Low women participation in labour market hampers economic growth — experts

AMMAN — “Women are not legally awarded at the same level of economic freedom as men,” the "Economic Freedom of the World: 2017 Annual Report" stated, ranking Jordan with the lowest scores on the gender disparity index. 

Jordan was also ranked as one of the countries with the largest slip down in EFW ranking (Economic Freedom of the World), dropping from 17 to 39 — a 22-point plummet since the last 2015 rating.

“Fifty per cent of Jordanian students in universities are females, while female participation in the Jordanian labour market is around 13 per cent. This means that a huge part of the Jordanian labour force is not productive, which is a big problem,” economist Zayyan Zawaneh told the Jordan Times over the phone recently. 

“Those girls graduate from school after spending years at university, with their families paying for their education and expecting them to contribute to the family's finances. However, they stay at home because there are no work opportunities for them,” he stated. 

For Zawaneh, two strategies could be implemented: The restructure of social security and the better management of public funds.

To subscribe to social security, private companies have to pay 21.75 per cent of their employees’ monthly salaries. This "constitutes a real burden on the Jordanian employer. This high rate discourages the private sector from recruiting", he said.

According to Zawaneh the first victims of this issue are women. The economist called on the government to lower the percentage to counter the problem.

Regarding public money spending, Zawaneh noted that there are 65 governmental institutions in the Kingdom, "while no more than 30 is needed", adding that the public budget would positively benefit from merging those institutions.

For Ahmad Awad, director of the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies, “the limited participation of women in Jordan’s economy represents one of the main issues the country’s economy now faces, as it shows the extent of its untapped potential". 

"This is all the more meaningful if one considers how women in Jordan surpass their male peers in terms of both educational levels and academic success — meaning that not only are they more likely to attain higher levels of education, they also commonly score higher than males in examinations," Awad insisted.

Additionally, low career participation among females lead to high levels of economic dependency, he noted. As of the 2016, only about one-fourth (24.5 per cent) of people living in the country were capable of supporting themselves, while the remaining three-fourths fell under the category of “dependents”, he added.

In light of this, "Jordan has one of the highest dependency rates in the world, which severely hampers the financial security of the country’s families,” he continued.

For Awad, the solution to this situation depends on governmental efforts to secure employment, more programmes and policies for women, and the liberalisation of union activities.

When it comes to women, it is encouraged that more programmes and policies to be implemented with the goal of improving their economic participation rates, as well as the level of protection they enjoy, in accordance with national and international labour standards, Awad concluded.