World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192009-12-07https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3164Lebanon has faced a continuous series of economic setbacks fueled by mounting political uncertainties and war over the decades. The current global financial crisis compounds the levels of uncertainty and anxiety facing households with regards to their future security. The need for earned income and employment is therefore higher than ever and an increasing number of women are entering the labor market as a means of generating additional income for themselves and their families. Women in Lebanon enjoy high social indicators both in education and health. The female to male ratios in secondary and tertiary enrollment are 110 and 116 percent respectively. However, women's participation in the economy whether in the labor market or private sector investment is relatively low, especially when compared to their female counterparts in other similar middle income countries. Female labor force participation in Lebanon is 37 percent compared to 84 percent for men and according to the Lebanese national survey of household living condition (2004), which includes information on 20,000 individuals across Lebanon, female employers account for only one percent of total economically active females compared to almost seven percent of males who are categorized as employers. There are some clear indications that women business owners contribute positively to private sector employment in addition to investment. However, there remain limited availability of in depth information about women entrepreneurs and the dimensions that male and female entrepreneurs play on private sector employment, particularly for women. Chapter one covers the characteristics of female and male entrepreneurs. Chapter two focuses on the workers and their characteristics in terms of age, experience, education, skills, and marital status. Chapter three quantifies the level of the gender gap and identifies its sources in view of the different demographic characteristics of the worker. Finally, chapter four lays down the conclusions, examines the related policy and regulatory environment, and provides recommendations.CC BY 3.0 IGOABSENCE FROM WORKABSENTEEISMACCESS TO BANKINGACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCINGADVOCACYAGE CATEGORIESAGE CATEGORYAGE COMPOSITIONAGE GROUPAGE GROUPSAIDAPPROVAL RATEBANK LOANBANKING SYSTEMBANKSBREADWINNERSBREASTBREASTFEEDINGBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS ACTIVITYBUSINESS OPPORTUNITYBUSINESS OWNERSHIPBUSINESS WOMENCHILD CARECOLLEGE EDUCATIONCOLLEGE GRADUATESCOMPENSATIONCREDIT BUREAUSCULTURAL BARRIERSCULTURAL FACTORSDEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICSDISAGGREGATED ANALYSISDISCRIMINATIONEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONEARNINGSECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC SITUATIONEDUCATION LEVELEDUCATIONAL LEVELEDUCATIONAL SECTOREMPLOYEEEMPLOYEREMPLOYERSEMPLOYMENT HISTORYEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENENDOWMENTSENROLLMENTENTREPRENEURENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITYENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVEENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITENTRY BARRIERSENVIRONMENT FOR WOMENEQUAL FOOTINGFAMILIESFAMILY BUSINESSFAMILY BUSINESSESFEMALEFEMALE EDUCATIONFEMALE EMPLOYEESFEMALE EMPLOYERSFEMALE EMPLOYMENTFEMALE ENTREPRENEURFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIPFEMALE LABORFEMALE LABOR FORCEFEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFEMALE WORKERFEMALE WORKERSFEMALESFINANCIAL INSTRUMENTSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINDING EMPLOYMENTFIRM SURVEYFLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTGENDERGENDER CHARACTERISTICSGENDER DIFFERENCEGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER DIMENSIONSGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER EQUALITYGENDER GAPGENDER INEQUALITIESGENDER NEUTRALGENDER SEGREGATIONGUARANTEE SCHEMESHEALTH INSURANCEHOMEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN CAPITALIDILLNESSINCOME EARNINGINFORMAL SECTORINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINVESTMENT BARRIERSINVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIESJOB CREATIONJOBSJUDGELABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR LAWLABOR LAWSLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKET EXPERIENCESLABOR ORGANIZATIONLABOR REGULATIONLEGAL STATUSLOANLOAN GUARANTEELOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAMSLOAN GUARANTEESMALE COUNTERPARTSMALE WORKERSMARITAL STATUSMARRIED WOMENMATERNITY LEAVEMATERNITY LEAVESMICRO ENTERPRISEMICRO ENTERPRISESMOTHERSOCCUPATIONOCCUPATIONSOLDER WOMENOPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENPARENTAL CAREPART-TIME EMPLOYMENTPERSONAL SAVINGSPREVIOUS WORKPRIVATE COMPANIESPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR FIRMSPRIVATE SECTOR JOBSPROPRIETORSHIPPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC SECTOR JOBSPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSRESIDUAL CLAIMANTRISK TAKERSRISK-TAKERSSELF EMPLOYEDSEXSEX SEGREGATIONSEXESSICK LEAVESICK LEAVESSINGLE WOMENSKILLED LABORSMALL BUSINESSESSOCIAL SECURITYSPECIALISTTEMPORARY WORKERTOTAL EMPLOYMENTTOTAL LABOR FORCEUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYMENTWAGE DIFFERENTIALSWAGE DISCRIMINATIONWAGE GAPWILLWOMANWOMEN BUSINESS OWNERSWOMEN EMPLOYEESWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWOMEN IN BUSINESSWOMEN WITH CHILDRENWOMEN WORKERSWORKERWORKERSWORKING CONDITIONSYOUNG WOMENYOUNGER WORKERSWorld Bank10.1596/3164