MENA Women in the Economy Rabat, December 8-9, 2005 Nadereh Chamlou Senior Advisor to the Chief Economist Economic and Sector Work The Middle East and North Africa Region
Definitions Millennium Development Goal #3: Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment, measured by: Educational attainment Formal labor force participation Political representation Difference between Sex and Gender Gender Equality: Equal access to opportunity Equal voice Equal treatment under the law
Why is Gender important? Low growth has led to low employment generation particularly among the young Significant evidence that gender inequity and inequality impacts growth Gender inequality is the most pervasive type of inequality which cuts across all other categories of inequality impacts development most deeply
The MENA Paradox:
increasingly, talent pool equal among sexes
Extensive investment in social indicators because of shortfall in empowerment indicators
Women s formal labor force participation lowest among all regions
Women remain an untapped resource Ratio of Actual to Predicted Female Participation in MENA and Selected Countries and Regions, 1980 and 2000 2 1.8 1.6 Actual: predicted ratio MENA 1980 MENA 2000 Non-MENA 1980 Non-MENA 2000 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Morocco Kuwait Tunisia Egypt Arab Rep of Algeria Syrian Arab Rep Iran, Islamic Rep of Bahrain Note: AFR4 = Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal. EAP4 = Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand; EAC2 = Hungary and Poland and LAC4 = Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Bahrain and Kuwait estimates are based on total female participation in the labor force (which includes foreign workers) Source: World Bank staff estimates Jordon Iraq MENA LAC4 India Turkey ECA2 EAP4 China AFR4
Characteristics of women in the labor market Female Education and Labor Force Participation in MENA and EAP, 1970-2000 80 Percent 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Female enrollment in secondary school, MENA Female labor force particpation, MENA Female enrollment in secondary school, EAP Female labor force particpation, EAP 1970 1980 1990 2000 Note: In East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), secondary enrollment is for 1999 rather than 2000 Source: ILO 1996; World Bank 2003d, 2003j
Characteristics of women in the labor market Female Unemployment Rates by Educational Level in MENA Countries,, Various Years
Why? Differential Treatment under the Law Unequal rights and powers in the private sphere Unequal access to public sphere as interaction with state may be mediated through a male kin: Centrality of the family Concept of male breadwinner Concept of equity rather equality defined roles Code of modesty - Protection of women s honor
Gender-based Legal Framework in MENA CEDAW (passed by all but Iran, albeit with reservations mainly in areas relating to inheritance, family law) Constitution (guarantees equal rights for all citizens) However, ordinary legislation is discriminatory: Personal Status Code based on Sharia (marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance) Civil Status Code based on Western Legal Models (labor, nationality, pensions, etc)
Example of Differential Treatment Labor laws and regulations: Limitations on hours and type of work so as to protect women Mobility laws restricting women s travel within and outside the country Social benefits denominated in terms of number of female employees (such as on-sight child-care) Permission of husband to work or freedom of movement These increase the implicit and explicit cost of women employees
The Effect of Differential Sex-based Treatment under the Law Example: Implicit cost can function like a sex-based minimum wage wage Men (covered) S wage Women (uncovered) S minimum wage W W W0 W0 D1 D0 D0 D1 E2 E1 E0 employment E0 E1 employment A minimum wage is imposed for men. This divides the labor market into two segments. Employment in the Covered Market with decline --- employment in the Uncovered Market will rise (assuming that men and women are perfect substitutes.) Upward sloping female labor supply curve raises wages to minimum wage level. Results in decline in employment and the use of other factors of production, such as capital and energy. Increase, causing a leftward shift of the demand curve for male labor (form D 0 to D 1 ). Total employment declines. Source: The Economics of Gender (Joyce Jacobson)
Female labor force participation and higher overall employment Empirical evidence does not support the claim that women s increased labor force participation increases unemployment
Consequences of women s low economic participation to family and economy Cost to the family Egypt 25%, Jordan 20%, Morocco 17% Women s s work is increasingly the ticket between poverty and middle class It is also an important source of income for expenditures on better education and health of next generation Cost to the economy For a subset of countries, GDP could have been 2.6% instead of 1.9% with greater female participation in labor force. Translates into billions of dollars of lost opportunity and development for the region.
Why gender issues are important for MENA now? Need to create 100 million jobs economies have to be more market oriented Well functioning markets depend on a level playing field for all players Women constitute a large proportion of the work force essential for competitiveness Women entrepreneurs essential contributors to innovation and investment Gender based discrimination -- invisible brain drain Information technology changes meaning of geography, networks, production methods push for more knowledge content which opens up new opportunities for new players
Agenda for Workshop Focus on Women s Economic Rights and Opportunities consistent with religion, tradition, human needs Three entry points: Public Policy Employment Entrepreneurship
Conclusion Gender is no for the sake of women but for welfare of society MENA countries will undergo vast reforms --focus on economic rights to remove discrimination It is important to ensure the engender reform agenda: Create level playing field for all What is the magnitude of the problem and how does it affect the effects that existing, or persistent, gender inequalities will have on the outcomes and the success of economic policies; and the specific actions that are needed to mitigate gender based barriers the level of resources that are needed and who is best placed to act on them, be it the government, NGOs, and the civil society.