Women Inclusion in the Workforce: Opportunities and

Challenges Faced by Women at the Workplace

Evidence from KFC Abbottabad

Submitted by:

M. Aashir Khan
Roll #: 11914
MBA (HR)

Supervised by:
Dr. Muhammad Ali

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Session: 2022–20

i
 Women Inclusion in the Workforce: Opportunities and
Challenges Faced by Women at the Workplace
Evidence from KFC Abbottabad

M.Aashir Khan
Roll #: 11914

A thesis submitted to Abbottabad University of Science and Technology in

partial fulfillment of the requirement of an MBA (HR)

Supervised by:
Dr. Muhammad Ali

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Session: 2022–2023

i
 Certification of Approval
Researcher certify that Researcher have read Analyzing Women Inclusion in
Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges Faced by Women at the Workplace,
“Evidence from KFC Abbottabad”by M. Aashir Khan, and that, in my opinion, this
work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the MBA (HR) at Abbottabad University of Science and Technology,
Havelian KP.
Supervisor:

Name: ______________________
Signature: ______________________
Designation: ______________________

Chairperson:

Name: ______________________
Signature: ______________________
Designation: Head of Department

Research Coordinator:

Signature: ______________________

MS / MBA &PhD Coordinator:

Signature: ______________________

External Examiner:
Name: _______________________
Signature: _______________________
Designation: _______________________

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Session: 2022–2023

ii
 Declarations
Researcher declare the following:
1. The material contained in this dissertation is the result of my work, and due
acknowledgment has been given in the bibliography and references to all
sources, whether printed, electronic, or personal.
2. Unless the dissertation has been confirmed as confident, Researcher agree to an
entire electronic copy or sections of this dissertation being placed in the library,
if deemed appropriate, to allow future students the opportunity to see examples
of the past no longer than five years and that students would be able to print or
download copies. The authorship would remain anonymous.
3. Researcher agree to my dissertation being submitted to a plagiarism detection
service, where it will be stored in a database and compared against work
submitted from this or any other school or any other institution using the
service.
4. Researcher have read the Abbottabad University of Science and Technology's
Havelian policy statement on ethics in research and consultancy.
AUST ethics in research and consultancy; guidelines and procedures for students
undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate research methods modules and
dissertations; and the policy for informed consent in research and consultancy.
Researcher declare that ethical issues have been considered, evaluated, and
appropriately addressed in this research.
Scholar Name:M. Aashir Khan
Roll #: 11914
Program: MBA(HR)
Department: Management Sciences
Date: ___________________
Signature: ____________________

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the name of Allah, the most gracious and merciful, who enabled me to
complete this report, Researcher am deeply grateful to my advisor, Dr. Muhammad Ali,
for his unwavering support and guidance throughout my master’s program. Their
expertise and patience have been invaluable to me and have played a crucial role in the
success of this project.

Researcher am grateful to AUST for providing me with the opportunity to

conduct my research and for all of the resources and support they provided. Researcher
would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Muhammad Ali, who went above and
beyond to help me with my work.

Researcher am deeply thankful to my friends and family for their love and
support during this process. Without their encouragement and motivation, Researcher
would not have been able to complete this journey.

Finally, Researcher would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the

participants in my study. Their willingness to share their experiences and insights has
been invaluable to my research and has helped to make this thesis a success. Thank you
for your time and contribution.

Researcher am grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout this

process. Without your help and guidance, this thesis would not have been possible.

iv
 DEDICATION

I’m dedicating this project to God Almighty and then to family and friends, who
made me and gave me strength, ideas, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He has
strengthened me throughout this program, and Researcher have only flown on his
wings, who made me and gave me strength, ideas, wisdom, knowledge, and
understanding. He has strengthened me throughout this program, and Researcher have
only flown on His wings.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1.....................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1
1.1 Background........................................................................................................1
1.1.1 Mission Statement............................................................................................1
1.1.2 Vision Statement..............................................................................................1
1.1.3 Women's Inclusion in the Workforce at KFC..................................................2
1.1.4 Opportunity for female employees at KFC......................................................2
1.2 HR Policy of KFCEmployees............................................................................2
1.3 Challenges faced by female employees.............................................................3
1.4 KFC in Pakistan......................................................................................................3
1.4 KFC in Abbottabad............................................................................................4
1.5 Problem Statement.............................................................................................4
Chapter 2...........................................................................................................................7
Literature Review.............................................................................................................7
2.1 Conclusion..............................................................................................................9
Chapter 3.........................................................................................................................10
Research Methodology...................................................................................................10
3.1 Population.............................................................................................................10
3.1.1Sample.............................................................................................................10
3.2 Instruments............................................................................................................10
3.3 Design...................................................................................................................11
Chapter 4.........................................................................................................................26
Results............................................................................................................................26
4.1 Demographics.......................................................................................................26
4.2 Answers to different questions in qualitative........................................................27
CHAPTER 5...............................................................................................................30
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION...................................30
5.1 Discussion.............................................................................................................30
5.2 Conclusion............................................................................................................32
5.2.1 Recommended HR policy for KFC Abbottabad................................................33

vi
 5.2.2 Limitations.........................................................................................................34
5.3 Recommendation: Future Research Agenda.........................................................35
5.3.1 Discuss the limitations of the study...................................................................35
References......................................................................................................................36
Open Ended Questions...................................................................................................39

vii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
KFC is the most famous fast-food chain for chicken lovers. Therefore, here is the
story of the founder of KFC, who is among the entrepreneurs who began late in life and
had a very inspiring story. At the age of 62, when people generally start considering
their retirement, Colonel Harland Sanders founded KFC. He was born on September 9,
1890, in Henryville, Indiana, US. He did several small jobs to make a living. When he
was around 40, he ran a restaurant in Kentucky. The startup challenge he faced was that
he concentrated on fried chicken when there was the dominance of hamburgers. He had
a special, self-made recipe for fried chicken that people loved. He wanted to make it an
internationally known recipe. Finally, at the age of 62, he started his journey. He would
go door to door with his chicken recipe. He was rejected several times before he got his
first franchise.

KFC started in 1952 in Utah. In July 1940, he created his unique recipe with 11
herbs. After some time, he revealed his secret recipe to his friend Pete Harman. Colonel
Harland Sanders opened his first KFC franchise with the help of his friend Pete
Harman. At the age of 74, youthful lawyer John. Earthy Colored, JR, and Jack Massey
wanted to buy KFC. In 1964, Colonel Harland Sanders agreed to sell his organization
with a proposal of $2 million. Colonel Harland Sanders was kept as a brand
ambassador of KFC and representative, and he gets a lifetime pay of about $40,000
every year.

1.1.1 Mission Statement

To have a passion for finger-licking good food and serve it with pride.

1.1.2 Vision Statement

To provide food in a quick, pleasant setting that caters to cost-conscious, health-
conscious people,

1
1.1.3 Women's Inclusion in the Workforce at KFC
Women's inclusion refers to the meaningful participation of women in various
fields, particularly in areas where they have been underrepresented like in leadership
positions and decision-making roles in KFC, and creating an environment where
women are treated equally and fairly, allowing women to show their skills and talent
without facing discrimination. The aim is to promote gender equality.

