Although Women position in the labor market of the MENA region has improved in the past few years, female participation is the MENA region is still ranked as the lowest in the world (World Bank 55). Many reasons behind that lag were highlighted in the readings. Even though several structural reforms took place, the phenomena of female limited participation persists. Thus it seems that the problem does not lie in the demand side of female labor or the structure of the institutions, as much as it lies in the supply side. In other words, women’s decreased participation is accounted to the prevalent stereotypes, social and cultural norms in the region. Such norms that are holding many women from being active in the labor market had prevailed for so long, shaping both employer and women expectations of the labor market demands- making occupational segregation by sex in the MENA region inevitable.
Progress and gender diversity varies significantly from country to country and tends to reflect how women are viewed in a region’s society. The gender gap index, which examines “the gap between men & women based on economic, political, education & health criteria”, is an effective measure to benchmark the national gender gap of each country. According to the Global Gender Gap report 2013 by the World Economic forum, the gap exists the most in Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and many other countries. This paper will attempt to prove that this gap is mostly accounted to the prevalent cultural norms in the MENA region.
Gender stereotypes and cultural norms have lead to discriminatory occupational segregation based on gender. Women are expected to work in certain occupations that are “gender appropriate”- limi...
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The argument that oil is the cause of women’s underrepresentation in government and in the workforce is valid and proved in the article, “Oil, Islam, and Women” written by Ross. As the oil industry becomes increasingly better, women will disappear from the workforce and in return disappear from the government. The production of oil is good only to the economy of the states with oil; however, it is increasingly threatening to women’s independence. For women to gain any independence, they must start by entering the workforce.
Gender segregation refers to the employment of men and women in different industries, occupations, firms, or jobs. A growing body of literature has documented the extensiveness of gender segregation and has attempted to explain its origins (see Reskin, 1993, for a review). Gender segregation is a major cause of the gender gap in wages, benefits, and retirement income (Perman & Stevens, 1989; Reskin & Hartmann, 1986; Treiman & Hartmann, 1981). Also, female-dominated jobs provide fewer opportunities for training and formal mobility than male-dominated jobs (Baron, Davis-Blake, & Bielby, 1986; Bielby & Baron, 1986; Halaby, 1979), and women's concentration in lower level positions may make them more vulnerable to repeated unemployment than
Middle Eastern women need to stand up for their rights and get educated to reverse the notion that they are servants and properties of their men. Furthermore, they need to rise up to their potentials and prove beyond doubt that they are equal to men. This practice would lead the path for future generations to follow and protect the inalienable rights of women. Finally, these women need to break the cycle of oppression by addressing these deeply rooted beliefs, gaining the tools to fight back, and joining forces to make lifelong changes.
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The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
Historically, males and females normally assume different kinds of jobs with varying wages in the workplace. These apparent disparities are widely recognized and experienced across the globe, and the most general justification for these differences is that they are the direct outcomes of discrimination or traditional gender beliefs—that women are the caregivers and men are the earners. However, at the turn of the new century women have revolutionized their roles in the labor market. Specifically in industrialized societies, the social and economic position of women has shifted. Despite of the improving participation of women in the labor force and their ameliorating proficiency and qualifications, the labor force is still not so favorable to women. The opportunities available for women in the market are not as diverse as those presented to men. Still, the construct of gender ideology influences how employers undertake economic decisions, and that is why companies still have jobs labelled as “men’s work” and occupations categorized as “women’s work.” Indeed, the pervasiveness of gender differences in labor markets is undeniably true, specifically with respect to salary gap between men and women, occupational gender segregation of men and women, and the challenge that women face in terms of juggling their time and attention between their career and family life.
The oppression of women in the Middle East and North Africa was commonplace, with women often beaten and deprived of fundamental rights. Entrapped by social constraints, there was little hope for opposition, as the patriarchal perspectives of society were enforced by everyone, even women themselves. One of the most prevalent ways was through the use of hypocrisy and double standards to cast an illusion of justice and equality, when in reality, women were disadvantaged in nearly every aspect. The hypocrisy of society is demonstrated in Nawal El Saadawi’s novel Woman at Point Zero, where women such as Firdaus are dominated by double standards. She finds both initial hope and consequent
We begin this literature review by discussing the effects of country and how the differences between the nations can have an effect on gender roles.
Gender stratification limits women’s achievement in their lives. In term of jobs, women continue to enter a narrow passage of occupations range. Compared to men, women often face greater handicap in seeking job because the higher income and prestigious jobs are more likely held by men. In the workplace institution, men are also prior to a faster promotion. There is a case where women were allowed to get promoted to a more advance posi...
“Women’s human security rights in the Arab world: on nobody's agenda.” 50.50 Inclusive Democracy, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
It can be concluded that women are treated in terms of stereotyped impressions of being the lowest class and greater evidence can be found that there are large disparities between the women and the men 's class. It can be seen that women are more likely to play casual roles as they are most likely to take seasonal and part time work so that they can work according to their needs. They are hampered from progressing upward into the organizations as they face problems like lack of health insurance, sexual harassments, lower wage rates, gender biases and attitudes of negative behavior. However, this wouldn’t have hampered the participation of the women in the work force and they continue to increase their efforts which is highly evident in the occupational and job ratios of females in the industry.