Introductory Remarks By Dr. Daniela Gressani, Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank

Transcription

1 1 Introductory Remarks By Dr. Daniela Gressani, Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank Your Majesty, Excellencies, Honorable Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jordan High Level Gender Forum Amman, January 14, 2007 I am very pleased to be here today at this impressive event and to share the opportunity to talk about the importance of integrating women more effectively into the economy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for your championship of women s empowerment in Jordan. And I am grateful to His Excellency the Prime Minister and Her Excellency Minister Al- Ali for inviting us all here to think about practical ways to increase women s participation in and their contribution to the economy and in society at large. Jordan s Constitution embodies a principle of equality for men and women before the law and in obligations. The National Strategy for Women targets issues in women s education, health, and poverty, and the government is now seeking to integrate a concern for gender equality throughout national policymaking on economic and social development.

2 2 With this event today, Jordan is taking a unique practical step to explore relevant experiences in search of effective ways to pursue this goal across all sectors of its economy, and with all its development partners. Gender equality and women s empowerment is an issue that now features prominently on the policy agenda of nearly every country, not just Jordan. In some societies, gender issues evoke heated debates about culture and traditions that go to the root of national identity, values, and beliefs. Meanwhile, other societies like to see themselves as open and meritocratic, where people regardless of their sex may advance on the basis of their efforts and abilities, unconstrained by traditional gender stereotypes. Yet, gender disparities and inequalities are present everywhere. I do not know of any country where women receive the same wage as men for the same work. And in all countries, there are practical steps that can be taken to broaden women s opportunities and thereby to benefit society at large. In these brief comments I would like to focus on women s economic opportunities, and their relationship to Jordan s prospects for national growth and prosperity. Jordan s development goals are about economic growth that is shared among all citizens. Clearly, Jordan s comparative advantage within the Middle East and within the global setting lies in its people. And rightfully, the Government of Jordan has significantly invested in developing a strong base of human capital. On average, Jordan has

3 3 been spending around five percent of its annual GDP on education and nine percent on health. Both these levels of spending are higher than those of countries at similar levels of income, and they have achieved impressive results. Women have been among the key beneficiaries. To name a few successes: in 2002, Jordan achieved ninety percent gender parity in education. Female adult literacy has increased from 55 percent in 1980 to 85 percent in Among the younger population, of year olds, the male-female disparity has been eliminated altogether. This rapid improvement in literacy places Jordan among the top five countries in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the remarkable attainments in education for women have not yet been translated into a commensurate role for women in the economy. Let us consider the participation of women in the labor force, as workers and job seekers. Today we still see that the number of women of working age that are working or seeking work outside the home remains low in comparison with those of other countries in the region, and even more so in comparison with other countries worldwide at similar levels of income and development. Jordanian women s participation rate is especially low among younger and often educated women who possess the skills to make them readily employable. And, also among women from lower to middle

4 4 class families who could benefit from earning additional income in order to sustain their families. Moreover, among those women who do enter the job market, the unemployment rate is considerably higher than for men, and it increases with higher levels of educational attainment. Labor force participation is only one indicator of women s empowerment and position in society, but it is a critical indicator. It measures how women share in economic and social development, and it also measures how women contribute to it. Today in Jordan, the limited participation of women in productive work is holding back the country s economic growth and social development. I see three main ways in which this is happening. First, more than natural resources, geographic location, or industrial base, today s global competitiveness is driven by one thing: the productivity of labor. To compete successfully in the global economy a country needs to recruit its workforce from the whole national pool of talent, not just the male half of it. Jordan has invested significant resources to providing quality education to young women. This investment in education does not produce the economic returns for society as a whole that it should if women are not using their skills in the labor market. This is a considerable waste of human capital that is undoubtedly holding back the country s economic growth.

