Gender equality: the distance between progress and power

. The writer is a girls' education activist Pakistan ranks 143rd out of 145 economies in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2026. The country has moved up five places from last year, when it ranked 148th out of 148 countries. Our gender-parity score has risen to 59.5 per cent. Progress matters. But can we afford to be satisfied? For a country with millions of talented and ambitious women and girls, these figures should prompt us to ask whether women are not only educated, but economically empowered; not only encouraged, but given genuine opportunities; and represented in decision-making. After more than 25 years of working in women's and girls' empowerment, I ask: Are we moving fast enough? What will it take to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind? Let's keep in mind that education is the beginning, not the destination. Throughout my career, I have seen the transformative power of education. A girl who gains confidence, skills and knowledge of her rights is better equipped to navigate the world. Education opens doors and builds resilience. But education alone cannot dismantle the barriers that prevent women from participating fully in society. Can girls translate education into meaningful employment? Can women access decent work, financial independence and leadership? Do they have a voice in decisions that shape their lives? Education must lead to opportunity. Opportunity must lead to agency. The gender gap is also an economic challenge. Female labour-force participation in Pakistan is approximately 24%, compared with around 80% for men. Behind these figures are millions of women whose talent and productive potential remain underused in the formal economy. Many women also contribute through unpaid family work, agriculture, home-based employment and caregiving - essential contributions that often remain invisible in economic measurements. Barriers include unsafe transport, limited childcare, workplace discrimination, restricted mobility, lack of digital access and inadequate employment opportunities. The issue is not whether women can contribute. It is whether our systems are designed to recognise, support and benefit from that contribution. Women's empowerment is not simply a social responsibility. It is an economic imperative, a development priority and a matter of justice. Critically, there is need to move from empowerment to economic agency. Empowerment must mean more than programmes, workshops and inspiring speeches. It must mean agency: the ability to make decisions, earn, own, lead and pursue education and employment without discrimination. We need to invest in skills, digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, accessible education and decent employment, creating pathways into work and leadership. Women should not have to prove their worth repeatedly before being given an opportunity. Inclusion must reach every woman. There is no single experience of being a woman. A girl in a rural community may face different barriers from a woman in an urban professional environment. A woman with a disability may encounter additional obstacles in education, employment, accessibility and digital participation. This is why inclusion cannot be an afterthought. Women and girls with disabilities must be part of the gender-equality conversation - not only as beneficiaries, but as active participants, leaders and decision-makers. We cannot speak about equality while leaving women with disabilities behind. However, the Report should not leave us discouraged. It should make us more determined. Every girl who enters school, every woman who gains employment and every institution that becomes more inclusive represents progress. But we cannot confuse movement with transformation. Equality is not achieved when a few women succeed. It is achieved when every woman and girl has a fair opportunity to succeed. That is a future worth working for not leaving equality to another generation, but achieving meaningful progress in our lifetime.