Pakistan's central bank has asked commercial lenders to raise women's share of their staff from 17% to 22% by December 2028. The central bank, known as the SBP, oversees the country's banks, and the instruction forms part of its push to strengthen the SBP women workforce across branches and head offices. Lenders must draw up plans setting out when they will hire more women.
What banks have been told to do
Under the Banking on Equality Policy 2026, banks must prepare these plans and show how representation will improve across branches and offices. They have also been asked to post female staff to branches in cities of their choice wherever that is possible, to address mobility challenges that make it harder for women to stay in their jobs.
Promotion is another focus. Banks are required to adopt merit-based promotion rules so that more women reach management, and to set up mentoring, coaching and training schemes for junior female employees. On the lending side, the central bank wants more women working as financing officers in fields such as microfinance, farm credit, lending to small firms, housing and sustainable finance, so that women find it easier to get financial services.
Workplace rules are part of the package as well. Banks are told to comply with laws against harassment at work. Leave for pregnancy loss, childbirth and iddat, a period observed by widows and divorced women, must be granted under the applicable rules. Childcare support, through daycare or allowances for working mothers, is also included.
Where women stand today
According to SBP data, women accounted for 13% of banking staff in 2021 and 17% in 2025. The number of women employed by banks now stands close to 50,000, and roughly 17,500 have joined the sector in the last four years.
Still, progress in the SBP women workforce has not yet reached the top. The central bank has said that few women reach senior management and decision-making roles. It listed staff retention, mobility limits, weak workplace facilities and long hours as the main obstacles.
The SBP also points to progress in financial inclusion, meaning people's access to formal banking. Women now operate over 78 million accounts at banks, and more than 45 million of them are in active use. The number of active accounts held by women has risen by 116% since 2021.
Aasan alfaaz mein
State Bank ne bankon ko kaha hai ke woh December 2028 tak khawateen ka hissa 17% se barha kar 22% karein. Iske liye banks ko timelines wale plans, merit par tarakki, training aur daycare ki suhoolat dene ka kaam karna hoga. Aam logon ke liye iska matlab hai ke bank mein khawateen ke liye naukri aur aage barhne ke mauqe barh sakte hain. Lekin senior posts par khawateen abhi bhi kam hain.