In an organization, female participation is lower as compared to male

employees at KFC Abbottabad. An organization needs a diverse workforce to
accomplish its goals and objectives effectively and efficiently.

1.1.4 Opportunity for female employees at KFC

KFC Organizing tours for female employees to change the atmosphere of
employees to reduce their stress, conducting self-grooming sessions to build their
communication skills and confidence building, conducting women empowerment
sessions to motivate them to boost their morale, grooming overall personality
development, how to behave, how to talk, and how to deal with staff and customers,
increasing chances of promotion to a higher position like training manager to assistant
manager, increasing salary, and getting bonuses, KFC employees are easily hired by
other multinational companies.

1.2 HR Policy of KFCEmployees

i. Sexual Harassment Policy:If any of the KFC employees misbehave, stare,
or touch staff in an inappropriate way, they will be terminated immediately.
ii. No Show Leave:If any of the KFC employees are not showing up for work
without taking leave or informing their supervisor, they will be terminated
immediately.
iii. Grievance Procedures: The KFC complaint system is very strong; they
will hear all of the employee’scomplaints and take action to respond
promptly to employee issues.
iv. Creating a Friendly Environment:KFC creates a positive working
environment in the workplace between staff and interacts with customers
with a smile.

2
 v. Stealing:If any of the staff, members are caught stealing company
resources, like cash, or misuse of company data, selling information to a
rival company will be terminated immediately.
vi. Celebrate Birthday: KFC celebrates every employee’s birthday to show
him or her that they value them and care for them, and employees should
feel emotionally attached to KFC.
vii. Appreciate Employees:KFC appreciates every employee for performing
well on each task to boost their confidence and gain trust that employees
should always be loyal to them.

1.3 Challenges faced by female employees

a. Work-life imbalance: facing difficulty between personal life and professional
life, long working hours, staying longer in an organization instead of family.
b. Location: finding hurdles in going home or coming from home, Family
pressure includes religious factors, stereotypes, and a conservative environment.
c. Lack of conveyance facility: pick-up and drop-off services are not allocated for
female employees.
d. Low salaries include financial factors that affect their personal lives, like low
income. It is difficult to overcome their expenses like basic needs, house rent,
transportation rent, etc.
e. Promotion: it is difficult to get a top-level position because of the majority of
male employees.
f. Coordination gap: most of the employees are male on the top level, a middle-
level female employees have fewer chances of understanding and coordinating
with managers and staff.

1.4 KFC in Pakistan

KFC first officially launched its branch in Pakistan in 1997 at Karachi Gulshan
e Iqbal. Now KFC branches are open in 33 cities in Pakistan, with over 117 restaurants,
making it the most popular fast-food chain in Pakistan. KFC provides its customers
with the most delicious chicken and an excellent dinner experience.

1.4 KFC in Abbottabad

KFC Abbottabad was opened in July 2019. Although they pay great attention to
food quality, cleanliness, and hygiene, they have good customer service.

3
1.5 Problem Statement
Although KFC is an equal opportunity organization, the number of female
employees is considered lower than that of male counterparts, specifically in far-off
branches like Abbottabad. This can be attributed to several factors. A measure can be
taken to increase the percentage of female employees by introducing policies that
promote a conducive environment and encourage female prospects to choose KFC as a
vocation of choice.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity of Women

In an organization, women are diverse in different religions, castes, races, ages,

and physical abilities differentiating them from one another to compete in the
organization. There are different types of diversity, like internal diversity among
women born with built characteristics and natural talents like age and gender. Specific
skills that differentiate them from one another in the organization;external diversity of
women that adapted from the environment, like religious beliefs; and personal interests
that differ in terms of beliefs, values, and culture

Organizational diversity in different organizational factors like salary rate,

bonuses, and working hours positions are high, top, and bottom levels of women that
differentiate them from one another in the organization.

Organizations need a diverse workforce for better problem-solving, more

innovative ideas, high employee engagement, and increased productivity. (Phoshoko,
D. et al., 2022).

Organizations should provide an environment for women to utilize their skills,

talent, and perspectives for the betterment of the organization, providing them equal
opportunities in every field. In organizations, there are equal numbers of female and
male employees, but female employees are less compared to male employees in higher
positions like leadership positions and decision-making roles in the organization.

Organizations can be diverse but not fully inclusive because of the lack of
power distribution in most of the top organizations that only engage minorities and do
not give them proper attention. Most organizations are diverse and sometimes
inclusive, but most of the organizations escape equity in the organization because
minorities, like female employees, don’t have full access to resources and benefits as
compared to male employees, like promotions and high salaries. The organization

4
didn't treat them fairly and equally, which creates hurdles for female employees and
prevents them from having upward mobility in the organization. The organization
should give them an equal opportunity and give them an equal voice and rights to all
employees based on their merit without bias. (Iheduru-Anderson et al., 2022)

Hurdles or Barriers in Diversity, Inclusive, and Equity (DI&E) in the organization

faced by female employees

Employees who support and care about minorities but don't have the authority
or are in a higher position to take steps. Top-level management didn't support and
provide guidance for women employees and didn't invite them to important meetings to
hear their perspectives. The organization promotes just a few female employees from
low-level to middle-level positions to show a good image of the organization. Fake
marketing campaigns and advertisements like Women Empowerment programs, ads,
and sessions show publicly that we support women and encourage them to work
(Meshelemiah, J. C. et al., 2023).

Why are Top, Middle, and Bottom Levels Women switching jobs?

Women are already underrepresented in the organization; their involvement level rate is
decreasing. There are some reasons why women are switching jobs; these women are
very few in leadership positions and decision-making roles. The majority of the female
employees are facing discrimination and are ignored by the organization. There is less
chance of career opportunities in the organization, and most of the women are stuck in
entry-level positions. Only 3 out of 10 women are promoted to the senior managerial
level as compared to men. The majority of men are dominant in every position as
compared to female employees. Female employees' effort is unrecognized by the
organization, and their growth ratio is very low. Mostly females are demotivated, their
overall performance level decreases, and their loyalty to the organization is decreased.
that’s the reason women switch and leave the organization.

Reason for switching jobs

Tredgold stated that, the majority of men holding manager-level positions 62%,
mostly in top-level positions, as compared to 38% of women holding manager-level

5
positions. Most women get stuck in low-level positions and intentionally discriminate
against female employees, like cracking inappropriate jokes about women's clothing,
constantly being interrupted while speaking at a meeting, misbehaving, and taunting.
Organizations do not take frequent action on female complaints because the majority of
male employees.Senior female employees are a good or bad example for new female
employees. senior female employees leaving the organization, which discourages the
newly energetic female employees, and they will leave or switch the organization
immediately. Male employees outnumbered female employees in the top, middle, and
bottom levels because of male dominance and having less support. Female employees'
work was not acknowledged by the organization; that is the reason females do not get a
proper career growth opportunity in the organization. (D. Bridges, Wulff et al., 2023).

