Jahan Ara Manzoor Wattoo, Vice Chairperson of the Punjab Social Protection Authority and Chair of the Women Leaders for Social Protection Network LIS, attended the LIS Networking and Peer Learning Circle Vol I focused on negotiation skills. The workshop convened senior women leaders from Pakistan, Cambodia, Malawi and Uganda to develop practical negotiation skills and strengthen professional networks across the Global South.
Under Ms Wattoo’s leadership the LIS Network launched a three-month action plan that includes Peer Learning Circles, a Leadership Toolkit, Mentorship Circles and storytelling platforms. These initiatives are designed to boost visibility, confidence and the global impact of women leaders in social protection while embedding sustained peer learning and South-South cooperation.
The sessions combined hands-on negotiation exercises with guidance on building alliances and navigating unequal discussion settings. Ms Wattoo noted that negotiations often occur where women face additional resistance and bias and stressed that effective negotiation is less about winning an argument than about building coalitions, educating champions and advancing policy priorities for women and vulnerable groups.
Throughout the event participants worked on techniques to capture attention with consistency, exercise patience and apply rational timing to influence outcomes. Emphasising practical outcomes, the workshop aimed to leave participants better prepared to champion social protection reforms and to create space for others to lead.
In opening remarks Ms Wattoo reflected on her role as LIS Chair since the network’s launch in Frankfurt in July 2025 and highlighted the importance of mentorship and storytelling to scale local good practices. She urged delegates to use the new Leadership Toolkit and Mentorship Circles to strengthen weaker actors and to ensure women’s issues are integrated into policy decisions at all levels.
In closing Ms Wattoo expressed gratitude to GIZ, the World Bank and other global partners for their support and thanked colleagues who are partnering to empower women and protect vulnerable communities. The LIS Networking and Peer Learning Circle Vol I underscored Pakistan’s commitment to leading South-South collaboration on social protection and to equipping women leaders with the negotiation skills needed to drive change.
