Women, Work, and the Arab World

Financial barriers

Since 2011, the MENA region has undergone extreme political turmoil, which has translated into weak and stagnant economic development. At a time when the region’s economy is struggling to stay afloat, women’s entrance into the workforce is crucial. Unfortunately, by nature of the economy, businesswomen face major obstacles that prevent them from starting businesses or expanding businesses they already own. Unfortunately, in the Middle East and North Africa, many businesses, particularly female owned SMEs, lack access to investment and financial resources they require to operate and expand.
The most pressing challenge is women’s access to finance as well as the cost of finance. Since women are perceived to be more “risky” as entrepreneurs, collateral requirements for women are much stricter in comparison to men. Oftentimes, the collateral necessary for a loan is land or a property deed, which women tend to have little of. Moreover, it is difficult for women to provide collateral because they are often under the supervision of male relatives and cannot freely manage their assets. Women are also less likely to provide collateral because the risk of losing the land not only affects them but their family as well. Increased access to proper financing strategies and loans would allow businesswomen to expand their businesses internally and externally. This would result in a significant influx of sustainable businesses into the country, which would translate into substantial economic growth due to more job creation.
Since women are often perceived as “risky,” commercial banks do not perceive women as a particular market share with distinct circumstances to consider. For this reason, banks provide women with very...

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... hinders business growth.
Non-Financial Barriers
Women business owners often have access to limited networks in comparison to their male counterparts and tend to have fewer connections with other entrepreneurs in their country or the region in general. Men have more access to connections and networks in the region that allow them to seek further business opportunities, information, and contacts. For this reason, women are significantly disadvantaged as entrepreneurs because they cannot connection to experienced professionals or seek out mentoring opportunities to educate them on best business practices or proper management skills. In the long run, this is extremely detrimental to the overall success of their business. Expansion of both personal and professional connections is a key resource women need to productively move forward with their business initiatives.