6
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Women's inclusion, diversity, and equity in the workplace are vast topics to
understand. There are different literature reviews about women's inclusion to solidify
the core concept of the topic, and we intend to gain related knowledge about the topic
from articles, journals, and reports. My literature review aims to explain why women's
inclusion and diversity are very low as compared to male employees in workplaces.
Did companies provide equal opportunities and treat women equally in the workplace?
Researcher target a specific organization, KFC Abbottabad. Researcher want to
investigate why women's inclusion in the workforce is lower than men. What are the
reasons behind it, and how can we increase their inclusion in the workplace? What kind
of challenges do women face in the workplace? What opportunities do women avail
from KFC Abbottabad during their employment?
McKinsey(2021) stated that before the pandemic occurred, most of the female
employees were underrepresented in workplaces. When the COVID-19 pandemic
occurred, the majority of women leaders and entry-level female employees were
affected. The majority of female employees resigned from their positions, mostly C-
suite leaders, switching their jobs because of the pandemic. During the pandemic, their
workload increased, growth opportunities decreased, and they were unrewarded by
companies. Women leaders work equally like men, and they are unrecognized by
organizations as compared to men, most companies lose their female employees
becausethe organization focuses on the majority rather than the minority. The
organization should take different initiatives to build an inclusive working environment
to encourage women and increase women's participation in the organization (Vasquez-
Parra et al., 2023).
McKinsey (2022) statedthat companies need to hold on to the leaders shaping
the future of work. Why are women leaving the organization, especially women
leaders, at the highest rate and switching jobs immediately rather than male employees?
Women are underrepresented in leadership positions and decision-making roles
because of a broken rung: more men holding manager-level positions as compared to
women, micro-aggressions in direct discrimination or bias towards women, women of

7
color, less inclusion, and a lack of equity. Most of the companies face that problem.
This report indicates that most women are underrepresented in technical roles, and
women leaders are switching companies.
McKinsey stated that there are some key reasons like women want to be
promoted to senior-level positions but the company doesn't recommend them; women
leaders are overworked in the office or at home but their work is unrecognized by the
company; women leaders want a better work culture, they want the company to be
more committed to employee inclusion, diversity, and equity, because of those reasons,
the company also risks young female employees seeing their veteran or senior women
employees leaving the organization, which demotivates them and discourages them
from resigning or switching jobs immediately. This report also includes an
intersectional look at women's experiences like race, color, and disabilities, facing
biases, and receiving less support at work. In flexible and remote work, women already
face difficulties when pandemics occur that make it very difficult for them to manage
their jobs. Companies must hold or retain women leaders in the organization.
(Vasquez-Parra et al., 2023).
The Daily Pakistan (2023) stated that women are also underrepresented in the
tech industry. Women face different challenges in the tech industry, including a lack of
opportunities in the tech industry like senior managerial positions and a lack of
diversity in different fields as compared to men. Some women contribute to the tech
industry by launching their own software houses to break down some barriers. Many
women entrepreneurs and organizations take initiatives to support women's
empowerment in the tech industry like mentorship programs and networking groups to
increase the participation of women in the tech industry, increase diversity among
women, and increase innovation. According to the Pakistan Software Export Board
survey, 14% of females are in the tech industry. The government takes initiatives to
increase women's inclusion in the tech industry. According to a survey, IT courses
increased by 27% in 2014 to 37% in 2018, 41% of women have 4 to 15 years of
experience, and only 13% are assigned to general management. Globally, women hold
15% of C-level executive positions in the tech industry. (Hasan, Rashedul, et al., 2023).

2.1 Conclusion
In this literature review, with the help of these reports, my focus is on KFC
Pakistan, specifically the Abbottabad branch, on women's inclusion, diversity, and

8
equity in the workplace, what kind of challenges women are facing in the workplace,
and what opportunities that organization provides for women employees. According to
all literature reviews, there is a recommendation that the majority of women do not
have technical skillswhich is a less focused area that women are lacking from top-level
to bottom-level positions in the organization, especially in Pakistan. To find out these
problems, we want to discover all of these factors to find the reason behind them,
provide solutions, and create a better and more flexible working environment for
women employees and HR policies that enhance women's inclusion in the workplace to
overcome challenges faced by women in the workplace and provide opportunities for
them.

In Pakistan, most female employees have soft skills as compared to male

employees they possess both soft and technical skills. Women must learn both soft and
technical skills to survive in the market. In Pakistan, according to the World Bank,
overall female tech labor in Pakistan was reported at 23.31% in 2022. In Pakistan,
women's inclusion in the technical industry is 14%. The government should take some
steps to promote female participation in the workplace to increase their numbers, give
them equal opportunity, and initiate women's inclusion programs and workshops for
females to become diverse in every field. We must focus on the issue to provide a
proper solution to the problem with the help of the literature review that we reviewed.

9
 CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Population

In KFC Pakistan, the total number of employees is 10.000. In the Abbottabad

branch, there are a total of 90 employees, which includes 70 males and 20 females.

3.1.1Sample
Sampling Strategy and Technique

The target audience is working women at KFC Abbottabad. Researcher

collected the data from female employees because the topic is related to the participants
that Researcher target.

Non-probability sampling:

Researcher chosen the non-probability sampling technique because my topic is

subjective and based on judgments rather than random selection. In non-random
sampling, sample selection is based on factors such as convenience and experience or
judgment.

Purposive sampling technique:

Researcher used the purposive sampling technique. In this technique, we select

participants with specific characteristics, skills, and experiences related to the research
questions that provide rich data about the given topic. Purposive sampling is used to
identify individuals or specific groups with particular knowledge and experiences
relevant to the research topic. In this sampling technique, we selected those participants
who have specific skills and experiences that are correlated to a topic.

3.2 Instruments
Data collection methods

a) Open-ended survey: Researcher used an open-ended survey to gather a wide range

of feedback from participants to understand the overall situation of the study.
Researcher used open-ended questionnaire methods.

10
Data Analysis Method

Narrative Analysis:

Researcher chosen Narrative Data Analysis methods to interpret the core

narratives from the participant’s stories, behaviors, feelings that are not expressed
openly, and how the individual experienced something. The benefits of the narrative
analysis method are that it provides rich linguistic data that sheds light on various
aspects of social phenomena. The goal is to understand the meaning that individual
attaches to their experiences and how their stories relate to your topic to understand and
interpret them.

3.3 Design
Structure of research methodology

Research philosophy is a set of beliefs and assumptions that guide your

approach to conducting your research. Researcher used the interpretivism philosophy.
Interpretivism philosophy focuses on understanding and interpreting individual
behavior and experiences, recognizing the importance of an individual's experiences,
values, and interpretations. Interpretivists are often used in qualitative methods like
interviews and questionnaires.

Research Approach:

Qualitative research methodology is used to understand something deeply.

Researcher used qualitative research methodology because of a deeper understanding of
a problem. Deep conversation with participants and gather detailed feedback from
participants about the problem.

Research design

Phenomenological design:

In phenomenological design, we examine the participants' experiences that they

overall faced and wanted to express. The main motive of a phenomenological design is
to investigate the meaning of the participant's experiences to interpret their experiences
and what phenomena can affect their lives. A researcher should write about their
feelings, what they faced, and what they felt in situations or phenomena that affected
their lives.

11
Response

Respondent No. 1

Q1. How do you empower or motivate yourself and the women around you at the
workplace during your job?

Respondent No. 1

“As a woman, Researcher empower myself to become a role model for females
that work with me or that’s new employees to become a role model for them to
encourage them to work. It’s easy to see so many females around me that encourage me
and them, which creates unity between us.”

