GENDER EQUALITY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION. A CONSULTATION WITH TUNISIA October 10, 2011

Transcription

1 GENDER EQUALITY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION A CONSULTATION WITH TUNISIA October 10, 2011

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3 Female to Male Ratio of Enrollment Rates Primary Secondary Tertiary

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5 100% Labor Force Participation 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Egypt Jordan Morocco Iraq West Bank and Gaza Men Yemen Djibouti Saudi Arabia 1/ Women Qatar 1/ UAE 1/ Kuwait1/ In Tunisia, only 27 percent of women participated in the labor force in 2009, compared with 74 percent of men

6 25% % Women in lower or single house 20% 15% Before Parliament was dissolved in February 2011, women made up 27 percent of parliamentarians in Tunisia 10% 5% 0%

7 Focus on regional challenges Limited economic opportunities and political participation Lack of agency (autonomy and voice, within and outside the home) Disincentives and constraints Economic factors Institutions: Informal and formal Evidence- based analysis Policy directions

8 Female labor force participation rate (%) MENA Tunisia World

9 Female labor force participation rate (%) Average for Muslim majority countries Pakistan Turkey MENA Tunisia Malaysia World Indonesia Bangladesh

10 Female Labor Force Participation (% aged 15+), DJI KWT* 40 QAT ALG 20 LBN JOR MAR WBG TUN SYR EGY UAE SAU OMN BHR YEM IRQ Fuel exports (% of merchandise exports), 2009 or latest Source: World Development Indicators, 2011; *includes non-nationals

11 Percentage who disagreed with "when jobs are scarce, priority should be given to men over women" Percentage who disagreed with Men make better political leaders than women MENA women World women MENA men World men

12 Family codes may limit decision-making: head of household laws, permission to work, selecting matrimonial residence, unilateral divorce laws etc. Low or no legal minimum Age of Marriage Laws for girls may limit decision-making power within the household, with respect to education, work.. Labor laws may limit opportunities: restrictions on industry and hours worked; maternity leave and childcare; legislation that discourages or does not recognize part-time work.

13 Right to vote Initiating legal proceedings Opening a bank account Constitutional equality Equal rights over property Tunisia Indonesia Morocco Spain Signing contract Permission to work Head of household Choosing 1992 where her family 1993 lives

14 1956: Reform of the Code of Personal Status, was government-led Both spouses had equal rights to a no-fault divorce and divorce proceedings had to take place in a court. Polygamy was outlawed. The wife s status as a potential breadwinner for the family was acknowledged. Second wave of reforms in the 1990 s, led by women s groups Citizenship laws were reformed Early reforms created a critical impetus and an environment in which bottom-up demands could be expressed

15 Legal reforms have advanced gender equality Social norms are not as restrictive as in some other countries in the region So why is female labor force participation low? Economic constraints? Weak implementation of laws?

16 Governments offered energy and food subsidies, government jobs, and some public goods and services Indirect subsidies: price controls on some staples In effect they may have reduced the incentive for families to have two breadwinners

17 -In Tunisia, public sector employment offers flexible hours, generous benefits and better terms than the basic SME 100% 90% 80% 84% 87% 82% 78% 76% 80% 70% 60% 58% 58% 63% 50% 40% 30% 43% 44% 34% 32% 37% 27% 24% 26% 45% 29% 40% 20% 10% 11% 8% 20% 19% 0% Morocco Djibouti Jordan Iraq Egypt West Bank Yemen Qatar 1/ United Arab Emirates 1/ Bahrain 1/ Kuwait 1/ Oman 1/ Women Men

18 100% Public Sector Wage Gap: Difference in average hourly earnings for salaried workers in the public and private sectors 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% Males Females 30% 20% 10% 0% West Bank & Gaza Iraq Egypt Yemen

19 Limited job creation in the private sector Skills mismatch Educational segregation influences occupational segregation Gender stereotypes of employers and misperceptions about the private sector Limited opportunities and skills for entrepreneurship Access to networks and lack of labor market information

20 Women are more educated than ever before, have fewer children and are looking for work The sheer number of jobs that will need to be created will necessitate diversification and more inclusive growth These jobs must come from the private sector As Tunisia moves from labor-intensive manufacturing to high-value services Skill mismatches may become wider Segregated fields of study puts women at a disadvantage Women may have faced job losses in the tourism sector in particular, in the immediate aftermath of the revolution

21 Recent popular movements across the region are calling for greater political voice, social and economic freedom, and government accountability The youth and women are visibly part of these movements Just look at how Tunisian women stood side-by-side with Tunisian men. They came out to the streets to protest in headscarves. They came out in miniskirts. It doesn't matter. They were there. - Lawyer Bilel Larbi, Women want to play an active role in constitutional reforms during this transition

22 MENA faces labor force pressures of an unprecedented scale High population growth rates have translated into a youth bulge These populations will eventually age A need for more inclusive economic opportunities and growth Female Male Population of Tunisia by age groups

23 If current rates of employment do not increase, the number of jobs needed in MENA will increase exponentially

24 Serious constraints Lack of jobs Lack of appropriate skills Labor regulations and laws that inhibit mobility and choice Lack of demand for female labor Limited access to credit, capital and business skills that limit female entrepreneurship Lack of data and access to data Limited knowledge on effective interventions Moderate constraints Segregation in fields of study Spatial inequalities in the quality of education Implementation of laws and access to justice Risk of reversal of progress in legislation

25 Create jobs through private sector led growth and economic diversification Remove remaining legal constraints to women s participation Help women balance work and family life Address the skills mismatch between employers and workers

26 1400 young female community college graduates participated in a pilot: Soft skills training Short term incentive for firms to hire young women Objective: Building a positive work reputation for female graduates Changing negative stereotypes among firms and young women

27 Proportion of Female Graduates Currently Employed Proportion of Women Who Expect to be Employed After Voucher Ends Control Voucher Training Both Control Voucher Training Both

28 Effective policy-making depends on open access to quality data To understand urban inequality and spatial dimensions of welfare, especially unemployment Tunis versus other cities Focus on young people s aspirations and attitudes, as well as labor market outcomes Could help design spatially-differentiated policies

29 Tunisia continues to be a leader in the region for women s rights On August 16, 2011, Tunisia became the first country in the MENA region to remove all restrictions to the CEDAW But some fear that progress may be reversed or halted Economic and political outlook is uncertain