5 5 Second, Jordan as other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, has now a large cohort of young people young women and men reaching the age at which they normally enter the labor force. Using productively the skills and capabilities of these young women and men could greatly increase Jordan s economic potential. The East Asia Miracle is explained by many as the result of opening economic opportunities and markets at the same time as a large cohort of young and well-educated people were entering the labor force. Jordan now faces a similar opportunity. Missing it could not only be detrimental to its economic potential but also to social stability. Lastly, there is a strong business case for employing women as part of a skilled and diverse labor force. Women have been found to contribute perspectives of their own that help enterprises perform better. Because men and women have different social roles and work in different social areas and positions, they have different experiences and values that benefit the decision-making process. A recent survey of business leaders by the Financial Times newspaper found that businesses lose out in terms of both competitiveness and governance by not having enough female talent and perspectives. In fact, separate studies in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and continental Europe have shown that those companies that have a high representation of women in senior management positions consistently outperform those companies that have the smallest representation of women. A recent study by Catalyst indicated that US

6 6 companies with high women s participation in their management achieved a 35 percent higher return on equity. The limited participation of women in the labor force is holding back not only Jordan s economic performance. More jobs for women mean more income for disadvantaged families. There is strong evidence from many countries that families with two incomes are much more likely to break out of poverty and to provide better for the health and education of their children. And more jobs for women also mean a stronger middle class, which is fundamental for long-term economic growth and social stability. Why is women s economic participation so limited? To work in Jordan, women face two challenges. First, as workers, they encounter unequal treatment in the workplace. This is the result of laws and regulations that are anchored in a belief that women s work outside the home is not necessary for the family or may even harm the family. For example, a host of regulations, some well-meaning and protective, act as barriers to women s market-based work. Some of them restrict the type of work that women may engage in and the hours they may work. Others accord women unequal treatment under pension and social security systems and in tax laws. The second challenge for Jordan s working mothers and wives is not peculiar to Jordan: it is the challenge of balancing work with the needs of the family.

7 7 What can be done? An effective way of increasing women s economic participation and contribution is to promote women s economic rights and opportunities. This can be done by focusing on two areas: One is to carry out policy reforms in key markets, so as to reduce the barriers that women face in contributing their skills to the economy. Other countries experience shows that reforms in the markets for land, labor, products, and financial services have the potential to produce rapid and sustained increases in women s productivity and incomes. In the financial markets, for instance, reforming financial institutions to increase women s access to business credit, free up women s ability to own property, and ensure that institutions serve female and male entrepreneurs equally are policy-level interventions that can be expected to produce tangible impacts, often in a relatively short time. 1 The other important way to advance women s economic rights and opportunities is to introduce more modern family and social policies. Throughout the world, mothers and fathers grapple with the need to establish a fair balance between their family care duties and paid work. Countries that have addressed the practical needs of working parents have not only been able to create an environment for all to participate in the labor force, but also been able to use those industries and services that cater to the practical needs of 1 Quote from The Gender Action Plan, p. 5-6.

8 8 working families, as a significant source of job growth in themselves. Governments can play an important role in stimulating these activities by providing incentives, and through better regulation and monitoring for safety and quality. Jordan is now in a good position to make progress on all of these fronts. Constitutional protection of women s equality, educational achievements by women, progress in market reforms are important preconditions for such progress. Before I close, let me give you an inspiring example that I learned from the press. Today, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega is the Vice President of Spain. Only thirty years ago, when Ms. de la Vega graduated from law school, Spanish law prohibited her from becoming a judge, from serving as a witness in court, and even from opening a bank account just because she was a woman. A number of other industrial countries had similar restrictions. But over time, with state leadership and women s groups, such barriers have been greatly lowered or dismantled altogether. To conclude, let me sum up my three main points: In advanced and emerging economies alike, increasing opportunities for women and their inclusion in the economic and decision making spheres can bring tangible results in terms of economic growth and competitiveness, businesses performance, decision making, and most importantly to the well-being of the family.

9 9 Jordan stands ready to benefit from increased women s participation in the labor force because it now has a large cohort of young and educated women that are now reaching working age, and because of its progress in economic reform. There are practical ways to promote women s economic participation, and this conference shows that Jordan has the vision needed to integrate women effectively in economic development. I look forward to a lively discussion today, especially to identify specific actions that can advance the objective of greater economic participation and contribution of women in Jordan. WB13094 E:\Daniela'sIntroductoryRemarks doc 01/13/ :43:00 PM