62244 March 2011 – Number 36 GENDER IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: PROGRESS AND REMAINING CHALLENGES Tara Vishwanath, Nandini Krishnan 1 Female entrepreneurship opportunities continue to remain remarkably limited. These Introduction: The Middle East and North gender gaps in political and economic Africa (MENA) region has made impressive participation and labor market opportunities strides in reducing gender gaps in human have now emerged as the key priority areas for development. The ratio of girls to boys in the region. primary and secondary education is 0.96, women in the region are more likely than men The Regional Gender Strategy: The regional to attend university, maternal mortality is strategy for improving gender equality around 200 deaths per 100,000 live births involves a concerted work program on gender (compared to a world average of 400 deaths), and economic inclusion, which includes and fertility rates have decreased in the past rigorous analytical products, experimental decade. Although gender gaps in school policy pilots, and gender-focused lending completion rates still exist in some MENA operations. Identifying effective policies by countries, most countries are well on their way generating new evidence on what works to achieving gender parity in key human through rigorous empirical analysis—both development indicators. quantitative and qualitative—is a critical element of the MENA region’s gender strategy. Remaining Challenges: Despite these remarkable achievements, significant gender Another innovative and emerging element of gaps remain in economic and political the strategy combines knowledge generation inclusion. The region as a whole faces a and operational learning in the form of policy considerable unemployment challenge, with pilots underpinned by carefully designed low female labor force participation rates of 25 evaluations. Finally, the region is undertaking a percent on average. Young women, in comprehensive effort to mainstream gender in particular, face very high rates of lending operations and policy dialogue. This unemployment (as high as 40 percent in Egypt involves the development of regional and and Jordan). Significantly, this comes at a time country Gender Action Plans in conjunction when the MENA region is undergoing a with country teams, ensuring all Country demographic transition characterized by a Assistance Strategies (CAS) are informed by rising share of the young in the population. gender analyses and incorporate a gender focus Women face significant challenges in the school in key priority areas, and that a system of to work transition and in the labor market: regular reporting on a core set of gender limited labor market mobility, a mismatch indicators is put into place. between skills acquired in school and what is in demand in the labor market, and legal or MENA’s Regional Gender Action Plan: A institutional factors related to cultural norms. Regional Gender Action Plan (RGAP) is being drafted. This RGAP will focus on (i) improving 1 Tara Viswanath, Lead Economist, Nandini Krishnan, the diagnosis of gender issues at regional and Economist, Middle East and North Africa Region, Social country levels; (ii) establishing priorities for and Economic Development group (MNSED). policy dialogue with governments, non-state Egypt: The Egypt Gender Report of actors and development partners; (iii) 2010 will be disseminated shortly, and strengthening mainstreaming of gender issues will provide a strong analytical basis in Bank operations; (iv) defining clear roles and for mainstreaming gender issues in the responsibilities for the implementation of these upcoming Egypt Country Assistance actions; (v) establishing a set of indicators and Strategy (FY12). A rigorous impact targets to monitor progress; and (vi) providing evaluation of a new credit line for country teams with additional capacity disadvantaged women through rural building and technical backstopping support. post office branches is planned as part of a USD 300 million project to foster As part of this region-wide gender micro and small enterprise growth. mainstreaming effort, a process of consultation and consensus building with government and Yemen: A rapid qualitative assessment other stakeholders will be undertaken to on Gender and Economic Decision attempt to: Making is currently underway and is (i) Develop Country Gender Action Plans part of a multi-country analytical (CGAP) to overlap with the CAS period, where product for the WDR 2012 on Gender. appropriate; and The qualitative data and insights from (i) Ensure all CASs in the pipeline are informed this study will be combined with by gender analysis and identify priority areas quantitative data from the Yemen HBS for intervention. For example, the Lebanon CAS and result in a Gender policy note for (August 2010) adopts a gender-integrated Yemen in FY12. A new AGI pilot has approach, identifying the scope for addressing also been announced for Yemen, and is gender inequality in focus areas and commits to currently being designed. the monitoring of key gender indicators in selected areas of World Bank intervention. The West Bank and Gaza: The Poverty and CAS pipeline for FY11 includes Algeria, Jordan, Inclusion Assessment Report for WBG and the West Bank and Gaza Interim Strategy is near completion and will form Note. analytical basis for incorporating gender issues into the upcoming Country Updates: The remainder of this Quick Interim Strategy Note. A rapid Note summarizes progress in selected countries qualitative assessment on Gender and on the regional gender strategy as laid out in Economic Decision Making is currently the regional brief on Gender, Bridging the Gap: underway and is part of a multi- Improving Capabilities and Expanding country analytical product for the WDR Opportunities for Women in the Middle East and 2012 on Gender. The qualitative data North Africa Region(World Bank, October 2010). and insights from this study will be combined with quantitative data and Jordan: The Jordan Adolescent Girls analysis and result in note on Youth, Initiative (AGI) pilot, Jordan New work Women and Conflict in the WBG for Opportunities for Women under the delivery this calendar year. patronage of Queen Rania al-Abdullah, is currently well under Morocco: The Morocco Household and implementation. The baseline report Youth Survey is the basis for the has been completed and will be ongoing report on employment in disseminated shortly. The first follow Morocco, focusing on the up survey is planned for August 2011 vulnerabilities of youth and women in and funding has been secured for a the labor market. This aforementioned Poverty and Social Impact Analysis ESW is slated for completion in April focusing on youth and women in the 2011. The Morocco Conditional Cash labor market. Transfer (CCT) pilot experiment specifically addresses gender issues in its design, for instance, by taking into March 2011 · Number 36· 2 account higher dropout rates among girls by offering slightly higher Contact MNA K&L: transfers for girls. Emmanuel Mbi, Director, MNA Operational Core Services Unit Tunisia: The “Turning Theses into Regional Quick Notes Team: Enterprises” program offers coaching Omer Karasapan, Roby Fields, and Hafed Al- to students interested in developing a Ghwell Tel #: (202) 473 8177 business plan in their final year in MENA K&L Quick Notes: university, and the evaluation will http://www.worldbank.org/mena- measure impacts disaggregated by quicknotes gender. The MNA Quick Notes are intended to summarize lessons learned from MNA and other Bank Knowledge and Learning activities. The Notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its board or its member countries. March 2011 · Number 36· 3