Barriers to employability: exploring individual-level and gendered constraints in graduate employment pathways in Pakistan

In Pakistan, a growing number of university graduates enter the labour market each year, yet many face persistent challenges in securing suitable employment. While structural issues have been widely studied, less attention has been given to individual-level constraints, geographical preferences, and gendered impediments; therefore, this study aims to explore how these factors shape the employment trajectories of university graduates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 28 unemployed university graduates (16 males and 12 females). Data were collected via face-to-face and phone calls interviews using a purposive sampling strategy, and subsequently analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that poor academic performance, belief in divine intervention, low motivation, and inadequate job preparation hinder the employability of most graduates. Many graduates avoid applying for lower-scale, low-paying jobs due to perceptions of overqualification and preference for prestigious government jobs. Furthermore, geographical preferences and limited mobility, along with reluctance to apply for positions in backward and rural areas, further limit job opportunities. Gendered barriers, restrictive parental control, and heavy domestic responsibilities hinder women's and joint-family male graduates’ employment prospects. Using Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, the study shows that graduate unemployment in Pakistan stems from the interaction of situational barriers, personal resources, social support, and adaptive strategies. The study recontextualises this Western-centric theory within a patriarchal, Global South framework. The findings call for institutionalised career counselling and targeted state interventions, including rural incentives, to reduce spatial inequalities, alongside gender-responsive measures to address mobility constraints and improve higher education-to-work transitions.