On March 6, we held the International Seminar ‘Decent work and economic growth in the Middle East: challenges and opportunities’, which brought together various representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), the International Labor Organization (ILO), Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) and the NGO AIDA (Aid, Exchange and Development), as well as several experts from various organizations in Middle Eastern countries. This meeting, which took place at Casa Arabe, was organized by the Social Promotion Foundation through our Middle East Studies Center (CEMO) and Women and Equality Observatory (OMEI).
It should be noted that this International Seminar was held within the framework of the days prior to International Women’s Day (March 8) and as a parallel event to CSW68, which this year presents as its main theme “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality.” and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”
The different speakers who participated in the International Seminar addressed the state of access to work as a Human Right and also analyzed the goals of SDG 8 (Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all) in the Middle East . Specifically, they discussed the cases of Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, and focused on the situation of the vulnerable population in these countries in this regard, among which women stand out as one of the main protagonists, along with young people, refugees, people with disabilities and residents of rural areas.
Carmen Magariños, director of Cooperation with Africa and Asia of the AECID, participated in the meeting and, in her speech, emphasized the inequalities suffered by women in this region. In terms of employment, she warned that the Middle East has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, with female unemployment being especially significant, representing 90%. In this sense, she stressed the need to support women, since this difficulty in accessing the labor market, consequently, makes it impossible for them to integrate into the socioeconomic structures of their countries.
As she warned, this lack of perspectives would have an impact that goes beyond the economic and that, therefore, is crucial to address. In this context, Magariños referred to the next Regional Program for the Arab World, which the AECID is currently proposing as the new tool that will organize its work in this area and which, as announced, will present gender equality and job creation and opportunities as two of its basic areas of intervention.
Along the same lines, Sara López, technical advisor of the ILO in Spain, indicated that women represent one of the most disadvantaged population groups in relation to SDG 8. This situation of disadvantage would be clearly observed in the income gap since According to the ILO, women in the region represent only 12.5% of total income.
Likewise, Alejandra Ortega, responsible for Arab Countries, Africa, Asia and ILO in the International Secretariat, Cooperation and Migrations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions of Spain, insisted and clarified that “decent work means work for everyone,” which intrinsically entails the recognition of a series of rights, as well as the existence of decent wages and working conditions, collective bargaining, and social protection and dialogue
In this sense, Ortega pointed out gender equality as a key condition for being able to talk about decent work and economic development in this region, warning that the existing instability in the Middle East is negatively impacting the decent work agenda and, therefore, in inclusive employment.
Women in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt
Yousef Shalian, director of the Beit Hanina Vocational Training Center of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Jerusalem, presented the Vocational Training Program of this organization, through which they have offered vocational training to the young Palestinian population since 1949. Thus, one One of its strategic objectives is to promote the economic empowerment of Palestinian women, based on the reality that, in 2022, the national female participation rate did not exceed 20%.%. Along these lines, Shalian recalled that the ILO points out that decent work must be based on equal opportunities and treatment between men and women, therefore, the LWF works to provide opportunities and empowerment tools to young men and women, respecting and promoting this principle of gender equality.
For his part, Sameer Al Attar, Director of Learning and Opportunities at the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) in Jordan, referred to the challenges this country faces in integrating more women into the labor market. Thus, he explained that, in the second quarter of 2023, women only represented 13.8% of the country’s workforce. Although there is parity in the years of schooling in Jordan, Al Attar warned that there is still a large gender gap in terms of economic independence, since women earn only 20% of what men earn. Furthermore, this situation of inequality and female unemployment has been aggravated by the Covid-19 crisis, which is why one of the most important strategic objectives for the country and for JOHUD is the empowerment of the female workforce.
From Lebanon, Hiba Fawaz, director of the Agriculture Program of the Association for the Development of Rural Capacities (ADR), spoke at the Seminar to present the case of this country, which has been immersed in a deep economic crisis since 2019, aggravated by the current conflict in its neighboring West Bank. Among the key objectives of ADR, Fawaz highlighted the support and training of the most vulnerable population groups in Lebanon (among which women stand out) through the implementation of economic and social development projects. In this sense, she added that one of the greatest challenges is to overcome and break down the sociocultural barriers that hinder the empowerment of women, promoting actions that favor the creation of self-employment, increasing their income or better financial knowledge.
Coming from Egypt, Emad Gerges, coordinator of the AECID Convention at the Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development (AUEED), also contributed his country’s vision to this Seminar. Thus, she recognized the need to provide job opportunities to young people and women, especially those who come from poor and rural communities, since decent work is a key access tool so that these people can live a dignified life. To achieve this, she referred to the work of the ‘Egypt Vision 2023’ strategy and AUEED itself, which are developing initiatives focused on reducing the impact of poverty on women and young people, providing them with job opportunities and training.