Respondent No. 2

"During the workplace, we have a friendly working environment. Everyone

around me is fully empowered and motivated, especially female employees. KFC
provides a cooperative environment for all employees.”

Respondent no. 3

"We work as a team; we collaborate; we share over hurdles during the job; we
help each other that way; we empower each other."

Respondent No. 4

“As a team, we support each other. Researcher feel more empowered when
Researcher see there are a lot of females around me; they are very dedicated to their
work.”

Respondent No. 5

“It feels good when there are a lot of female employees around you. Researcher
am feeling very motivated by the very helpful staff.”

Respondent No. 6

"Researcher feel good that KFC empowers women. There are so many
examples around me that motivate me every time during my job. Researcher feel
comfortable here at KFC."

12
Respondent no. 7

“Everyone is competing with one another to become the best. A healthy

competitive working environment can motivate you and empower all the women
around you.”

Respondent No. 8

"Yes, Researcher am always motivated when females are around me.

Researcher want to become a good example for girls who are underrepresented in our
society and in organizations."

Respondent No. 9

“Researcher surround myself with positive coworkers of mine that motivate me

during the workplace and create a positive environment between us."

Respondent No. 10

“Researcher feel more comfortable in the workplace now that times have
changed and women want to grow in every field. Researcher was specifically motivated
and empowered by senior female coworkers; they motivated us in every situation.”

Q2. What do you think is the most significant barrier female employees face in the
workplace?

Respondent no. 1

“Researcher am having difficulty managing my personal life and professional

life because of longer working hours. Because of this, Researcher have faced family
pressure.”

Respondent No. 2

“In my opinion, there are no significant barriers that we face during the
workplace, but when Researcheram going home, it is difficult to find transport for
home.”

Respondent no. 3

“There is no pick-up and drop-off service available; we are working late hours;
we face difficulty when reaching home; also, family pressure is something Researcher
am facing because, in our society, women doing jobs are considered bad."

13
Respondent No. 4

"No, there is no significant barrier we face during work; our coordination with
each other can help us to face every challenge easily.”

Respondent No. 5

“There is a societal barrier that Researcher faced, like family discouragement of

doing a late-night job; our job is a late-night job; negative behavior of society; there is
no barrier that Researcher faced at the workplace.”

Respondent No. 6

“In KFC, there is no barrier that Researcher faced during my job. Everyone
around me is nicer; becoming each other's helping hand, mostly helping overcoming
barriers."

Respondent no. 7

“Mostly Researcher faced no barriers, but sometimes Researcher faced politics

during staff favoritism. The competitive environment is good, but sometimes that
creates conflict between coworkers. No time flexibility, late night work, and no
traveling services are available; overall, it's a learning place."

Respondent No. 8

“We faced both societal and workplace barriers like personal and professional
life not being balanced well, family and financial pressure, workload timing, managing
problems, and workplace favoritism.”

Respondent No. 9

“Workplace flexibility, gender pay, and gender promotion distribution are the
major barriers that female employees face in the workplace.”

Respondent No. 10

“Organizations promote female employees from bottom to middle-level

positions, longer working hours, family pressure and financial pressure of housing rent,
and the expense of basic needs."

14
Q3.Were any female employees promoted to senior positions in KFC?

Respondent no. 1

“There are some women who were promoted to different positions but not
promoted to senior positions."

Respondent No. 2

"Yes, some are promoted to work as chiefs, but not as senior managers; mostly
females are in customer service and cooking.”

Respondent no. 3

“Researcher am new here and not fully aware of it, but mostly women in
customer service are promoted.”

Respondent No. 4

"Yes, my coworker is in the cooking section; she has been promoted to senior
chief.”

Respondent No. 5

"Yes, there are mostly chances of getting promoted in the cooking section for
food safety experiences, but not in customer service or managing crew”.

Respondent No. 6

"Yes, KFC provides you with an opportunity to be promoted if you have talent.
If your performance and reputation are good, no one will hold you.”

Respondent no. 7

"Chances are very low because most females are less than male employees and
have fewer chances of senior positions because men dominate in senior positions."

Respondent No. 8

"No, Researcher have never seen someone promoted to a senior managerial

position”.

Respondent No. 9

"Yes, but not as a senior position; there is one of ten women that are going for
the seniority level.”

15
Respondent No. 10

"No, there are no women promoted to senior positions; the majority of females
are promoted to managing crew but not promoted to higher positions.”

Q4. How did you describe your experience at KFC?

Respondent no. 1

“It’s a great opportunity for newcomers to learn new things to improve our
skills and learn new things. An international working environment increases my
confidence of mine how to interact how to talk how to coordinate with my team"

Respondent No. 2

"My overall experience is good. You have a lot to learn from multinational
companies. To boost your morale, you conduct different training programs as compared
to local companies."

Respondent no 3

“My experience is overall good now that Researcher have so many senior
colleagues that support me, care for me, and treat me as family.”

Respondent No. 4

“Best experience at KFC Researcher experienced our team is the best; they
support each other, have well-coordinated staff, do not disrespect each other, and
always help each other.”

Respondent No. 5

"Researcher work at so many organizations, but that is my first international

experience, and the crew is very supportive and caring overall, which creates a good
environment.”

Respondent No. 6

"My experience is amazing in KFC especially all of my crew my senior they

treated me as a family"

Respondent no. 7

“My experience is good overall. If you want to learn about and experience an
international company, Aroma KFC is the best place to begin with.”

16
Respondent No. 8

“As a woman, KFC is a better place as compared to other organizations. KFC

staff are much more friendly and supportive as compared to other organizations, and
my experience at KFC is good.”

Respondent No. 9

“Overall experience is good. In KFC, Researcher discovered my true potential.

Researcher learned many things and gained experiences that helped me progress
myself.

Respondent No. 10

"My experience is good because in KFC you experienced a global environment.

Just sitting in Pakistan, your confidence and overall persona are evolving, and you learn
new things that no domestic organizations can provide, like customer service, how to
talk, and how to interact with customers and colleagues."

Q5. What are the reasons you chose KFC?

Respondent no. 1

“Researcher chose KFC because Researcher want to become a part of a multinational

company to learn new things to experience, to be a part of the international chain to
grab opportunities, and to improve my overall personality.”

Respondent No. 2

"My dream is to work in an international company, especially in KFC provides

the best opportunities for employees another reason is to increase my experience learn
new things, and become the best"

Respondent no. 3

“KFC provides career opportunities. Researcher want to enhance my career,

grasp career opportunities, and their environment is good, and everyone will accept you
as a family and treat you well.”

17
Respondent No. 4

“Researcher want to become a member of KFC because it provides growth

opportunities for all to achieve our career goals easily. In KFC, we can develop our
personalities and skills, which is the reason that Researcher joined KFC.”

Respondent No. 5

“My reason for joining KFC is that my friend recommended me to join KFC.
They give you an opportunity that you deserve growth chances. That's why Researcher
joined KFC.”

Respondent No. 6

"Researcher randomly go to KFC. Researcher applied to other multinational

companies too, but my first joining letter came from KFC. That's why Researcher
joined KFC."

Respondent no. 7

“International chain globally vast series of chain providing you a great chance
to build your career, that’s the reason Researcher joined KFC.”

