On December 8, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar entitled, “Female Economic Participation in the MENA region – Opportunities and Challenges”, with a panel consisting of Dr. Gaëlle Ferrant, Mary Nazzal, Rania Tarazi, and Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott. The female labour force participation rate in the MENA region is the lowest in the world, at around 20 percent (as compared to the global average for women of about 50 percent and the male labour force participation rate in MENA being approximately 75 percent). The panel emphasized obstacles such as legal discrimination, conservative social norms, and lack of attention by policy-makers to low levels of female employment. Yet new research and data suggests that the depth and strength of conservative social values may in fact be exaggerated, with many men in the MENA region actually being in favour of women working.
Summary
On December 8, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar entitled, “Female Economic Participation in the MENA region – Opportunities and Challenges”, with a panel consisting of Dr. Gaëlle Ferrant, Mary Nazzal, Rania Tarazi, and Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott. The female labour force participation rate in the MENA region is the lowest in the world, at around 20 percent (as compared to the global average for women of about 50 percent and the male labour force participation rate in MENA being approximately 75 percent). The panel emphasized obstacles such as legal discrimination, conservative social norms, and lack of attention by policy-makers to low levels of female employment. Yet new research and data suggests that the depth and strength of conservative social values may in fact be exaggerated, with many men in the MENA region actually being in favour of women working.
To improve the state of women’s economic empowerment, the panellists provided a variety of policy prescriptions, including: 1. Using an integrated approach, which combines training, access to finance, and legal reforms; 2. Developing more gender-disaggregated data; 3. Working with civil society, including community and religious leaders; 4. “Revealing the truth” – providing more correct information about individual social norms, so as to correct misperceptions about, for instance, women working; 5. Improving the work environment for women; and 6. Pushing for more women in decision-making positions. The panellists also encouraged Swedish and other diplomats and development offices to work with the private sector on certifications for gender-friendly workplaces, to link donor and DFI funding with clear public sector deliverables, to pursue role modelling for social transformation, and to remember that social norms are less traditional than what men may think.
Introduction/context
On December 8, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar entitled, “Female Economic Participation in the MENA region – Opportunities and Challenges”, with a panel consisting of Dr. Gaëlle Ferrant (Economist and Gender Specialist, OECD), Mary Nazzal (Founder of Landmark Hotels and 17 Ventures), Rania Tarazi (Gender Specialist, UNDP), and Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott (University of Zurich). Welcoming remarks were provided by Maria Selin, Sida Regional Director (MENA), and the session was moderated by the Institute’s deputy director Johan Berggren.
Maria Selin began by emphasizing that female economic participation is central to the overall work and mission of Swedish development cooperation, especially in the MENA region, where women suffer poor labour market outcomes. She pointed to the social and economic costs of gender inequalities, and the importance of “rights, representation, and resources.”
State of women’s economic empowerment in the MENA region
The discussion initially focused on the state of women’s economic empowerment in the MENA region and challenges facing women trying to enter the labour market. Despite some progress in recent years (prior to the pandemic), the status quo for women is bleak, with the female labour force participation rate in the MENA region being the lowest in the world, at around 20 percent (as compared to the global average for women of about 50 percent and the male labour force participation rate in MENA being approximately 75 percent). Rania Tarazi pointed out that the share of women running businesses in the region is lower than the male and global averages, and that the presence of women in top management is lower than the global average. Women are also 9% less likely to own a mobile phone, and 21% less likely to have internet connection on that phone. Tarazi added that, “The pandemic has worsened the situation, with an upsurge in domestic violence, and increased the barriers to economic participation, by forcing women to take on greater home care responsibilities.”
In terms of obstacles to women’s economic empowerment, the panellists emphasized legal discrimination, conservative social norms, and lack of attention by policy-makers to low levels of female employment. Other issues that were mentioned included lack of affordable and safe public transportation as well as limited access to affordable, good-quality child care (factors that have been identified as key challenges by many experts and policy papers, and, as such, were not the focus of this webinar).
Legal discrimination comes in many shapes and forms, but in particular it includes discriminatory laws on marriage, divorce, freedom of movement, inheritance, and property rights. For instance, women in the MENA region typically inherit half of what men do. A related challenge is that even if legal reforms are enacted, their impact, in terms of actually changing how society works, is often limited by social attitudes, which take much longer to change.
Social norms a key issue
The role of social norms in holding women back was identified as a key issue by all speakers. Dr. Gaelle Ferrant pointed to the importance of exploring and addressing both masculinity and feminity, and perceptions of gender roles. She argued that being a breadwinner is not seen as a female attribute in the region, as one third to one quarter of the population don’t think women should work at all. Similarly, childcare tends to be defined as a female prerogative. In Egypt, 87% of men believe a woman’s primary role is to take care of the home, which obviously constrains a woman’s ability to work. Social norms may also weaken the implementation of legal reforms aimed at improving the situation of women, and so new laws may actually have a limited impact on women’s and girls’ realities.
Yet the strength and depth of these conservative social values may in fact be exaggerated. Both Dr. Ferrant and Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott emphasized the disparity between individual and social norms that often exists. Dr. Ferrant explained that while many men would actually prefer for their wives to work outside the household, they would “rather quarrel with their partners, than with the ‘street’” [i.e. the prevailing social norms].
