National Foods Limited Hosted Closing Ceremony Of ELEVATE Growing Women Leaders Program

National Foods Limited Hosted Closing Ceremony Of ELEVATE Growing Women Leaders Program

Karachi: With numerous recent programs to empower women, National Foods Limited is contributing diligently towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality.

National Foods Limited, one of the leading food companies headquartered in Karachi, hosted the graduation ceremony of ELEVATE participants at their Corporate Office. ELEVATE is CIRCLE’s flagship campaign which is Pakistan’s first women leadership program.

Over a period of 6 months, ELEVATE enabled 22 women from 6 companies including; Dawood Hercules, English Biscuit Manufacturers (EBM), Ideas by Gul Ahmed, Reon Energy, Telenor Microfinance Bank and Mitsubishi Corporation. Through workshops, webinars and mentorship sessions, the women built confidence, expanded networks and dived deep into challenges they face in exercising leadership.

National Foods Limited acts as a leader for the cause of women empowerment in Pakistan’s corporate landscape and constantly comes up with ideas and initiatives to support the cause. National Foods Limited has achieved several milestones with such women empowerment initiatives which serve the UN’s 5th Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality. 

A diverse panel of industry leaders for the event was assembled, with the aim to get a holistic understanding of the barriers that women face and how leading companies are preventing the unconscious creation of glass ceilings in our corporate environment. Among other industry leaders the CEO of National Foods Limited – Mr. Abrar Hasan, who is an Elevate Champion, also shared his views on the subject of women empowerment and leadership. He said, 

“I personally always have been an advocate of women empowerment and I try to build a similar culture here at National Foods. A culture where women professionals not only feel safe but also where they can get equal opportunities to grow and prosper, as their men colleagues. I hope to see things improving for women professionals across our society and I am glad that with initiatives like Elevate, things are moving in the right direction.” 

With 62% of female graduates in Pakistan not entering the workforce, CIRCLE a social enterprise, is focused on women’s economic empowerment and leadership development. CIRCLE Founder, Sadaffe Abid said; “Women and girls are the most underutilized potential of our country. For Pakistan’s prosperity, leading companies must come together to invest in creating a pipeline of women leaders & build an inclusive culture.” CIRCLE mobilizes CEOs and leaders to commit to gender diversity under its flagship initiative Elevate and upskills youth especially young women with technology, life skills and mentorship through the Tech Karo Program.

Another highlight of the event was a very motivating and inspirational speech from Ms. Rafia Qaseem Baig who is Pakistan’s and Asia’s first female bomb disposal officer. She talked about her struggle to become a part of our esteemed bomb disposal squad and how she brilliantly broke all stereotypes in pursuit of her dreams.

In a society where women often lose their voice platforms like ELEVATE provide opportunities for women to find their voice, learn leadership practices and build resilience.