Growing up in Pakistan: The separate experiences of males and females

Abstract

This paper examines gender differences in transitions to adulthood in Pakistan. The analysis is based on data from the 2001-02 Adolescent and Youth Survey of Pakistan (AYSP), a nationally representative survey of young people aged 15-24 undertaken by the Population Council's Islamabad office. The survey covers key aspects of adolescents' lives, including the timing of several adult transitions and a detailed accounting of time use over the previous 24 hours. The results of the analysis confirm the fundamental importance of schooling to transitions to adulthood. Those without any schooling, which still include 15 percent of young men and 46 percent of young women, assume the work burdens of adults prematurely and are deprived of the opportunity for learning in an institutional setting outside the family. Those who do attend school eventually take up gender-stereotyped roles; however, they do so with some delay, allowing them to experience a longer transition to adulthood. For both males and females, there appears to be a large lag in years between the assumption of adult work roles, whether in the domestic setting or in the labor market, and the assumption of adult family roles as marked by the timing of first marriage. Recent further delays in the timing of first marriage for young women have been accompanied by a rise in the percent working for pay during the later adolescent years; a similar trend is not apparent for young men. A multivariate analysis of some of the factors associated with variations in daily work hours among young people demonstrates the potential for change created by opportunities for higher levels of schooling, vocational training, and formal-sector jobs. The nature of current opportunities available to young people, however, appears to reinforce traditional gender role stereotypes.

Adolescent girls' voices on enhancing their own productivity in Pakistan

“…Analysis of the AYSP data by Lloyd and Grant (2004) is helpful in sketching the larger picture of transition from adolescence to adulthood in Pakistan, and how these transitions can be different based on gender and other socioeconomic variables. The early phase of the transition (10-14 years) is marked by puberty (Sathar et al 2003) and completion of primary education among those enrolled.…”

Youth in Pakistan: Priorities, realities and policy responses

“…Pakistan has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates, but below-average metrics related to other aspects of youth unemployment: for example, on average, most people have only spent five years in school. The fact that low youth unemployment is coupled with low educational outcomes raises concerns about the restricted pathways being taken towards adulthood (Lloyd and Grant, 2005). Lloyd and Grant (2005) examined transitions to adulthood in Pakistan with a focus on gender differences.…”

“…The fact that low youth unemployment is coupled with low educational outcomes raises concerns about the restricted pathways being taken towards adulthood (Lloyd and Grant, 2005). Lloyd and Grant (2005) examined transitions to adulthood in Pakistan with a focus on gender differences. The results of the analysis confirm the fundamental importance of schooling to transitions to adulthood.…”

Girls' schooling in developing countries: Highlights from Population Council research

“…Certain benefits associated with school attendance for girls appear to be nearly universal regardless of the type or quality of school attended. These include greater gender equity between boys and girls in time use and work burdens while they remain enrolled (Lloyd et al forthcoming;Arends-Kuenning and Amin 2004;Lloyd and Grant 2005;), a reduced risk of premarital sex, particularly among girls , and a decline in rates of early marriage, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (Mensch, Singh, and Casterline 2005). Furthermore, it appears that adolescents who do become sexually active while still in school are more likely to use contraception than their same-age peers who are no longer in school; thus, they face less risk of unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS .…”