Women's Day event

at ACCA

LAHORE (PR): Forty years on from the phrase 'glass ceiling' being used to define thwarted careers and ambitions - especially for women - ACCA is calling for business leaders to show real and measurable progress on diversity and social mobility issues, as it marks International Women's Day 2018.  The global theme for this year's event is "press for progress, seeking advances on a number of issues from gender pay parity to equality of opportunity."

Helen Brand OBE, ACCA's chief executive, says: '2018 is the 40th anniversary of the phrase 'glass ceiling' first being used by business consultant Marilyn Loden.

'Looking forward, if there's one area where I wish to see sustained progress, it's to ensure career ladders breakthrough the glass ceiling for women. We have to take a wider view and seek progress on social mobility - unequal access to opportunities still exists for many women and men.

'ACCA has welcomed policies to address issues such as disparity in pay and boardroom diversity in the UK and globally.There are examples of good practice highlighted in our recent report Generation next: managing talent in large accountancy firms which shows how the Big Four are addressing diversity to ensure women have a place and voice in their business. This includes KPMG's women in finance forum and Deloitte conducting 'blind interviews' to tackle recruitment bias.'

Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan adds: 'The accountancy profession is an attractive career choice for many because of the flexibility and choice it offers. At ACCA we've made opportunity a reality, with an open access policy that enables anyone to qualify as a professional accountant. By simply removing the need for prior qualifications, we've created access to a profession that offers a rewarding career.'

 Free medical supplies at Sindh Children's Hospital

KARACHI (PR):  Children's Day was organized at Sindh Government Children's Hospital, North Nazimabad, Karachi by Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI), which is managing 216 bed Sindh Government Children Hospital outsourced by Government of Sindh.

Engineer Aziz Junejo, Member of Provincial Assembly Sindh and Head of Technical/Parliamentary Committees and Dr Fozia Khan, Special Secretary and Head of Curriculum Wing, Education Department, Government of Sindh participated in the event as chief guests.

OICCI launches 'Heroes Leadership Lounge'

KARACHI (PR): The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has launched the 'Heroes Leadership Lounge' as part of its celebrations for International Women's Day. The initiative was announced at a ceremony organized at a local hotel.

The 'Heroes Leadership Lounge' is a mentoring platform that will provide online resources and active counselling for women as a means of empowering them in the work environment.  The lounge will enable women to engage directly with business leaders in Pakistan as well as take ownership of their personal capacity building.  The platform will also actively work on research and advocacy for the govt and business sector to advance the business case for gender inclusiveness and diversity in the workplace.

The 'Heroes' platform has been developed by Unilever Pakistan as part of OICCI's effort for a national dialog on providing equal opportunity for women in the workplace. The 'Heroes Leadership Lounge' is a continuation of the commitment made by OICCI in November 2017 to help its members focus on establishing a conducive environment for gender equality and empowerment so as to develop women for high level corporate leadership.

M Abdul Aleem, General Secretary OICCI highlighted, "In 2017, the OICCI and its members had made the commitment to empower women in Pakistan's corporate sector, as we see ourselves as agents of change. The Heroes Leadership Lounge is the enabler for our ambition to build a more gender balanced work environment that makes women equal contributors in Pakistan's socio-economic growth."

Bruno Olierhoek, President OICCI added, "It is great to see new initiatives being developed and added to our "5 steps best practices toward a women friendly workplace" roadmap."