on women, labour and climate resilience
LAHORE, Jun 18 (APP):Representatives of various provincial departments and civil society organizations reviewed progress, challenges and policy priorities related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on gender equality, decent work and climate action during a consultative meeting organized by HomeNet Pakistan in collaboration with the Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC), Punjab, here on Thursday.
The focus group discussion brought together officials from the Labour Welfare Department, Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI), Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA), Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), Bureau of Statistics Punjab, Social Welfare Department, Environment Protection and Climate Change Department (EPCCD), and the Treaty Implementation Cell, said a press release.
Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director HomeNet Pakistan Ume Laila Azhar said that despite Pakistan’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and adoption of the SDG framework, progress on several indicators remained slow, while many areas continued to face stagnation, regression or insufficient data availability.
Participants reviewed provincial progress on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), emphasizing the need to strengthen data collection systems, monitoring mechanisms and interdepartmental coordination.
Special attention was given to the registration of home-based workers in Punjab, with participants observing that registration was essential for extending labour rights, social protection and welfare benefits to women working in the informal economy.
The discussion also highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on women workers. Participants pointed to growing heat stress, extreme weather events, livelihood insecurity and rising living costs as key challenges requiring gender-responsive climate adaptation measures and stronger social protection mechanisms.
The participants further stressed the importance of promoting women’s financial inclusion through expanded access to banking services, financial literacy, digital skills and affordable financial products tailored to women workers and entrepreneurs.
Officials from the Labour Welfare Department shared progress on the registration of home-based workers and underscored the need to accelerate the process to ensure greater access to labour protections and social security benefits.
The meeting concluded with recommendations to expedite home-based workers’ registration across Punjab, strengthen social protection mechanisms for informal women workers, enhance women’s access to affordable credit and financial services, improve data collection and management information systems, promote gender-responsive climate resilience measures, and strengthen coordination among government departments, workers’ organizations and civil society.