Respondent No. 8

“In KFC, women's employee rates are increasing as compared to other

organizations; they focus on women to empower them. That's the reason Researcher
joined KFC.”

Respondent No. 9

“In KFC, female employees are more expanded than in other organizations;
they give growth opportunities fairly, providing good pay benefits as compared to other
organizations. That's why Researcher joined KFC.”

Respondent No. 10

"Researcher want to work at KFC because Researcher will gain skills like
communication skills, and improve my teamwork coordination, and KFC is the biggest
food brand in the world. That's the reason Researcher chose KFC."

Q6.Do people with different identities feel respected and valued at KFC?

18
Respondent no. 1

"Yes, all feel respected at KFC; they treat their employees well and respect
them, especially females.”

Respondent No. 2

"Yes, all are treated fairly and equally. Researcher have never seen any of my
coworkers at KFC treat their coworkers badly.”

Respondent no. 3

"Yes, in KFC, everyone is equally treated. Give respect to all employees.”

Respondent No. 4

“Everyone around you treated you fairly, and all employees are equally
respected.”

Respondent No. 5

“As compared to different organizations, yes, they give good and respective
treatment and give you value.”

Respondent No. 6

"Yes all employees are treated well and talk respectively with each other no
discrimination with other genders"

Respondent no. 7

“In my opinion, Researcher can see that my female employees don’t respect
your identity and value you as a male; they give you respect and treat you fairly. That's
all about the experiences they see.”

Respondent No. 8

“Mostly different identities feel respected and valued, but sometimes

unintentional bias occurs because of stereotypes, jokes, and comments involved in your
personal matters and a lack of privacy.”

Respondent No. 9

"Yes, in KFC, you feel respected and valued as compared to other

organizations. In KFC, your respect is based on your performance; if you perform well,
you will be appreciated.”

19
Respondent No. 10

“During job duties, employees give respect and value you because that creates a
better atmosphere to work with the unity that the company demands, but without duty
hours, employees treat each other differently, sometimes well or sometimes carelessly.”

Q7: What kind of opportunities did KFC provide for female employees?

Respondent no. 1

“KFC provides pay benefits bonuses, employee discounts on KFC meals, and
provides career development opportunities to learn new skills and conduct training
programs.”

Respondent No. 2

“KFC provides career opportunities for females, like health benefits. Providing
healthcare facilities for us when someone is sick, giving us sick holidays, and providing
wellness programs too, like how to manage stress at the workplace.”

Respondent no. 3

“Providing training for employees' reward packages, like bonuses, increases pay
chances and provides opportunities for education funding."

Respondent No. 4

“Promotion opportunities give you an equal chance to show your potential

benefits for employees by increasing pay and new training programs for employees'
women empowerment sessions.”

Respondent No. 5

“Most organizations don’t update their employees' skills; at KFC, they provide
career growth skills and give you training that is updated according to the latest skills.”

Respondent No. 6

“KFC provides career advancement opportunities by providing training based

on your field and ethical training on how to communicate with customers overall,
dealing with customers' benefits, and including staff discount benefits.”

20
Respondent no. 7

“Getting chances of transferring KFC internationally chain providing you an

education fund support you if you are interested in education if your performance is
well and chances of learning a different skill like soft and technical skills”

RespondentNo. 8

"KFC gives all employees an equal opportunity whether is a salary, bonuses,

benefits sometimes promotion females employees lower to middle-level position
mostly avoid promote to senior positions"

Respondent No. 9

“Updated training and continuing education courses KFC covers your study
expenses sometimes onboarding jobs and career development opportunities.”

Respondent No. 10

"Character-building training improves confidence and creates a strong working

environment. Teamwork and communication skills will give females the opportunity to
gain experience and increase their social skills.

Q8:Did female employees in KFC have an equal voice to contribute their say in policy
and decision-making?

Respondent no. 1

"Yes, if you are in a position to decide our workplace, we only focus on our
jobs; we don't interrupt each other's jobs."

Respondent No. 2

"No, in decision-making and in policy, we don’t interfere because of our job

description, and in KFC, each employee focuses on their own job.”

Respondent no. 3

“Everyone is focused on their own responsibility for work; no one interferes

with other work.”

Respondent No. 4

“That depends on our position. If we are in a decision-making position, creating

policies, we have the right to have every employee's own job description.”

21
Respondent No. 5

“If you are a senior, then you can otherwise not interfere with each other's work,
whether you are men or women."

Respondent No. 6

"If you have a similar position of saying no if you don't, no one intervenes in
each other's duties."

Respondent no. 7

"Mostly in decision-making and developing policies, male involvement is

upper-handed as compared to female involvement; mostly females are in a lower
position.”

Respondent No. 8

"The majority of women don’t have equal rights because of their present position; they
have the authority to make policies that benefit minorities.”

Respondent No. 9

"No, they have an equal right because most of the females are juniors, and most
men are at a higher level. If you have authority, you can contribute; otherwise, you will
not."

Respondent No. 10

“That depends on their position. If female employees have authority, they will
contribute to their saying that, unfortunately, they are not in decision-making and
implementing policies."

Q9:What kind of training did KFC provide for female employees?

Respondent no. 1

“Cashier, customer services, cooking, cleaning, cash handling, managing crew,

and hospitality, mostly females, are in customer services and cooking.”

Respondent No. 2

“Food preparation, cooking. Cleaning, customer service, cash handling, and

hospitality”

22
Respondent no. 3

“Researcher am at customer service. There is different training for different

employees based on their skills, like cashier, food preparation, and managing crew.”

Respondent No. 4

“There are different trainings based on our job criteria, like hospitality, cooking
customer service, food preparation, and cash handling.”

Respondent No. 5

“Researcher am at food handling, and according to different sections, they

provide different training according to their job, like cashier food and safety
experience.”

Respondent No. 6

"KFC is providing training equally for all employees, like electronic learning
sessions in the fields of hospitality, collaboration, and customer service, and also
providing hands-on training to”

Respondent no. 7

"There are different skills training that KFC provides, which are cash handling,
cashier, customer service, food preparation, cooking, food safety experiences, and
managing crew."

Respondent No. 8

"Mostly, KFC is providing training on customer-based services. Their main

goal is to improve customer service in their training. KFC provides training for females
in hospitality, cooking, food preparation, collaboration, cleaning, and food safety
experiences.”

Respondent No. 9

“There are different field trainings that KFC provides for female employees,
like hospitality and customer services, food preparation, and food safety, but also stress
management, anti-harassment training, awareness training, and unconscious bias
training."

23
Respondent No. 10

“There are different field training skills that KFC can provide to female
employees in customer services, food preparation, cooking, food packaging, cleaning,
and food safety.”

Q10:What initiatives have been taken by KFC to increase women’s inclusion in the
workplace?

Respondent no. 1

“KFC takes initiatives to increase inclusion; they make the first ever all-female
delivery crew called them dame riders in Pakistan.”

Respondent No. 2

“Increasing the number of female staff. Now there are 20 females working at
KFC. Their initiative is to encourage females to join KFC.”

Respondent no. 3

“KFC wants to see more women applying for jobs and advertise ads for hiring
females because there are 20 female employees and 70 males.”

Respondent No. 4

“Women are increasing day by day in KFC. KFC encourages women, conducts
women empowerment programs, and hires women to empower them to build their own
identity and pursue their career in every field”.

