What CEOs Can Do to Advance Women in Leadership – Musadaq Zulqarnain

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March 28, 2025

Event: “What Can CEOs Do to Foster Women’s Leadership and Drive Organizational Success?” – Webinar by South Asian Academy of Management (SAAM) – 22 January 2025

Speaker: Mr. Musadaq Zulqarnain, Chairman of Interloop Limited.

Synopsis

In this candid and thought-provoking talk, Mr. Musadaq Zulqarnain reflects on the structural and cultural barriers that hinder women’s progression into leadership roles in Pakistan and beyond. Drawing from personal experiences in corporate and policy settings, he highlights the gender gap in leadership, the societal expectations limiting women’s careers, and the importance of creating enabling workplace environments. He shares practical steps his organization has taken—such as on-site kindergartens, flexible work policies, affirmative hiring, and reconnect programs—to support female professionals. Emphasizing the need for empathy, proactive leadership, and systemic change, he calls on CEOs to move beyond tokenism and commit to long-term, inclusive transformation.

Indicative Discussion Questions

What are the key structural and cultural barriers highlighted in this talk that prevent women from progressing into leadership roles?
How can CEOs and business leaders move beyond symbolic gestures to create enabling environments for female employees?
What makes Interloop’s “Reconnect” policy unique, and how does it challenge traditional career assumptions for women?
How can organizations move from legal compliance (e.g., SECP quotas) to commitment when it comes to board diversity?
What role can male allies play in accelerating women’s leadership, and how can companies ensure their support is authentic and sustained?
What are the challenges of building an internal talent pipeline for women in sectors where female leadership has traditionally been absent, and how did Interloop attempt to overcome them?
To what extent can organizational policies—like those adopted by Interloop—contribute to wider societal change around gender roles and expectations?
Which of Interloop’s interventions (e.g., daycare, extended maternity, flexible work) could be replicated in other organizations, and what might be the challenges in doing so?