Gender Inequality: The Effect of Patriarchy

This chapter discusses and analyzes the findings of the study regarding the issues of representation, access to resources, and the institutional practices that were presented in chapter 5. It relates these findings to the development approaches presented in chapters 2 and 3 as well as the context of Pakistan presented in chapter 4, to draw conclusions on the problem of gender inequality in the public sector of Pakistan. These conclusions are related to patriarchy through occupational closure and patriarchal benevolence, both of which can be used to explain the data. This chapter argues that women’s minimal representation and limited access to resources is an effect of the patriarchal control of men over women in the public sector. Gender inequality in the public sector is a political enterprise, with patriarchal institutional mechanisms bestowing power and privilege to groups of men in organizations, which results in women’s disadvantage. Any progress toward the elimination of gender inequality in the public sector depends on changes in the patriarchal policies rather than on any training. The representation of women in organizations goes far beyond goodwill through gender training and requires changes in the patriarchal policies, which exclude women from the public sector. The key conclusion that can be drawn is that since the public sector policies are patriarchal, women’s representation remains low.