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Women Empowerment in the Arab Region: A Comparative Investigation

Received: 12 October 2016     Accepted: 22 October 2016     Published: 17 November 2016
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Abstract

This study aims at investigating women empowerment in the Arab region through a comparative investigation using the analytical descriptive methodology. Inevitably, woman is a key and an important contributor to development. Therefore, enhancing her empowerment is a vital driver and a key element for a development process that is sustainable and continuous. Measuring the woman empowerment is crucial for pinpointing the fragility in woman empowerment efforts in the Arab region. The overall index consists of four dimensions: economic, educational, political and healthcare. Data used is retrieved from the Global Gender Gap reports (GGG) for the years 2006-2015. By reviewing the GGG reports for fifteen Arab countries during the last ten years, notably the major Arab accomplishment is in bridging the gender gap in health and education, countered by the breadth of the political and economic participation gaps. The inability of Arab countries to bridge both political and economic gaps is attributable to several political, economic, social and religious factors. Based on the analysis in this paper, the authors suggest several actions to improved the economic contribution and political participation of woman.

Published in International Journal of Business and Economics Research (Volume 5, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12
Page(s) 191-201
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Woman Empowerment, Economics of Gender, Economic Development, Gender Gap

References
[1] ESCWA, 2012. Addressing the barriers to women’s economic participation in the ESCWA region, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), New York: United Nations.http://www.escwa.un.org/information/publications/edit/upload/E_ESCWA_ECW_12_1_E.pdf.
[2] Kabeer, N, 2001, Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s empowerment: In Discussing Women’s Empowerment-Theory and Practice. Sida Studies No. 3. Novum Grafiska AB: Stockholm.
[3] Kabeer, Naila, 2005, Resources, Agency, Achievement: Reflections on the measurement of women empowerment.
[4] Kabeer, Naila, 2010, Gender equality and women's empowerment: A critical analysis of the third millennium development goal 1, Gender & Development, this article is an edited version of a chapter in Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals: A Handbook for Policy-makers and Other Stakeholders, by Naila Kabeer, published by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, in 2003.
[5] Markle, Lindsay, 2013, Women and Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Student Papers in Public Policy, Volume 1 | Issue 1 Article 3/ Purdue University, lmarkle@purdue.edu.
[6] Mcloughlin Claire. 2013, Helpdesk Research Report: Women’s economic role in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
[7] Mosedale Sarah, 2012, Assessing Women’s Empowerment: Towards A Conceptual Framework, Journal of International Development, Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester University, Manchester, UK.
[8] World Bank, 2012-2015, World Development Indicators, Washington: World Bank.
[9] http://data.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/wdi-regional-highlights2012-web.pdf.
[10] World Economic Forum, 2006-2015, Gender Gap Report, Geneva, Switzerland:http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFGenderGap_Report_.pdf.
[11] World Economic Forum 2005 measuring the Global Gender Gap, Geneva, Switzerland: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFGenderGap_Report_.pdf.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Hanan Atta Shamlawi, Nahil Ismail Saqfalhait. (2016). Women Empowerment in the Arab Region: A Comparative Investigation. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 5(6), 191-201. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12

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    ACS Style

    Hanan Atta Shamlawi; Nahil Ismail Saqfalhait. Women Empowerment in the Arab Region: A Comparative Investigation. Int. J. Bus. Econ. Res. 2016, 5(6), 191-201. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12

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    AMA Style

    Hanan Atta Shamlawi, Nahil Ismail Saqfalhait. Women Empowerment in the Arab Region: A Comparative Investigation. Int J Bus Econ Res. 2016;5(6):191-201. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12,
      author = {Hanan Atta Shamlawi and Nahil Ismail Saqfalhait},
      title = {Women Empowerment in the Arab Region: A Comparative Investigation},
      journal = {International Journal of Business and Economics Research},
      volume = {5},
      number = {6},
      pages = {191-201},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20160506.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijber.20160506.12},
      abstract = {This study aims at investigating women empowerment in the Arab region through a comparative investigation using the analytical descriptive methodology. Inevitably, woman is a key and an important contributor to development. Therefore, enhancing her empowerment is a vital driver and a key element for a development process that is sustainable and continuous. Measuring the woman empowerment is crucial for pinpointing the fragility in woman empowerment efforts in the Arab region. The overall index consists of four dimensions: economic, educational, political and healthcare. Data used is retrieved from the Global Gender Gap reports (GGG) for the years 2006-2015. By reviewing the GGG reports for fifteen Arab countries during the last ten years, notably the major Arab accomplishment is in bridging the gender gap in health and education, countered by the breadth of the political and economic participation gaps. The inability of Arab countries to bridge both political and economic gaps is attributable to several political, economic, social and religious factors. Based on the analysis in this paper, the authors suggest several actions to improved the economic contribution and political participation of woman.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    JF  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
    JO  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
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    AB  - This study aims at investigating women empowerment in the Arab region through a comparative investigation using the analytical descriptive methodology. Inevitably, woman is a key and an important contributor to development. Therefore, enhancing her empowerment is a vital driver and a key element for a development process that is sustainable and continuous. Measuring the woman empowerment is crucial for pinpointing the fragility in woman empowerment efforts in the Arab region. The overall index consists of four dimensions: economic, educational, political and healthcare. Data used is retrieved from the Global Gender Gap reports (GGG) for the years 2006-2015. By reviewing the GGG reports for fifteen Arab countries during the last ten years, notably the major Arab accomplishment is in bridging the gender gap in health and education, countered by the breadth of the political and economic participation gaps. The inability of Arab countries to bridge both political and economic gaps is attributable to several political, economic, social and religious factors. Based on the analysis in this paper, the authors suggest several actions to improved the economic contribution and political participation of woman.
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Author Information
  • Business Economics Department, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

  • Business Economics Department, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

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