66106 September 2011 – Number 45 Capabilities, Opportunities and Participation: GENDER EQUALITY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION Tara Vishwanath, Nga Nguyen, Quy-Toan Do, Thomas Walker, many governments in the region have long Gabriela Inchauste Comboni, and Nandini Krishnan1 operated. These contracts brought stability and important human development gains but are Introduction: Many countries in the Middle characterized by large public sectors, weak East and North Africa (MENA) region are government accountability, and limited undergoing a profound transformation. From opportunities for private sector growth and Bahrain to Yemen, from Tunisia to Egypt, employment. The current economic structure in popular movements are calling for political many of these countries is not conducive to the change and a more inclusive development path degree of job creation needed for fulfilling the that will provide ordinary citizens with greater demands of their expanding and well educated voice, social and economic freedom, and labor forces. The old modus operandi is no government accountability. Young men and longer sustainable in terms of the women have been visibly at the forefront of corresponding fiscal burden and its limited these calls for change, and continue to potential for long term inclusive growth. The participate actively. time for change is now. This Quick Note is based on the overview of the Human Development and Gender in MENA: regional report with the same title which Over the past four decades, MENA countries complements the 2012 World Development have invested heavily in human development, Report (WDR) on Gender Equality and making impressive strides in areas like Development. The WDR highlighted the education and healthcare. This is to a large influence and interconnectedness of markets, extent an effect of the region’s growing wealth formal and informal institutions and and its high natural resource rents. The region households in determining gender outcomes. as a whole is close to achieving gender parity in Following the WDR, the report, which will go primary and secondary enrollment rates, through a series of consultations in the comparing favorably to Low and Middle countries in the region, draws on economic Income countries worldwide. analysis of quantitative data from countries in the region, qualitative research and Maternal mortality in the region is half the international evidence. The final report will world average, and fertility rates have declined identify policy directions to better exploit the rapidly in the past decade. Although gender benefits of a more inclusive development path. gaps remain in some dimensions of human development - for instance, in school These recent popular movements signal a need completion rates - and gender differences in to renegotiate the social contract under which educational specialization remain significant, most MENA countries are well on their way to 1 The Overview is available at worldbank.org/Mena. This achieving gender parity in key human Quick Note was cleared by Manuela Ferro, Sector Director, development indicators. However, the greatest Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department (MNSPR), Middle East and North Africa Region, The puzzle is why, given MENA’s remarkable World Bank. achievements in human development, so few women participate in the workforce or in civic While these constraints are to some extent and political life. present in all MENA countries that largely share a common religious identity, religion is Employment Opportunities for Women in not the primary driver. There is a great MENA: While gaps in economic opportunities diversity in rates of female labor force for women persist in all countries, rates of participation among Muslim-majority female labor force participation in the MENA countries. For example, Indonesia and region of around 25 percent are half the Bangladesh have double the rates of female developing world average. Not surprisingly, labor force participation of MENA. Similarly, the lowest participation rates are in fragile or while oil is a significant source of income for conflict-affected countries such as Yemen, Iraq some MENA countries, and has and the West Bank and Gaza. However, for the unquestionably limited the growth of non-oil region as a whole, female labor force sectors, it cannot alone explain the slow participation has increased by only 0.17 progress of women in the public sphere in the percentage points annually over the last thirty region as a whole. years. At this rate, MENA would take 150 years to catch up to the current world average. The Critical Role of Social and Cultural Norms: The report argues that one of the main The economic structure of countries in the characteristics explaining the region’s lack of MENA region influences work opportunities progress is the region’s social and cultural for women. On the one hand, formal sector norms and accompanying legal constraints. opportunities are dominated by public sector When presented with an environment where employment in wealthier MENA countries. On these constraints are more muted, women are the other hand, more women than men work in better able to translate their aspirations into the informal sector in the relatively poorer reality. Analysis of labor market outcomes for countries in the region. Informal sector work immigrants shows that participation rates of does not provide the security of a formal