Although 2018 may be the year of the women globally, significant disparities in gender equity are institutionalized around the world. Women’s low labor force participation rates (between 20 and 25 percent) and a significant 20 to 40 percent wage gap in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are well documented. Previous explanations attribute these significant disparities to scarce economic resources, poor economic conditions and a reliance on oil, as well as cultural expectations that men are the “breadwinners” and women should take care of the home and family. However, these explanations fail to account for the importance of labor policies in incentivizing and supporting women in the workplace. This post focuses on the ways in which maternity leave policies discourage the participation of women of childbearing age in the MENA labor force, and particularly in Jordan.
The social contract of “gender differences” between men and women that governs female labor participation has nearly been codified into law through the implementation of policies that are meant to protect women — who are traditionally viewed as delicate — but, in reality, keep them out of the workplace. There are policies throughout the region that, though implemented to provide women with benefits, have instead discouraged them either from entering the workforce or maintaining long-term employment. For instance, women in several MENA countries are often beneficiaries of early retirement age regulations and pensions, as well as household and family allowances, which sometimes act as a disincentive for meaningful labor force participation. In Algeria, for example, women can retire and claim pension at age 45 after only 15 years of service in the public sector.
In terms of maternity leave laws, the MENA region lags behind its global counterparts. Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen all provide less than 12 weeks of maternity leave. Very few countries in the region meet the International Labour Organization Maternity Protection Conventions (C183). C3, the original version of this convention, was passed in 1919 and established a minimum 6-week maternity leave, as well as a requirement for a “maximum period” of absence before employment can be terminated. C103, an updated version revised in 1952, increased minimum maternity leave to 12 weeks. C183 (revised in 2000) stipulates that women should be entitled to a minimum maternity leave of 14 weeks, prenatal and post-maternity leave should be granted in case of medical issues arising from the pregnancy, compensation should be provided during maternity leave, and termination of employment or employment discrimination should not occur due to a pregnancy or potential pregnancy. Only two MENA countries, Algeria and Morocco, adhere to C183.
Jordan ranks no. 142 of 144 countries in women’s labor force participation with a rate of 14 percent, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017. In Jordan, women working in the public sector — where they make up 43 percent of the workforce — receive 13 weeks of paid maternity leave, while those in the private sector receive only 10 weeks. The lower benefits and competitive nature of private-sector jobs discourage women from applying for them over jobs within the government, which are perceived as stable. The reduced benefits also factor largely into women’s sustained participation in private-sector jobs. Married women in Jordan are already 25 percent less likely than men to participate in the labor force to begin with, but they are also likely to exit the labor force or private sector jobs after 5 or 10 years, especially post-marriage and post-pregnancy. Employers’ stringent maternity leave policies and underlying discrimination make it difficult for women to return to work or remain employed as their families grow.
Jordan has shown a commitment to achieving gender equality, especially through the Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW). In the past year, Jordan increased funding for the JNCW and committed to creating a more positive workplace environment for women. SADAQA, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for a better working environment for women in Jordan, partnered with Jordan’s Ministry of Labour to implement a National Framework for Workplace Daycare Centres for children of working parents.
While SADAQA’s work evidences the importance of women’s advocacy to creating gender equity at an institutional level in Jordan, it is also crucial that measures such maternity leave laws, pay equity laws and workplace discrimination laws are supported and implemented by the Ministry of Labour. Increasing women’s participation in the labor force could bring $8 billion in yearly GDP to Jordan, in addition to myriad other benefits such as enriching women’s role in public life through political participation, giving women equal voices in the home, and beginning to change cultural expectations of women and their roles.
Annum Sadana (’20) is an intern at the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East and a sophomore majoring in neuroscience and policy studies, with a minor in biochemistry and cell biology.