1. Gender Equality and Youth Employment: Reflections on Arab States
UNDP/UNDESA Sub-Regional Workshop
Youth Policies and Strategies in the Context of MDGs
Sana’a, Yemen, June 22-23, 2005
Starting from a low level, female labor force participation in MENA has grown by 50% since 1960.

2. Outline Gender Equality, MDGs and Youth Global and Regional Trends
Trends and Indicators in MENA
Good Practices
Next Steps

3. Defining Gender Equality
Gender equality is defined as women having the same opportunities in life as men in three domains:
Capabilities (health, education, nutrition)
Access to resources and opportunities
economic assets (such as land or housing)
resources (such as income and employment)
Political opportunity (representation in leadership)
Security domain (reduced vulnerability to violence and conflict)
Women are entering the global labour force in record numbers, but they still face higher unemployment rates and lower wages and represent 60 per cent of the world's 550 million working poor,
The capabilities domain, which refers to basic human abilities as measured
by education, health, and nutrition. These capabilities are fundamental
to individual well-being and are the means through which
individuals access other forms of well-being.
• The access to resources and opportunities domain, which refers primarily
to equality in the opportunity to use or apply basic capabilities through
access to economic assets (such as land or housing) and resources (such
as income and employment), as well as political opportunity (such
as representation in parliaments and other political bodies). Without
access to resources and opportunities, both political and economic,
women will be unable to employ their capabilities for their well-being
and that of their families, communities, and societies.
• The security domain, which is defined to mean reduced vulnerability to
violence and conflict. Violence and conflict result in physical and psychological
harm and lessen the ability of individuals, households, and communities
to fulfill their potential. Violence directed specifically at women
and girls often aims at keeping them in “their place” through fear.

4. Empowerment
Agency or the ability to use those rights, capabilities, resources, and opportunities to make strategic choices and decisions
To exercise agency, they must live without the fear of coercion and violence
Especially relevant for young women considering age and gender hierarchies

5. MDG Goal 3 Indicators
• The ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary and secondary education
• The ratio of literate females to males among 15 to 24 year olds
• The share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector
• The proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments

6. Strategic Priorities for Goal 3 of MDGs
1. Strengthen opportunities for post primary education for girls while
simultaneously meeting commitments to universal primary
education
2. Guarantee reproductive health and rights
3. Invest in infrastructure to reduce women’s and girls’ time burdens
4. Guarantee women’s and girls’ property and inheritance rights
5. Eliminate gender inequality in employment by decreasing women’s
reliance on informal employment, closing gender gaps in earnings, and
reducing occupational segregation
6. Increase women’s share of seats in national parliaments and local
Governmental bodies
7. Combat violence against girls and women
1. Strengthen opportunities for postprimary
simultaneously meeting commitments to universal
2. Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and
3. Invest in infrastructure to reduce women’s and
4. Guarantee women’s and girls’ property and inheritance
5. Eliminate gender inequality in employment by reliance
on informal employment, closing gender
reducing occupational segregation.
6. Increase women’s share of seats in national parliaments governmental
bodies.
7. Combat violence against girls and women.

7. Proposed Indicators by Task Force
Education
• The ratio of female to male gross enrollment rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary education
• The ratio of female to male completion rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary education
Reproductive health and rights
• Proportion of contraceptive demand satisfied
• Adolescent fertility rate
Infrastructure
• Hours per day (or year) women and men spend fetching water and collecting fuel
Property rights
• Land ownership by male, female, or jointly held
• Housing title, disaggregated by male, female, or jointly held
Employment
• Share of women in employment, both wage and self-employment, by type
• Gender gaps in earnings in wage and self-employment
Participation in national parliaments and local government bodies
• Percentage of seats held by women in national parliament
• Percentage of seats held by women in local government bodies
Violence against women
• Prevalence of domestic violence

8. Global and Regional Trends
Gender Equality
&
Youth Employment

9. Gender & Youth Unemployment
Globally, 35.8 million young women (15-24) are involuntarily without work
In all regions (except EA and SSA) young women’s unemployment rates are higher than young men’s
Female unemployment rate of 16.5% was 5.9% points higher than the male rate of 10.6 % in 2003 in MENA
Unemployment for young women in MENA countries ranges from 13% in Bahrain to almost 39% in Algeria
Unemployed women are mainly young new labor force entrants (with primary & secondary education), and laid off workers following restructuring and privatization - in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt
The pressure of young workers on labor force growth has been persistently high in MENA. Six in 10 people in the region are below age 25. The period will witness the greatest labor force pressures from young male and female workers. Rising female labor participation since the 1980s, constitutes one of the most important developments affecting the size and gender composition of the region’s labor supply. Not only are young men and women entering labor markets in greater numbers but they are also increasingly more education.
In East Asia, this turned out to be demographic gift and not a demographic burden which helped accelerate economic growth.
Unemployment in MENA is concentrated among youth whose unemployment rates range from 37% of total unemployment to 73 percent in Syria with a simple average of 53% for all countries for which data are available.
There is a gender dimension to the profile of unemployment where unemployment rats for the region as a whole are nearly 50% higher for women than for men.
Source: ILO Global Employment Trends, 2004; ERF, 2000.

