Publication: Unlocking Potential: Legal Pathways to Boost Women's Labor Force Participation in the Middle East and North Africa Region
Loading...
Published
2025-06-04
ISSN
Date
2025-06-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The brief provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal and policy barriers affecting women's economic participation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Based on the persistent gender disparities in labor force participation and unemployment rates, the brief leverages insights from the Women, Business and the Law (WBL) dataset to identify key legal constraints, evaluate reform progress, and offer actionable recommendations for policymakers to accelerate gender equality reforms. It underscores the transformative potential of comprehensive legal reforms in unlocking economic growth and empowering women across the region.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2025. Unlocking Potential: Legal Pathways to Boost Women's Labor Force Participation in the Middle East and North Africa Region. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43297 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Unleashing the Potential of Ethiopian Women : Trends and Options for Economic Empowerment(Washington, DC, 2009-06)This report aims to update knowledge of gender disparities in Ethiopia using the latest household survey data. The aim of this analysis is to support ongoing efforts to implement Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) vision. The significant progress in addressing key dimensions of gender disparities such as education shown in this report as well as in the recent annual progress report on the implementation of PASDEP in 2006-2007 suggests that current policy directions are proving effective. At the same time this report highlights the need to complement the existing emphasis on broad based interventions with additional targeted interventions which might address the specific constraints experienced by some groups. Further, based on the evidence from a few detailed evaluations of some existing programs, the study highlights how policy making in this area should include more emphasis on considerations of effective implementation and monitoring. This report is structured as follows. Chapter two presents a set of stylized facts on gender disparities in Ethiopia, including both trends over the last decade and current comparisons between Ethiopia and other countries. Chapter three looks in greater detail at the main drivers of gender disparities, focusing on factor markets. Chapter four looks at the economic pay-offs of decreasing gender inequality. Chapter five identifies a few priority areas for policy intervention.Publication Unlocking the Employment Potential in the Middle East and North Africa : Toward a New Social Contract(Washington, DC, 2004)The book focuses on the future prosperity of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which together with other companion volumes-on trade and investment, governance, and gender-contributes to ongoing debates, and dialogues about development in the region, and the development challenges that would allow it to unlock its rich potential for prosperity. Through an introduction to the labor market outcomes in the post-World War Two period, the book presents a comparative perspective on the evolution of State vs. labor relations in the region, defines the social contract within its characteristics, and the external factors that contribute to it. State regulations and interventions were extensive, and, it is stipulated the economic future of the region will largely be determined by the fate of its labor markets. The book provides a comprehensive account of recent employment outcomes, and, outlines the policy reforms required to improve the performance of the region's labor markets. But the book goes beyond a technical discussion of labor market outcomes, and investigates the broader political-economic aspects of state-society relations. It integrates questions on how to build vibrant labor markets, and restore the region's growth performance, into a framework that also addresses issues of population dynamics, socioeconomic trends, employment regulations, the quality of institutions, opportunities in the world economy, and the impact of a redistributive social contract on prospects of reform.Publication Chile - County Gender Assessment : Expanding Women's Work Choices to Enhance Chile's Economic Potential(Washington, DC, 2007)The Chile Country gender assessments (CGAs) identify gender-responsive policies and actions are strategic for poverty reduction, economic growth, human well-being, and development effectiveness. The report proposes priority policy objectives: increase female labor force participation, especially for low-income households, and reduce discontinuity in women's work experience. The report focus on the gender equality in the labor markets; improve access to financial services; expand access to business networks, business development services, and technology for women entrepreneurs. The potential impacts on economic growth gaps of increasing female labor force participation or reducing the gender gap.Publication Unlocking the Potential of Household Surveys to Measure Women’s Access to Social Protection(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-09)This paper uses household survey data from 27 countries to assess sex-differentiated access to social protection programs and their impact on mitigating gender gaps in the labor market. The analysis includes indicators of coverage, distribution of social protection recipients, and adequacy of benefits, all disaggregated by sex, to estimate two indices. The first index assesses gender inequalities in the provision of social protection benefits and ranks countries by their level of gender progressivity. The second index measures the net earnings received by men and women from both labor and