The participation and presence of women in the economies of the Middle East and North Africa 

Study by the EBRD on the participation of women in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.

In April, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published a study on the voices, activities and participation of women in the economies of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey (Enhancing women’s voice, agency and participation in the economy, April 2015). In a comparative analysis, it studies a series of parameters of an economic, educational, legal and political nature, which offer a map of the status of women’s participation in these countries’ society and economies.

Despite having achieved parity at the different levels of schooling for boys and girls, these countries display persistently low percentages when it comes to women’s participation in the labor force, with some recent signs of growing worse in certain cases. In some countries, like Turkey and Tunisia, the unemployment rates of women with a higher education are systematically far higher than those for men. Women, in general, also withstand an exceptionally higher burden of uncompensated work (taking care of the house, family or dependent individuals), which limits their professional and economic advancement. The public sector, more stable and with greater facilities when it comes to reconciling work and family, provides most of the jobs for women in these countries. Women also have greater difficulties gaining access to credit and starting up a business.

Though some parts of their legal codes may be considered “neutral” in terms of gender, and all of the countries have signed the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), more conservative practices and interpretations of certain legal, civil and religious frameworks and a whole series of social norms and barriers are prioritized, as well as veiled forms of discrimination and inequality, decreasing women’s decision-making ability and, when dealing with different opportunities in their everyday life and profession, speaking up and being heard within their families and society, or contributing in a more active way to those projects in society in which they wish to take part.

Completed by a team of international consultants and the bank’s team for gender, the goal of the study is to offer a series of recommendations to design projects which envisage and provide a response to the practical and strategic needs of women, as well as promoting political dialogue at the international level so as to move forward on gender equality in these countries. Containing updated data, graphs and charts that make it possible to visualize the information in a clear and concise manner, the study discusses how the legal frameworks and social norms affect a series of key factors in women’s empowerment: women’s participation in the work force, education and the labor market; personal status, family codes and religious diversity in legal codes; access to and control of economic resources; freedom of movement and protection against gender violence; the ability to reach decisions on forming a family, and political participation and citizenship.

The study’s recommendations are oriented towards three areas: direct investment in the private sector and designing and providing municipal services and infrastructures, above all in transportation, bearing in mind gender-related criteria; political dialogue in those sectors in which women face restrictions, preventing violence in public spaces and at work, as well as decreasing the bureaucracy to start up businesses; internal operations, increasing the presence of regional gender specialists in projects and political dialogue, training employees and specialists on the subject of gender.