10. Fertility & Employment Link
Lower fertility rates & increased employment of women is likely to go hand in hand freeing their time from the care economy
In MENA, fertility rates remained relatively high in 2000 at 3.6 % and the female labor force participation is the lowest of all regions at 27.9 %
What are employment to population rations: they indicate the capacity of economies to create employment opportunities for their population. The higher employment to population ratio is, the more people in the working age population are working.
One might argue that not all women of working age want to work, but the simple fact that unemployment exists indicates that there are women who want to work but are unable to find work.
And since overall unemployment has been higher for women than for man, it is clear that more employment opportunities need to be created for women to satisfy their willingness to work.
In very rich economies one can argue that some women can afford to and chose to not work, but in other regions of the world it is more likely that women would work if there were opportunities for them to do so.
Attracting more women into the labor force also requires provision of equal access to education, equal opportunities in gaining the skills necessary to compete in the labor market.
Employment to Population Ratio
In all regions, employment to population ratios are much smaller for women than for men
The difference is highest in MENA where 2/10 working age women work compared to 7/10 men
Even if not all women of working age want to work, the fact that there is female unemployment shows that there are women who want to work, but are unable to find work in the region

11. Education & Employment Link
Higher enrollment, completion rates and better quality of education for girls and boys is likely to lead to increased employability
MENA countries have moved toward achieving gender equality in primary and secondary education, BUT THE LINK TO JOBS IS MISSING
In the past decade MENA governments spent an average of 5.3 % of GDP on education—the highest in the world changing the supply, quality, and profile of the labor force—BUT IT ONLY MARGINALLY TRANSLATED INTO YOUNG WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT

12. Female to Male Primary Enrollment Ratios, 2000
In Egypt, educated women are more likely to be unemployed than educated men
Female to Male Secondary Enrollment Ratios, 2000
In Jordan, educated women, especially graduates of community colleges face high unemployment levels

13. Gender Segregation Across Life Cycle
Women obtain “suitable skills” often via shorter training and informal courses compared to men
Separation in training is followed by separation in the workplace/work opportunities creating a vicious cycle
Young women and men are concentrated in different types of work and their ‘paths’ to work are different and so likely are the impacts upon them
Women who spend time outside the labor market find out that lack of training leads to low quality jobs and low paid work that, in turn, offer little additional training
The early attempts to provide vocational training services for youth, faced a number of failures due to:
generic, and standardized content,
supply driven approach where training is determined by trainers rather than the trainees,
too little attention paid to quality of trainers and training methods,
insufficient investment in training follow-up which reduces the potential benefit of training, and limited proven impact
training of girls in traditional skills with little returns in the labor market

14. Experience with Young Women
Life skills training
Health and nutrition
Self esteem, confidence, conflict resolution
CV, interview, presentation skills
Vocational skills training in market niches that are not low return and traditionally women sectors
Labour market links
Apprenticeship, job placement programs

15. Key Gender Equality Indicators, 2000
Developing regions
MENA
Female life expectancy 100
%Seats Held by Women
in Parliament
Reducing Fertility
Rate
The labor abundant and resource rich countries (like Algeria, Iraq, Syria) have slightly lower rates of female labor force participation than the labor abundant resource poor economies (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia
Ratio of girls
to boys in
primary and
secondary
education
Ratio of Women to Men
in Non Agricultural Wage
Employment
GDP Per Capita $

16. Public and Private Sector Trends
Public sector jobs were safeguards for women in a number of countries in the region, but with the reform and privatization processes, public sector is no longer the main option for young women out of school
Private sector jobs are open to young women, although they come with limited or no job security or benefits. Temporary contracts are common with significant implications for decent work
The main source of employment generation has shifted to the private sector and this has adversely affected opportunities for women. Attention to the equality of opportunity and treatment in employment needs to be sustained
In most of the region, women have tended to particpate heavily in public sector employment. Reasons include the perception that public service professions such as teaching and nursing are appropriate for women, the public sector’s egalitarian practices in hiring and wage setting and the favorable conditions of work in the public sector including maternity leave benefits. With the share of public sector employment shrinking in many countries, the public sector will not be as important a source of jobs for young women graduates as it was in the past.
In the private sector, b y contrast, women have faced significant disadvantages, often working in jobs with low wages and little potential for growth. In Morocco and Tunisia, where manufacturing exports have expanded. They had some success in increasing young womne’s participation in the paid private sector.