Respondent No. 5

“KFC takes initiatives; they introduced the first female delivery service of KFC
at Lahore, which was KFC's first unique initiative."

Respondent No. 6

“At Pakistan, they launched their first female food delivery crew, and globally,
Dakar Senegal became the first female-only staff chain in Senegal.”

Respondent no. 7

“In KFC, there are more female employees as compared to different companies
in Pakistan. The unique initiatives taken by KFC are that women are also included in

24
food delivery in PK Lahore, not in Abbottabad. The first global initiatives taken in an
Islamic country.”

Respondent No. 8

“In Abbottabad, KFC takes initiatives to increase their female employees. In

2023, KFC officially launched the first female food delivery crew named Dame Riders
in Lahore.”

Respondent No. 9

"KFC's motivation is to increase women's inclusion in Pakistan. The first step is

introducing the first ever female food delivery crew in Pakistan.”

Respondent No. 10

“Introducing female food delivery crews in Pakistan. KFC is the first

multinational company to encourage female inclusion in the workplace in Pakistan.”

25
 CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
In this chapter, Researcher gathered my data through an open-ended
questionnaire to analyze women's inclusion in KFC Abbottabad. What is the reason
behind it? Researcher collected data from my participants to evaluate the problems that
women faced during their jobs, what kind of opportunity was provided for them, and
why women's participation was lessened. My research aim is to identify the reasons
why women's inclusion in the workplaces less?, how to increase female participation in
the organization, how to provide a flexible working environment for female employees,
and what are the HR policies for increasing their inclusion and providing equity in the
workplace.

4.1 Demographics
The demographic information that was collected from the participants with the
help of a questionnaire shows that the majority of the female employees age in KFC
Abbottabad fall within the range of 20 to 30. Most of the female employees hired by
KFC are local, and only 2 percent of females are outsiders. In KFC, the total number of
female workers is 20 out of 90.

Demographics

1.4
Age Range 20-30
3.2 Locals 70%
Outsiders 2%
8.2

26
4.2 Answers to different questions in qualitative
Results

Researcher gathered all the different answers from the participants that
Researcher collected from the open-ended questionnaire.

Most of the female employees in KFC are motivated and empowered during
their jobs because KFC has created a working environment that empowers every
woman in the workplace, creating a competitive working environment to compete with
each other positively, and having a strong bond between each other and working as a
team.

According to the findings, women faced different barriers during their jobs.
According to the participants, there are some different hurdles that they faced in the
workplace, mostly societal and internal barriers, which include family pressure,
financial pressure, work-life imbalance, lack of conveyance facilities, favoritism, late
working hours, and gender pay gap. Females face these hurdles during their jobs.

In KFC Women are promoted to middle and bottom level positions. There are
very few senior positions that women are promoted to in KFC Abbottabad, which are
chiefs, customer services, and managing crew. The majority of females are in middle-
level positions because most men are dominant in managerial positions and most of the
staff are male. As compared to females, there are fewer chances for female employees
to be promoted to a senior position.

In KFC, every woman describes her experience as satisfied. According to

female employees'overall experience at KFCis good the overall aroma of KFC is best
for learning new skills, improving communication, and building confidence to progress
in their careers. Mostly for newcomers, their experiences are great as compared to their
previous jobs, with the majority of females having a positive response.

Females prefer KFC instead of other organizations or companies. According to

females, they choose KFC because of career development opportunities, developing
their personality, word of mouth, compensation, and international exposure.

According to female employees' feedback.In KFCthey feel respected and given

importance. There is no discrimination in KFC based on gender; everyone is treated

27
equally and fairly as compared to her previous company. KFC is an international chain
of fast-food restaurants, and its responsibility is to treat employees equally and fairly.

KFC can care about their employees and provide opportunities for female
employees that include pay benefits like bonuses, and employee discounts on meals
25% off. KFC provides health benefits to their employees, especially sick leave,
wellness programs, up-to-date training in the field, an education fund for the best
employees to support them in education, and onboarding chances on different chains of
KFC.

In KFC policy, everyone has their own responsibility no one interferes with
each other's jobs. If female employees have authority, they have an equal voice in
decision-making and policy-making otherwise no one is allowed to interfere with each
other's duties and responsibilities.

KFC allocates training in different fields like cashier, customer service,

cleaning, managing crew, hospitality, and food preparation. KFC provides e-learning
electronic training sessions on electronic devices for employees,creating a simulation
for employees to train them in an unrealistic environment, and providing stress
management training.Mostly females in the cooking, cleaning, managing crew, and
customer services sections.

KFC takes different steps toward female inclusion in the workplace. In

Pakistan, KFC introduced the first female delivery crew called Dame Riders in Lahore
to increase the inclusion of women in the workplace. In Abbottabad, KFC has the
highest number of female employees, 20 female employees, as compared to other
multinational brands. Globally, KFC has taken the initiative to introduce the first
female-only staff chain in Dakar, Senegal.

Satisfied

Feedback from all female employees of KFC Abbottabad 7 out of 10 female

employees were satisfied because theyare all in KFC. They said that KFC takes good
care of their staff to satisfy their employee's every need, which is why they only give a
positive response to showing the positive image of the company.

28
Neutral

3 out of 10 female employees are neutral, according to their responses. The

reason is that most multinational companies do not downgrade their reputation.
Reputation is the key for multinational companies only showing a good image of the
company.

Dissatisfied

According to female employees' responses, most female employees are

satisfied. KFC is treating them fairly and equally, giving bonuses and opportunities, but
according to the promotion, their responses are not satisfied they are all not satisfied
when it comes to growth opportunities.

Females Feed Back

2%

22% Satisfied
Nuetral
Dissatisfied

76%

29
 CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, AND

RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Discussion
In this section, we discussed the overall topic, findings, and results that
Researcher found at KFC Abbottabad about women's inclusion in the workplace.
According to the feedback that Researcher gathered from KFC Abbottabad, according
to the results of participants, Researcher found that most of the women in the
organization are underrepresented their work is unrecognized in every field. Most
companies can provide benefits for female employees, but there is no equity in the
distribution of authority and rights as compared to men. The result of the survey that
Researcher conducted, according to females' feedback about women's inclusion in the
workplace, is that most women in the organization are equally treated in terms of
benefits and behaviors, but when it comes to growth opportunities, most of the
organization is lacking. In KFC, most of the female employees' responses are positive.
According to female employees, KFC provides all types of opportunities and benefits,
but they are lacking in growth opportunities, according to female employees’
responses, they face societal and sometimes internal barriers that can affect their
personal and professional lives and can decrease their performance. They also
experience mental stress and face biases in the organization. According to findings, the
majority of females faced societal barriers like family pressure, financial pressure, and
sometimes internal barriers likebeing stuck in one position with low chances of
promotion. In KFC Abbottabad, most of the females are in middle and bottom-
levelpositions. In KFC, there is some section where women are promoted to a senior
positionwhich arethe cooking and food preparation section, mostly females are working
as a chief or senior chief. In KFC Abbottabad, the majority of female employees are in
the customer services and food preparation section, not in the senior managerial and
decision-making positions, but mostly in KFC, overall inclusion of women has
increased over time, and KFC provides training for female employees equally
regarding their positions or designations. These trainings are e-learning electronic
learning online learning sessions to train their employees, and simulation trainingto
create an unrealistic environment for employees to train them.

