Digital Connectivity as a Springboard to Professionalisation: Social Media Groups of Pakistani Women

• Published in: International quarterly for Asian studies 2024-02, Vol.54 (4), p.389-408
• Main Author: Din, Faiza Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accountability; Audiences; Bureaucracy; Career advancement; Careers; Caregiving; Chambers of Commerce; Cosmetics; digital ethnography; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Ethnography; Females; Flexibility; Internet; Interviews; Investments; Language attitudes; Life events; Networking; Pakistan; Professionalism; Professionalization; Professionals; Social capital; Social exclusion; Social groups; Social media; social media groups; Social networks; Technology; Trade; Women; women entrepreneurs; Women owned businesses; Working women
• ISSN: 0020-9449; 2566-686X; 2365-0117; 2566-6878
• DOI: 10.11588/iqas.2023.4.21080

In Pakistan, female entrepreneurs and earning women encounter considerable challenges when trying to enter male-dominated job markets. Many turn to women-only social media groups as a forum to discuss these obstacles and share strategies for overcoming them. Unlike conventional, more bureaucratic networking avenues such as chambers of commerce, these online platforms offer flexibility and continuous connectivity. This proves especially beneficial for women during significant life events like maternity or caregiving breaks. In Muslim-majority countries, these groups also serve as platforms for exchanging culturally and religiously relevant business practices, including discussions on halal investments and Sharia-compliant entrepreneurship. This study employs online ethnography and interviews with key stakeholders in some of Pakistan's most prominent women-focused online networking groups. While one might assume that the primary aim of such professional networks is to discuss business growth, cutting-edge research or technology, these groups actually thrive on a common language, shared challenges and shared values. The article begins by exploring the concept of professionalism and the role of community and networking in career advancement. It then delves into the specific challenges that make networking difficult for women in Pakistan but paradoxically act as a glue binding them together in these online spaces.