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Barriers and Opportunities to Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon

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Barriers and Opportunities to Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon Barriers and Opportunities to Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon Final Report IN PARTNERSHIP WITH For the best reading experience, the authors of this report recommend selecting ‘Two Page Scrolling’, ‘Show Cover Page in Two Page View’ from the Page Display menu under the View heading located at the top left of the main menu. © International Finance Corporation 2021. All rights reserved. 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Internet: www.ifc.org The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. IFC encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly, and when the reproduction is for educational and non-commercial purposes, without a fee, subject to such attributions and notices as we may reasonably require. IFC does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the content included in this work, or for the conclusions or judgments described herein, and accepts no responsibility or liability for any omissions or errors (including, without limitation, typographical errors and technical errors) in the content whatsoever or for reliance thereon. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The contents of this work are intended for general informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal, securities, or investment advice, an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, or a solicitation of any type. IFC or its affiliates may have an investment in, provide other advice or services to, or otherwise have a financial interest in, certain of the companies and parties (including named herein). All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to IFC Communications, 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433. International Finance Corporation is an international organization established by Articles of Agreement among its member countries, and a member of the World Bank Group. All names, logos and trademarks IFC are the property of IFC and you may not use any of such materials for any purpose without the express written consent of IFC. Additionally, “International Finance Corporation” and “IFC” are registered trademarks of IFC and are protected under international law. All other product names, trademarks and registered trade- marks are property of their respective owners. Barriers and Opportunities to Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon Final Report Acknowledgements Forced displacement crises have increased in scale and complexity in recent years and have become more protracted. Action is urgently needed to support countries hosting refugees through joint initiatives designed to share the burden and mitigate the plight of both the displaced and the host country. There is a window of opportunity for improving the management of forced displacement crises, following the 2016 New York Declaration and Global Compact on Refugees. To rapidly consolidate these efforts, the Netherlands spearheaded a strategic multi-year effort known as the Prospects Partnership bringing together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank. This partnership operationalizes the humanitarian-development nexus, creating strong partnerships between humanitarian and development actors to leverage comparative advantages, improve coordination, and create efficiency to boost their overall impact for forcibly displaced persons and host communities. The research was conducted between April and September 2020 with funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. IFC commissioned Integrated International to leverage desktop research and conduct in-depth interviews with refugee women in Jordan and Lebanon. Integrated International is a learning-specialized development partner working to maximize the impact of development programs throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a focus on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), innovation, and gender. To identify women refugee participants, Integrated International worked through two organizations in Jordan, Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) and Relief International, and one organization in Lebanon, Bridge. Outsource. Transform. (B.O.T), a subsidiary of DOT Lebanon. We hope this study spurs further research, needed dialogue and a holistic approach to enable the inclusion of refugee women in the digital economy. The team wishes to express our sincere gratitude to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Integrated International, B.O.T Lebanon, DOT Jordan, Relief International and World Bank Group colleagues who generously contributed their time and insights. For further information on the study, please contact: Eleonore Richardson [email protected] Elvira Van Daele [email protected] Selma Rasavac [email protected] Cover photo copyright: UNICEF/Kelly Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... I Key Insights .................................................................................................................................................................. II Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................... IV Methodology ......................................................................................................................... VII 1. Barriers and Opportunities to Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon ....................................................................................................... 1 Women’s Participation in the Global Digital Economy ............................................................................... 1 Women’s Participation in the Digital Economy in the MENA Region ................................................... 2 2. Jordan ................................................................................................................................. 5 Jordan’s Digital Economy ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Female Participation in the Jordanian Economy .......................................................................................... 5 Refugees in Jordan .................................................................................................................................................... 6 The Jordan Compact ................................................................................................................................................ 7 3. Lebanon .............................................................................................................................. 9 Lebanon’s Digital Economy ................................................................................................................................... 9 Female Participation in the Lebanese Economy ........................................................................................... 10 Refugees in Lebanon ................................................................................................................................................ 10 The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan ..................................................................................................................... 11 4. Findings .............................................................................................................................. 13 Research Question 1: What are the demographics and digital literacy profiles of women refugees most likely to engage in the digital economy? Summary Key Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Research Question 2: Which local organizations and online platforms might provide an avenue for refugee women to engage in the digital economy? Summary Key Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Research Question 3: What are the obstacles faced by refugee women that hinder their participation in the digital economy? Summary Key Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 27 Research Question 4: What opportunities within the existing digital economy landscape offer promise to refugee women, and which subsets of refugee women align best with which opportunities? Summary Key Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Annexes: ................................................................................................................................
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