sector MENA women who migrate to the United job and moreover, may underutilize the skills States are much higher than those of non- of educated women who were unsuccessful in migrants, and fall by less after marriage. securing formal sector work. For less educated Furthermore, women of MENA origin who women in the informal sector, business migrated to France as youngsters have ownership rates are low since women lack participation rates more similar to their male access to capital and business skills. counterparts than do women who migrated as adults. This finding points to the important Constraints to Women’s Inclusion in the influence of deep-rooted social and cultural Public Sphere: A multitude of legal, social, norms in explaining low rates of participation cultural and economic constraints actively in the region. discourage women from participating in the public sphere. Constraints range from social The Social Contract in MENA and Its Impact and cultural norms that deny rights and on Female Inclusion: The second feature is the freedoms to women, to legislation and MENA ‘social contract’, by which governments regulations limiting women’s ability to work, provided generous social benefits, public start businesses and participate in politics. employment and subsidies to their citizens in Economic constraints include labor market exchange for their support or quiescence. This regulations, bureaucracy, and uneven has distorted labor markets and influenced enforcement of laws, which together stifle the women’s choices about education and work. private sector and curb job creation; distortions The low participation rate of women is the in the social security system that discourage result of two separate but reinforcing effects. women from working; an education system On one hand, women who want to work have that often does not provide young men and difficulty finding a job, because the public women with the skills employers want; and an sector (traditionally the largest employer of environment that is not conducive to women’s women) has slowed its rate of hiring, and entrepreneurship. because private sector firms are discouraged September 2011 · Number 45 · 2 from hiring women due to restrictive and small programs being piloted to help costly regulations and generous remuneration women in the region, remarkably few are in comparable public sector jobs. On the other rigorously evaluated. In order to design hand, MENA countries offer a plethora of informed policies to address gender benefits to families which then encourage inequality, the region must focus on women to stay at home. Considering the legal investing in, and sharing, improved data and social difficulties faced by women who on these issues. work, many justifiably avoid doing so. Conclusion: The current calls for change in the To improve women’s presence in the public MENA region present an unprecedented sphere, two sets of reforms are critical. opportunity for women to engage in Women’s legal and civic rights must be fundamentally reshaping the future of their extended in order to facilitate and encourage countries as equal, productive partners. Doing their involvement in work and public life. At so would allow countries to realize the full the same time, jobs must be created for all if potential of their valuable human resource efforts to increase women’s participation in the endowment, thereby generating productivity formal sector are to be effective. A range of gains for the economy as a whole. This is policy options are proposed. especially true in a region where more women than men attend university. Equal 1. In the first place, reforms are urgently opportunities and greater voice for both men needed to give women freedom of and women in the civic and political sphere mobility, ensure their safety in the will make for a more representative and workplace and in traveling to work. Also inclusive society. needed is an easing of the regulations on their employment, encouragement of entrepreneurship, and furthering their Contact MNA K&L: participation in the legal profession and Laura Tuck, Director, Strategy and Operations. politics. Without reforms in these areas, MENA Region, The World Bank efforts to increase women’s job Regional Quick Notes Team: opportunities are likely to have a limited Omer Karasapan, , Roby Fields, and Hafed Al- impact. Ghwell 2. Promoting women’s participation in the formal sector will require concerted efforts Tel #: (202) 473 8177 on three fronts: job creation, addressing constraints to participation, and increasing The MNA Quick Notes are intended to summarize women’s employability. In this regard, lessons learned from MNA and other Bank Knowledge and Learning activities. The Notes do not reforms must support private sector necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its diversification and job creation. Policies to board or its member countries. encourage women to work and increase their attractiveness to employers go hand in hand. First, tax and benefits systems should be reformed so that women are not penalized for choosing to work, and firms are not penalized for employing women. Second, policies like internships and scholarships are needed to change employers’ attitudes about women workers, and give women the skills needed in the modern workplace. 3. Finally, for most MENA countries there is a distinct lack of data on the labor market and households. Furthermore, of the many September 2011 · Number 45 · 3