social protection transfers, quantifying whether the social protection system reduces or exacerbates labor market gender inequalities. This paper demonstrates the construction and interpretation of these indices and provides practical recommendations for adapting household surveys to collect the data needed to scale them across emerging and developing economies.Publication Arab Republic of Egypt : Gender assessment 2010(World Bank, 2010-01-01)The objective of this policy note is to examine the gender dimension of the Egyptian labor market, with a focus on identifying the scope for policies to improve female labor force participation. An update to the Egypt gender assessment report of 2003, it is envisioned as a contribution to programmatic work on gender and inclusion in Egypt, helping build evidence which can inform policy aimed at improving the participation and retention of women in the labor force. Analytical and investigative in nature, it is the hope that this note will motivate discussion and debate among stakeholders in the country. The questions to be addressed in the note are also relevant for policy discussions and Bank operations in other countries, especially those in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region where females face similar challenges to labor force participation. Besides laying out the underlying correlates of gender gaps in these areas, the report recommended a comprehensive list of 'strategic interventions' by sector for the government and other development actors, in areas such as investment in women's education, the re-examination of certain discriminatory provisions in the country's legal system, and the promotion of cultural norms that value women as equal partners to men. In the sphere of women's economic opportunities, the report pinpointed vulnerabilities such as high unemployment rates (particularly among the more educated), and a disproportionate dependence on an already shrinking public sector. Highlighting the need for creating productive and sustainable jobs for women in the private sector, the report suggested initiatives such as increasing women's access to training, technology, land, credit and information.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Women, Business and the Law 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-04)Women, Business and the Law 2024 is the 10th in a series of annual studies measuring the enabling conditions that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. To present a more complete picture of the global environment that enables women’s socioeconomic participation, this year Women, Business and the Law introduces two new indicators—Safety and Childcare—and presents findings on the implementation gap between laws (de jure) and how they function in practice (de facto). This study presents three indexes: (1) legal frameworks, (2) supportive frameworks (policies, institutions, services, data, budget, and access to justice), and (3) expert opinions on women’s rights in practice in the areas measured. The study’s 10 indicators—Safety, Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension—are structured around the different stages of a woman’s working life. Findings from this new research can inform policy discussions to ensure women’s full and equal participation in the economy. The indicators build evidence of the critical relationship between legal gender equality and women’s employment and entrepreneurship. Data in Women, Business and the Law 2024 are current as of October 1, 2023.Publication Impact Evaluation in Practice, Second Edition(Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank, 2016-09-13)The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.Publication Shifting Gears: The Private Sector as an Engine of Growth in the Middle East and North Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is estimated to have grown at a modest rate of 1.9 percent in 2024 and is expected to grow moderately at 2.6 percent in 2025. This is against a backdrop of increased global uncertainty, particularly in trade policy. The region is far from the frontier in standards of living, largely due to low productivity. This issue of the MENA Economic Update sheds light on a critical engine of productivity growth: the private sector. Businesses create jobs, boost livelihoods, and serve as a bastion of innovation in the economy. The MENA private sector, however, is not dynamic and is ill prepared to absorb shocks. To boost the performance of the private sector, governments in the region may need to rethink their role in engaging with markets including improving competition, the business environment, and the availability of data. Additionally, private sector businesses in the region can increase performance through better management practices and harnessing untapped talent in the region.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication GovTech Maturity Index, 2022 Update(Washington, DC, 2022-12)The 2021 GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) report and underlying dataset provide opportunities to replicate the study, identify gaps in digital transformation by comparing the differences among economies and groups of economies, and track changes over time in a transparent way. The dataset will be updated every two years to reflect developments in the GovTech domain. This 2022 GTMI update report and the accompanying dataset and new data dashboard present the progress within the last two years, highlight some of the good practices, and identify existing gaps for possible improvements in countries at the technology frontier. As with the 2020 edition, economies are grouped, not ranked, to illustrate the state of GovTech focus areas globally. This overview report presents a summary of the approach, how the 2022 GTMI dataset update is different, improvements in the GTMI dataset contents and visualization tools and GTMI group calculations, and initial findings and key messages.