To illustrate the misperception of social norms that often exists (which is also known as “pluralistic ignorance”), Professor Yanagizawa-Drott explored the audience’s understanding of the existing attitudes in Iran on the topic of women participating in the labour market. Using a mentimeter audience survey, he asked the participants what percentage of Iranian men they thought would be in favour of women working outside the household. The results were consistent with much of the data from many countries, as the vast majority of the audience significantly overestimated the conservativeness of Iranian men: the average estimate was 35%, yet in fact 82% of Iranian men support women working outside the home.
Professor Yanagizawa-Drott then tested how the audience perceived Iranian men’s willingness to accept affirmative action ("The government and companies should give priority to women when hiring for leadership positions.”) The progressiveness of Iranian men was again underestimated, as the audience on average believed that only 9% would be in favour, whereas it turns out that 43% actually support such policies. This simple exercise underlined the problem of asymmetric and incomplete information that exists in a wide range of policy-making fields, including when it comes to understanding the opportunities for women in the labour market in the Middle East and North Africa.
Panellists also suggested that female labour market participation is not considered a policy priority by many groups in society, which is a real challenge. As Mary Nazzal stated, “It is not a priority for the public sector (who only pay it lip service), not for the private sector, not for men (who are happy with the status quo), not for women (who don’t see that it’s worth it, while also having responsibility for children and elderly care). It’s not a priority for anyone except the UN and donors.” When she took over a family business 12 years ago, she noticed there were no Jordanian women in the hotel business. The hotel was not an enabling environment, lacking an inclusivity lens as well as the infrastructure to be able to recruit, retain and promote women.
Possible solutions and relevant policy proposals
The discussion then turned to possible solutions and relevant policy proposals. Rania Tarazi emphasized the need for an integrated approach, combining training, access to finance, and legal reforms, as well as the importance of obtaining much more gender-disaggregated data. According to the UNDP, labour law reforms that strengthen the incentives for women to work and investments in care services are particularly significant.
The OECD advocates largely similar policy suggestions, while using a multi-stakeholder approach to build bridges between “the ground” and decision-makers. In addition, Dr. Ferrant pointed to the value of working with civil society, and especially with community and religious leaders, who can truly help drive changed behaviour. The international community also has a key role to play, in terms of providing data, monitoring the effects of policy reforms, and sharing best practices.
Professor Yanagizawa-Drott outlined two sets of possible policy packages: one that seeks to change the values of society through policies that influence culture and values, such as awareness-raising or norm-changing campaigns, and one that attempts to optimize policy, given culture. He expressed scepticism about the possibility of achieving the first, pointing to a lack of evidence of successful such interventions, and argued for the second approach.
Based on his research from Saudi Arabia (Misperceived_Norms_2020_3_6.pdf (yanagizawadrott.com)), which showed that men in Saudi Arabia – much as in Iran – are much more open to women working than is expected, professor Yanagizawa-Drott advocated an “effective policy intervention: reveal the truth.” He and his colleague tested this idea through an experiment in Riyadh, where an anonymous survey of men’s views on women working was conducted, and those same men were then offered the option of signing their wives up for a job-matching pool. When the men were given information about what other men actually thought about women working (namely, that nearly 80% were in favour), there was a 40% increase in those signing up their vies for the programme. These women were then tracked, and it turned out they were much more likely to have applied for job. According to Yanagizawa-Drott, this illustrates the value of providing correct information about individual social norms, so as to correct misperceptions and pluralistic ignorance.
Mary Nazzal pointed to relatively easy measures that can be taken by employers without major structural or societal changes. In her case, she worked to promote gender diversity and alter the environment in her hotel through a variety of actions: 1. Through theatre and art men and women were encouraged to question the existing social constructs and gender roles; 2. Through a buddy system, any new female hire would be paired with a woman for guidance and support; 3. The creation of single-sex spaces in the work place made women feel comfortable; 4. Child care in the hotel simplified the work-life balance for the hotel’s female staff, as did the provision of transport; and 5. By bringing female applicants’ fathers to the hotel, any lingering concerns about the work environment were assuaged.
Nazzal also identified other key policy changes that should be pursued, including pushing for more women in decision-making positions and boards and creating a women’s ministry or a unit in the Prime Minister’s Office dedicated to the advancement of the women’s agenda.
Recommendations on how diplomats and donors can support change
Finally, the panellists were asked to provide some recommendations to Swedish (and other) diplomats working with the MENA region. Rania Tarazi suggested working with private sector companies on certifications to develop gender-friendly workplaces, using the green and digital transformations to create job opportunities for women, and developing social protection schemes, which will always benefit women. She also reminded the audience that domestic and gender-based violence also needs to be addressed, and that economic empowerment should be included in that conversation. Mary Nazzal argued that donor and DFI money should be tied to clear deliverables from the public sector, and that the experience of Scandinavian countries should be used to co-develop and bring men into the conversation, “How do we normalize men with strollers on the streets.”
Dr. Ferrant, stressed the significance of role modelling for social transformation: “Challenge some norms by showing that women can do it.” She also emphasized the importance of monitoring the real impact of legal reforms aimed at helping women and girls, since social norms may weaken the implementation of new laws. Dr. Yanagizawa-Drott concluded by again emphasizing that social norms are holding women back, but that it is important to remember that those norms are less traditional than what men think. “If you are open to that idea, you start thinking about policy in a different way. So, while child care and other policies are important, spending money on revealing the truth of social norms matters too. Low-cost interventions could start driving change in a relatively short time frame.”