30
 Nowadays, female inclusion is increasing day by day. The organization
conducts sessions about the women's empowerment program and the women's
wellbeing program to encourage women to work to increase women's inclusion. KFC
takes steps to increase women's inclusion in Pakistan by introducing the first female
delivery crew named Dame Riders in Lahore. Pakistan opens a new door for women to
increase their inclusion in different fields.

McKinsey(2021) stated thepandemicCOVID-19hasimpactedwomen's

professional lives. women are already minors in every profession. According to the
McKinseyReport 2021, women can suffer more because of COVID-19. The majority of
women leaders lose their jobs, decreasing the inclusion of women in organizations.
Women leaders can exert effort like male leaders, but most of the women leaders are
unrewarded by the organization. Most of the women are at entry levels only 3 out of 10
are in executive positions, and women's participation decreased during the pandemic.
(Vasquez-Parra et al., 2023).

McKinsey(2022) stated thatthe majority of women leaders and young women

are switching jobs and leaving the organization. Most of the women are facing barriers
in the organization because of male dominancy at managerial levels, unintentional bias
towards them, being less promoted to senior positions, being unrecognized for their
contributions by companies, and overworked, unsustainable workload that burn out the
females, the majority of females are in entry-level positions, and only a few are
promoted to top-level positions.

The Daily Pakistan (2023) stated that women are underrepresented in the tech
industry. 14% of women in the tech industry in Pakistan mostly females possess soft
skills, not hard skills. The majority of female employees lack technical skills as
compared to males. Most organizations do not organize technical sessions for female
employees, which is why females have fewer chances to learn technical skills andbe
promoted to technical positions. Women's inclusion in the tech field is lower
thanmen’s.

In KFC, women's inclusion and diversity are less in the organization, there are
no females in the technical staff only males are in the technical staff. KFC mostly hires
females for customer services, cooking, and food preparationbut is less focused on
female leadership programs.

31
5.2 Conclusion
The majority of working women's inclusion is lower in the workplace and
women are underrepresented and unrecognized by organizations in Pakistan. Most
organizations claim that they are inclusive and diverse, but they ignore equity. Women
face many challenges in the workplace, including biases and discrimination. Women
equally put an effort into organizations.Most of the organizations treat them like
minorities in Pakistan, and women are facing societal pressure, family pressure,
financial pressure, marriage pressure, work-life imbalance, workplace harassment, and
being stuck in one position. Challenges faced by women in workplaces To find out
these challenges Researcher chose KFC Abbottabad. Researcher conducted qualitative
research using an open-ended questionnaire to gather a rich amount of data from female
employees of KFC Abbottabad to analyze the reasons behind it, what are the challenges
and opportunities KFC provides for female employees, and what initiatives KFC takes
to increase women's inclusion in the workplace. KFC's overall response is positive,
saying that KFC is more inclusive than other brands. Female employee inclusion
increases at KFC as compared to other brands and provides opportunities for females to
support them. They are treated well and feel respected and valued at KFC as compared
to other organizations.

According to their responses, female employees are all satisfied at KFC, but
there are some challenges women face at KFC, like late working hours, no conveyance
facility, family pressure, and very low chances of promotion for women. Mostly in
managerial positions, all men are in decision-making positions, leadership positions,
and managing crews. In policy-making, the majority of women are in customer
services, food section, like chief, hospitality management, and food preparation. In
KFC, there are no women in the technical and maintenance staff. Women are not as
diverse in KFC as compared to men. KFC must focus on female leadership programs to
identify the potential female leaders for the next generation to encourage females, and
their performance must be recognized by KFC because they are underrepresented in the
workplace. Promoting women in managerial positions and decision-making positions
can help increase women's inclusion in the workplace.

Most of the females are at entry level only a few women are in C-level
executive positions. In Pakistan, most females do not have technical expertise, which is
the biggest problem. Women are also underrepresented in the tech industry. In

32
Pakistan, most women have soft skills like managerial skills and communication skills,
but they don't have technical skills. On the other hand, men possess both skills as
compared to females. Nowadays, organizations focus on conducting IT programs for
women to increase women's inclusion in the field of the tech industry. Nowadays,
women are taking an interest in IT, programming, digital marketing, and freelancing to
increase the inclusion and diversity of women.

5.2.1 Recommended HR policy for KFC Abbottabad

KFC must provide equal opportunity for women in every field and also provide
gender equality in the workplace. selection based on merit, with no bias in color,
talent,skills, qualifications, and performance.
i. Flexible Work Environment: KFC can provide flexible time for female
employees during late-night working hours to balance their professional and
personal lives and provide conveyance for females to encourage them to
increase their inclusion in the workplace.
ii. Career Opportunities: KFC should provide career opportunities for females
equally in every position. KFC should provide equal training, mentorship, and
leadership opportunities, give them opportunities for career overall growth, and
promotethem into top-level positions.
iii. Health and Wellbeing Program: KFC conducts a health program to take care
of female employees'overall health and stress management sessions, providing
proper routine checkups. In that way, the health of employees is better by
reducing sick leave and decreasing absentees to perform their duties correctly.
iv. Leadership Development Program: KFC conducts a leadership program to
identify the future potential female leaders within the organization to represent
the females, become an example for them, and provide leadership sessions to
increase the number of female leaders at KFC.
v. Technical Training Session: KFC should provide all female employees with
technical training for 3 to 5 months in technical fields like software programs
and programming languages. Most women do not have a technical degree in the
organization. KFC should focus on training female employees in the technical
field to increase women's inclusion in the techfield.

33
 vi. Diverse Hiring: KFC should promote diverse candidate sourcing to select fair
and unbiased hiring procedures to select diverse groups if they belong to
minorities, like females’selection is totally based on merit.
vii. Promote more women in managerial positions: KFC should focus on
promoting more female employees to senior positions to take a stand for
minorities and increase women's inclusion in every position that creates an
impact on having an equal voice and opportunity.
viii. Anti-Discrimination Policies: Implement strict anti-discrimination policies to
prevent bias, harassment, or unfair treatment based on gender in the workplace.
ix. Gender Neutral Language: KFC should implement a gender-neutral language
policy so that staff can use fair language during communication with minorities
to avoid gender stereotypes.
x. Recruitment and Hiring: KFC should implement unbiased recruitment and
hiring processes like blind resume reviews and diverse interviews to provide
equal opportunity for women at KFC.
xi. Developing a Minority Support Group: KFC should develop a team that
supports minorities, takes their complaints into action, reports issues to senior
management, fights for their right, and listen to their problems.

5.2.2 Limitations
This project has provided a deep understanding of the problem, the challenges
that women face in the workplace, and what kind of opportunities are provided for
them. There are some limitations, which include this study sample size is small.
Researcher chose only specific areas and participants, and limited data was collected
from participants. My topic is focused on women's inclusion in the workforce at KFC
Abbottabad. What challenges do women faceat KFC? What opportunities did KFC
provide for women? Researcher only focus on one branch, not all branches of KFC.
Researcher used a qualitativemethod for data collection andan open-ended
questionnaire to interpret the data through narrative analysis. Researcher interpret data
according to my experiences and my knowledge. This study was conducted within a
specific timeframe, which limited the depth of the findings. Some longer-term
challenges and hurdles were not fully explored. Participants, particularly from KFC,
may be biased when giving responses at the time of data collection, maybe based on

34
their own judgment. This study relies on an open-ended questionnaire, which may limit
the data.