17. Employment distribution by sector
Young and adult women have a higher share of agricultural employment in MENA. Most are in the unpaid family worker category of employment
Within services, women are still concentrated in sectors that are traditionally associated with gender roles in community, social and personal services
Women’s share in industry is low, but jobs in EPZs are filled by young women (textiles, leather, electronics)
Young women work in manufacturing, especially in Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan although there is a high incidence of non-regular and non-salaried activity in this sector and a wide gap in earnings
In professional services, women are still in “women’s jobs” as teaching, nursing where with good education and training continue to be an employment outlet for young women

18. Reasons for Gender Inequality & Youth Employment Trends in MENA

19. Socio-Cultural Constraints
Young women have more limited access to labor market relevant capabilities (skills, knowledge, self-esteem, confidence)
Across the life cycle women have more limited access to productive resources (land, capital, livestock) compared to their male counterparts
There is a male-bread winner bias in the labor market despite the pressing economic realities in poor households which require more than one income
There are continued mobility constraints on young women and women in general in many communities in the region (some due to security concerns in countries facing conflict like Iraq and Palestine)
Young women face employer and lender biases and are overrepresented among unpaid family workers, part time, low wage earners, unemployed & inactive
Early marriage and child bearing and rearing can also inhibit young women’s integration into labor market
In MENA there is a high dependency ratio (73%) and a high rate of urban growth, with women constituting just less than 50% of the total population.

20. Market Failures Affecting Young Women
Employers may be unwilling to incur the “perceived” transaction costs and risks in hiring young women
“Perceptions” hold considering the high levels of male unemployment and expectations of male bread winner despite the changing economic and social realities
Formal credit markets often exclude women who are less likely than men to own land and other collateral
Because of the uncertainty associated with lending to beginners and informational asymmetries (between older/younger workers and between women/men) formal credit markets are not responsive to young people and especially young women
Being based in small towns, rural area markets makes it hard to start a business or search for and travel to work or to expand output and sales due to poor infrastructure, lack of information and market thinness

21. Ensuring Gender Equality in Youth Employment in MENA
Good Practices
Ensuring Gender Equality in Youth Employment in MENA

22. School to Work Transition Surveys JORDAN
Conducted through ILO GENPROM in a number of countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Jordan
Female and male interviewees from five target groups: in-school youth, job seekers, young employees, young self-employed and own-account workers & employers & managers of young people
Determines how well the education/training system prepares young people for the labor market, their perceptions and aspirations for entering the labor market, how they actually conduct the job search, the influence of the family in choice of occupations, whether they prefer wage or self employment, the barriers to and supports for entry into the labor market, attitudes of employers towards hiring young workers, how young people view work, marriage and family responsibilities
Gender differentials - especially why it is harder for young women than for young men to make the transition from school to work

23. IT Training: Partnership with Corporate Sector
UNIFEM, Cisco Systems, Government of Jordan, YMCA, UNRWA and UNDP
Training to bridge gender gap in IT sector
Over 200 young women underwent a two-month training in IT skills
Training designed to help female students build technological knowledge & improve competitiveness in the labor market
A job-placement program helps students put their skills to use
Tracking of graduates to evaluate the benefits of the training

24. Gender Equality and Youth Employment in MENA
Next Steps
Gender Equality and Youth Employment in MENA
Youth employment, for both women and men, need to be a part of the new social contract in the MENA region.

25. Life Cycle Approach
Youth is a challenging stage because individuals are increasingly expanding their roles and responsibilities without the protections often provided other groups
Decisions and investments in youth have implications for labor market in the later stages of life and market relevant skills need to be a part of a life long learning
Life long learning is important for women and men, but women’s participation in the care economy mean that their skills can be interrupted and therefore outdated

26. Policy responses
Improving availability & quality of sex-disaggregated data on labor markets including women’s informal employment & gender earnings gaps
Gender responsive laws and policy approaches in
Job creation, finance, micro-finance, safety nets
Quality vocational training programs
Infrastructure and urban
Rural development/agriculture
Labor codes
Public sector budgeting
National policy frameworks (PRSPs & Youth Employment Action Plans)
Investing in young women by prioritizing their
Secondary education
Transition from education to work through labour market
Quality and labor market relevant training
Physical safety
Developing positive role models of young women’s work to address attitudes & percetions through media, schools, and communities
Adopting explicit equal opportunity goals and measures in vocational
training systems
Including both males and females meaningfully in the full range of
standard vocational training programmes rather than providing only
traditionally female-oriented skills to girls and women
Revising all training curricula to avoid gender stereotyping and to
promote equality between the sexes
Encouraging both boys and girls to enter non-traditional occupations
in order to break existing patterns of job segregation – for example
girls into scientific and technical fields and boys into jobs in the care
sector
Establishing more effective linkages between training systems and
labour markets so that girls and women are trained in employable
skills alongside boys and men
Offering special tailor-made training for potentially vulnerable
groups of women
Raising awareness among men workers in workplace-based training
programmes about their role in sharing family responsibilities
Introducing prevention of sexual harassment and gender-based
violence at work into vocational training

27. For more information and a copy of this presentation please contact:
Simel Esim, Ph.D.
Regional Gender Advisor
ILO Regional Office—Arab States

28. THANK YOU!