U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council Initiative Advancing Women's Economic Leadership

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) announces a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) for organizations to submit a statement of interest (SOI) to carry out a $300,000 program to advance the economic empowerment of women in Pakistan and to close the gender pay gap. The proposed program would launch a platform in coordination with the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council through which businesses, non-profits, and international government leaders in Pakistan and the United States would be able to sustainably partner with Pakistani businesses, civil society organizations, and Pakistani women-led private and non-profit organizations to co-create programs that aim to close the gender pay gap and create an enabling environment for women’s economic advancement and leadership in Pakistan. Priority will be given to organizations that cost-share and to organizations that have experience in developing collaborative relationships with private sector entities, particularly those that support women’s economic empowerment. The proposed program could collaborate with women’s mental health access providers and support women’s safety in the workplace, and other services critical to support Pakistani women in the formal economy. SCA invites organizations interested in potential funding to submit SOI applications outlining program concepts that reflect this goal. The submission of a SOI is the first step in a multi-phased selection process that includes a co-creation workshop.