KARACHI ( TARIQ REPORT )
As part of Mobilink’s undeterred vision of empowering women to the forefront within the company and promoting their role in the wider community, Mobilink collaborated with the School of Leadership (SoL) for the 15th Young Leaders Conference (YLC2016).
The six day event, which is a thought-provoking leadership conference, was held in Karachi, and some 300 students participated from 65+ cities & villages.
Mobilink sponsored 18 ambitious female participants belonging to far flungareas, such as Larkana, Ghotki, Nawabshahand Jahurabad etc.These young girls were chosen based on their passion and aspiration to make a difference in the community around them.
In addition to mentoring sessions for participants held by the Mobilink team, a Key Note Session – Drop the Gender Mask – was also conducted by representatives of Mobilink,where participants were made aware of gender equality and inclusion at the workplace, and highlighted Mobilink’s efforts for the same across all fronts.
Salman Hafeez, Senior HR Business Partner- South, Mobilink invoked incredible engagement from the audience and reinforced the criticality of the issue by sharing that, “In an organization where you are only using 50% of your strength to help you achieve your strategy, will you lead the market? Just like that, how will a country where 50% of your population is not encouraged to contribute to the economy, progress?”
Shireen Naqvi, founder of SoL, appreciated Mobilink’s efforts by stating, “The session brought clarity on certain sensitive, gender-centric concepts and enlightened the audience on shifting mindsets from the conventional gender power imbalance towards building a more constructive togetherness.”
Going forward, the 18 Mobilink sponsored female participants will be collaborating with the company on digital themed social projects while also working as social ambassadors for promoting gender diversity and inspiring women in their respective cities.
“Mobilink is part of the very few organizations who have recognized the importance and contribution of women at the workplace and who are taking proactive measures to bring men and women shoulder to shoulder,” shared Nimra Sohaib, Specialist Digitalization – Mobilink.
The company has held a very proactive stance on the economic opportunity gender diversity and the resulting diversity of thought can bring to the corporate sector as well as the country. Mobilink’s internal support programs for women remain the most advanced within the telecom industry and their award winning initiatives such as the m-Literacy program aimed at women in rural areas, have had spectacular impact.
Mobilink’s vision for a more inclusive workplace and its efforts towards promoting gender parity are aligned with YLC’s aim to promote social integration and combat discrimination through awareness and constructive action.
Since the conference’s inception in 2002, more than 3800 YLC-ians from 130+ cities & villages have impacted around 4,000,000 individuals across Pakistan, through their Social Action Projects themed around Education, Health, Sanitation, Youth & Women Empowerment, Inclusiveness, Employability, Entrepreneurship, Environment, and Leadership Development & Peace Building.