5.3 Recommendation: Future Research Agenda

Future recommendations of the study that psychological factorsimpact women's
performance level to investigate factors that impact women's mental health during their
workplace, encourage women to contribute to the tech industry to explore the
challenges and barriers women face in technical careers, and ways to encourage greater
participation. Investigate how intersecting identities such as race, ethnicity, and
sexuality impact women's experiences and opportunities in the workplace.

5.3.1 Discuss the limitations of the study

My research study is limited to a specific area of KFC Abbottabad. The overall
project is based on KFC Abbottabad, there are many different challenges faced by
women in different branches of KFC in Pakistan, but my study is specifically based on
KFC Abbottabad.

35
 REFERENCES

Vázquez-Parra, J. C., Trapero, F. G. A., & Guerra-Leal, E. M. (2023). Labor Inclusion

with a Gender Perspective in Complex Environments: Firm Steps for the Post-
Pandemic Economic Recovery. The International Journal of Organizational
Diversity, 23(1), 83.

Hasan, R. Ashfaq, M., Parveen, T., & Gunardi, A. (2023). Financial inclusion–does
digital financial literacy matter for women entrepreneurs? International Journal
of Social Economics, 50(8), 1085-1104.

Iheduru-Anderson, K., Okoro, F. O., & Moore, S. S. (2022).Diversity and inclusion or

tokens? A qualitative study of black women academic nurse leaders in the
United States. Global qualitative nursing research, 9, 23333936211073116.

Bridges, D., Wulff, E., & Bamberry, L. (2023). Resilience for gender inclusion:
Developing a model for women in male‐dominated occupations. Gender, work
& organization, 30(1), 263-279.

Kumar, S. (2022). Financial Inclusion of Women: Current Evidence from India.

Weeks, A. C., & Masala, F. (2022). Still “the Domain of Men?” Gender Quotas and
Women's Inclusion in Local Politics in Italy 1. Legislative Studies Quarterly.

Ditlhokwa, G. (2022). Health information and social inclusion of women during

COVID-19: Exploring Botswana television’s functionalist communication
strategy. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 12(3),
e202219.

Schmader, T. (2023). Gender inclusion and fit in STEM. Annual Review of

Psychology, 74, 219-243.

Meshelemiah, J. C. (2023). Black Women in Leadership in the Diversity, Equity, and

Inclusion Space: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In Black Women’s Formal
and Informal Ways of Leadership: Actualizing the Vision of a More Equitable
Workplace (pp. 69-91). IGResearcher Global.

36
Manan, M. R., Nawaz, I., Rahman, S., Razzaq, A., Zafar, F., Qazi, A., & Liblik, K.
(2023). Diversity, equity, and inclusion on editorial boards of global health
journals. Asian Bioethics Review, 1-31.

Rani, V. S., & Sundaram, N. (2023). Impact of Financial Inclusion on Women

Entrepreneurs in India: An Empirical Study. International Journal of
Professional Business Review: Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 8(6), 24.

Jevtić, B., Vucekovic, M., & Tasić, S. (2023). The Effects of Digitalization and Skills
on Women’s Labor Market Inclusion-Serbian Gap Study. JWEE, 58-75.

Hidayati, U. A. (2023). Impact of financial inclusion and government policies on

women entrepreneur’s development in West Nusa Tenggara,
Indonesia. JISAMAR (Journal of Information System, Applied, Management,
Accounting and Research), 7(1), 45-52.

Ezhilarasan, C., & Raj, A. (2022). SOCIAL INCLUSION OF IRULA WOMEN IN

VILLUPURAM DISTRICT THROUGH PAZHANGUDResearcher MAKKAL
MUNNANI. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(2), 5009-5014.

Goel, M. (2023). Women Empowerment and Inclusive Growth Need for Governance
and Improved Employment Policy for Urban Unemployed Women in
India. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 27(S1).

Bibbins-Domingo, K., Helman, A., & Dzau, V. J. (2022). The imperative for diversity
and inclusion in clinical trials and health research participation. Jama, 327(23),
2283-2284.

Phoshoko, D. (2022). Diversity and Inclusion. Inside Mining, 15(1), 3-5.

Ayyala, R. S., Artunduaga, M., Morin, C. E., & Coley, B. D. (2022). Leveraging
diversity, equity, and inclusion for promoting wellness in the radiology
workplace. Pediatric radiology, 52(9), 1724-1729.

Gautam, P., Solkhe, A., & Singh, S. Gender Inclusion at Workplace: A Systematic
Review and Bibliometric Analysis.

Valerio, A. M. (2022). Supporting women leaders: Research-based directions for

gender inclusion in organizations. Consulting Psychology Journal, 74(2), 178.

37
Coursehero.com. (2023). KFC Mission, Vision, and
Values.https://www.coursehero.com/file/193408133/KFC-Mission-vision-and-
Valuedocx/#:~:text=docx%20%2D%20KFC%20mission%20statement...&text

Daily Pakistan Global. (2023, June 13). Women in Pakistan’s Tech Industry.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/13-Jun-2023/women-in-pakistan-s-tech-
industry

Insight on Diversity and Inclusion | McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). McKinsey & Company.
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion

Kfcpakistan.com. (2023). About Us. https://www.kfcpakistan.com/about-

us#:~:text=KFC%20entered%20Pakistan%20in%2019

KFC Abbottabad, N-35, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (n.d.). Asiafirms.com. Retrieved September

9, 2023, from https://pk.asiafirms.com/khyber-pakhtunkhwa/kfc-abbottabad-
666029,html

Kumari, R. (2020, October 21). KFC Story: History, Challenge, and Current Status /
Analytics steps. Analytics Steps. https://www.analyticssteps.com/blogs/kfc-
startup-story-history-challenges-and-current-status

McKinsey. (2021). Women in the Workplace.

http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/diversity
%20and%20inclusion/women%20in%20the%20workplace%202021/women-
in-the-workplace-2021.pdf

McKinsey. (2022). Women in the Workplace.

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/diversity
%20and%20inclusion/women%20in%20the%20workplace%202022/women-
in-the-workplace-2022.pdf

TradingEconomics.com. (n.d.). Pakistan – Labor Force, Female – 1990-2019 Data | 2020

Forecast. https://tradingeconomics.com/pakistan/labor-force-percent-of-total-
labor-force-wb-data.html

38
 OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS
Q1. How do you empower or motivate yourself and the women around you at the
workplace during your job?
Q2. What do you think is the most significant barrier female employees face in the
workplace?
Q3.Were any female employees promoted to senior positions in KFC?
Q4. How did you describe your experience at KFC?
Q5. What are the reasons you chose KFC?
Q6.Do people with different identities feel respected and valued at KFC?
Q7: What kind of opportunities did KFC provide for female employees?
Q8:Did female employees in KFC have an equal voice to contribute their say in policy
and decision-making?
Q9:What kind of training did KFC provide for female employees?
Q10:What initiatives have been taken by KFC to increase women’s inclusion in the
workplace?

39