International reports indicates a significant decline in the gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Women, who have been historically under-represented, are now playing an increasingly active role in politics and economy, and taking up a greater share of parliamentary seats and property and land ownership, among other activities.
Women’s increasing senior management roles at companies in this region are driven, among other factors, by political and legislative reforms carried out by some governments, governments’ desire to improve their global image, as well as women’s increasing interest in involvement in entrepreneurship or self-employment.
The issue is increasingly debated in several states in the region, such as Iran which presented incompatible experiences, appointing on July 11, 2017 the first woman as chief executive of its national airline, Iran Air, for the first time in the company’s history, while at the same time excluding women from the new cabinet proposed on August 8 by President Hassan Rouhani to the parliament for a vote of confidence.
Multiple Indications
In recent years, women’s involvement in politics and economy in the MENA region faced several hurdles including, for instance, inadequate and non-supportive legislation and cultures that are non-conductive to women’s empowerment for more active roles.
However, currently international assessments indicate that the gender gap in the MENA region has rapidly narrowed over the recent years due to their increasing opportunities in vital sectors such as education, health care as well as job opportunities in both the public and private sectors. The improvement is reflected in the following indications:
1- Increasing role. Global reports reveal that women’s representation in the political and economic spheres in the MENA region is on the rise increasingly enabling them to take up roles in major economic activities.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2016 Global Gender Gap Report, equal opportunity in the MENA region stood at 60 percent on the index, a significant improvement over previous years. However, globally, the region continues to hold bottom spots in the Global Gender Gap Index, lagging behind South Asia. At the same time, the rankings of MENA economies on the global index vary due to slight disparity in terms of women’s representation in politics and economy.
2- Access to education. According to the World Bank, the MENA region outperformed low-income and middle-income countries in other regions in terms of gender equality in education.
Despite a general gender disparity in education across the region, both males and females have approximately the same qualifications, where the gender gap in the elementary stage and the secondary stage is at 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, and increases to 7 percent in higher education.
3- Job Opportunities. In the Middle East, women account for 27 percent of the labor supply, a low share compared to the global average of more than 50 percent. However, it should be noted that women’s share increased over the past two decades and stood at more than 21 percent in 1990.
Without a doubt, there are potential benefits from supporting women’s share in the labor force. For instance, if the participation of men and women in the labor market in the MENA region is equal, an estimated USD 600 billion would be added to the gross domestic products of the region’s economies.
Various Factors
Women’s increasing share of management positions in the region’s public and private sectors, and banking in particular, is driven by a group of factors that can be summarized as follows:
1- Reforms. Over the past years, governments in the MENA region became more open to supporting women’s political representation through legislative and political reforms. The improvement provided an opportunity to bolster women’s political, economic and social roles across the region. Practically, women’s representation in governments has increased across the MENA region. For instance, in Tunisia, women hold four out of a total 25 ministerial portfolios of the government formed in August 2016.
2- Improving image. Some government in the MENA region supported women’s participation in government to improve the image of their countries regarding women’s rights and avoid international criticism. In Iran for instance, Farzaneh Sharafbafi was appointed by the government at the helm of Iran Air becoming the first woman to hold the position since the company was established in 1944. The move was taken while the gender gap in senior government positions continues to be persistent. As mentioned previously, this was evidenced in President Rouhani’s proposed cabinet that includes no women at all. Although Rouhani appointed three women as vice-presidents to reduce criticism of his all-male cabinet, several hurdles continue to prevent Iranian women from active political and economic participation.
3- Entrepreneurs. Although the percentage of women involved in entrepreneurship in all the MENA countries remains low, women’s participation in businesses and generally all commercial activity surged to historic highs. The improvement encouraged regional governments to cooperate with international organizations to develop programs supporting women entrepreneurs and their start-ups.
4- Upward Trend. Women chief executive officers in the MENA region have the lowest representation globally. The region reported a share of 13 percent as women CEOs out of the total, versus a 21 percent similar share in all developing countries regions, according to a 2013 ILO survey conducted by the International Labor Organization.
However, the number of women in positions in the public and private sectors is increasing globally, driven by governments’ increasing acceptance of women in such positions, including in senior management of companies, banking and other sectors.
To conclude, increasing political and economic participation will allow more women to hold more positions in economies, while also expanding their role in entrepreneurship.
