Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Opening Doors MENA DEVELOPMENT REPORT Opening Doors Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa © 2013 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 16 15 14 13 This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. Note that The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content included in the work. The World Bank there- fore does not warrant that the use of the content contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. 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ISBN (paper): 978-0-8213-9763-3 ISBN (electronic): 978-0-8213-9764-0 DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-9763-3 Cover photo: Nandini Krishnan Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Opening doors : gender equality and development in MENA / The World Bank. pages cm.— (MENA development report) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8213-9763-3 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8213-9764-0 (ebk.) 1. Women’s rights–Middle East. 2. Women’s rights—Africa, North. 3. Sex discrimination against women—Middle East. 4. Sex discrimination against women—Africa, North. 5. Women—Legal status, laws, etc.—Middle East. 6. Women—Legal status, laws, etc.—Africa, North. I. World Bank. HQ1236.5.M653064 2013 305.420956—dc23 2012047956 Contents Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xv Overview 1 1 Gender Equality in MENA: The Facts and the Puzzle 31 Impressive Achievements in Human Development 31 Women’s Participation outside the Home Is Limited 39 What Explains the MENA Puzzle? 52 Notes 52 References 53 2 Traditional Gender Norms and the Legal Framework Limit Women’s Agency 55 Gender Norms Constrain Women’s Roles outside the Home 63 Equality under the Law and Its Enforcement Are Critical for Women’s Agency 71 Notes 87 References 88 3 Economic Incentives Dampen Participation in the Workforce 93 Extensive Public Sector Employment with Generous Compensation 94 Generous Subsidies Encourage Women to Stay at Home 99 State Regulation and Intervention in the Market 105 Heavy Investment in Education, but Not the Kind That Businesses Want 106 Unequal Access to Entrepreneurship Opportunities 111 Note 113 References 113 v vi Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa 4 Time for Reform Is Now 117 Aspirations Are Changing 117 A Demographic Gift? 121 Social Contract No Longer Sustainable 123 Note 124 References 125 5 Opening the Door to Women: Policy Directions 127 A Roadmap to Reform 127 Policies to Address the Region’s Challenges 129 Notes 152 References 153 Appendix A Technical Notes for Figures 157 Appendix B Tables 179 Appendix C Data Sources 187 Boxes O.1 A Younger Generation Full of Aspirations 2 O.2 Importance of Education for a Girl 5 O.3 Little Mercy for Working Women 14 O.4 MENA Not Unique: Constraints Faced by Women Elsewhere as Well 16 O.5 Political Economy of Reform in Tunisia and Morocco: Momentum for Change 17 O.6 Women’s Voices on the Arab Spring 21 1.1 Education Cut Short 39 1.2 Transition in Irish Female Labor Force Participation 42 1.3 Is Growth the Silver Bullet to Expand Women’s Participation in the Workforce? Evidence from Egypt, 1998–2006 44 1.4 Being Young and Female in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Economy 47 1.5 Saudi Women Granted Right to Vote and Run for Office 51 2.1 Expressions of Agency 55 2.2 Oil Endowments and the Demand for Female Labor 57 2.3 Egypt and Indonesia: So Near, Yet So Far 61 2.4 Little Mercy for Working Women: Palestinian Territories 67 2.5 Community Sanctions and Social Norms: Evidence from the Republic of Yemen and the Palestinian Territories 69 2.6 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 72 Contents vii 2.7 Political Economy of Reform in Tunisia and Morocco: Momentum for Change 75 2.8 The Family Book in Jordan: A Record of Guardianship 78 3.1 Making Allowances: Civil Service Pay Structure in Kuwait 102 3.2 Why Are Young Women in Saudi Arabia Signing Up for Unemployment Benefits? 103 3.3 Explaining the Pay Gap in Egypt 112 5.1 (Un)conditional Cash Transfers in Morocco 130 5.2 The Palestinian Territories: A Unique Context 131 5.3 Doing Business in Egypt 133 5.4 Incentives for Success 134 5.5 How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies? 135 5.6 Jordan’s Innovations in Shared Social Security 136 5.7 Jordan: New Work Opportunities for Women (Jordan NOW) 137 5.8 Bringing Jobs to Women’s Doorsteps: Desicrew’s Innovative Business Model 139 5.9 The Burden of Proof: Conditions for Women to Work in Saudi Arabia 142 5.10 Temporary Quotas, Permanent Results 144 5.11 Learning What Works . and What Doesn’t 150 Figures O.1 MENA’s Progress in Female Literacy, 1985–2010 6 O.2 MENA’s Progress in Women’s Health and Education, 1985–2010 (Average Annual Growth Rates in Key Indicators) 6 O.3 Female and Male Labor Force Participation across MENA, Ages 15–64 8 O.4 Gender Gaps in Youth Unemployment Rates, Ages 15–24 9 O.5 Women in Legislatures (Lower or Single Houses) 10 O.6 Female Labor Force Participation, 1980–2009 11 O.7 Public Sector Wage Gap: Difference in Average Hourly Earnings for Salaried Workers in the Public and Private Sectors 19 O.8 Demographic Transition: MENA’s Male and Female Age Structure, 2010 and 2050 22 O.9 Necessity to Create Jobs for Women and Men, 1950–2100 23 O.10 GCC Primary Nonoil Balance, 2000–11 23 1.1 MENA’s Progress in Women’s Literacy, 1985–2010 32 1.2 MENA’s Progress in Women’s Health and Education, 1985–2010 (Average Annual Growth Rates in Key Indicators) 32 viii Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa 1.3 Skewed Sex Ratios at Birth and Excess Female Mortality in MENA and the Rest of the World, 1990 and 2008 (Girls Missing at Birth and Excess Female Deaths after Birth, 000s) 33 1.4 Female-to-Male Enrollment Ratios: MENA Countries, 1975–2010 35 1.5 More Women Than Men Attend University in Many MENA Countries, 2011 36 1.6 Per Capita Wealth Is Positively Related to Female Health Outcomes 36 1.7 Boys and Girls Drop Out of School for Different Reasons: Evidence from Iraq, Ages 11–24 38 1.8 Female Labor Force Participation across Regions, 1980–2009 40 1.9 Female Labor Force Participation Rate, 1980–2009 41 1.10 Female and Male Labor Force Participation across MENA 45 1.11 Unemployment in MENA and Rest of the World 46 1.12 Tunisia: Unemployment and Participation Rates by Governorate for Women Ages 15–64 48 1.13 Tunisia: Unemployment and Participation Rates by Governorate and Education Level, Women Ages 15–64 49 1.14 Distribution of Female-Owned Firms by Firm Size 50 1.15 Share of Female Workers by Gender of Owner 51 1.16 Women in Legislatures (Lower or Single Houses) 52 2.1 Change in Female Labor Force Participation (Relative to OECD Average) 60 2.2 Respondents from MENA and around the World Who Disagree with the Following Statements about Women, Work, Education, and Politics 64 2.3 In Iraq and Morocco, Women Spend Far More Time Than Men on Household Chores and Child Care 66 2.4 Number Who Agree That “Being a Housewife is Just as Fulfilling as Working for Pay” 68 2.5 Labor Force Participation of Women by Marital Status (Ages 15–64) 68 2.6 Labor Force Participation of MENA Female Immigrants to the United States 70 2.7 Marital Gap in Female Labor Force Participation of Emigrants from MENA 71 2.8 Marital Gap in Female Labor Force Participation of Emigrants from Other Regions 71 Contents ix 2.9 Timeline of Legal Reforms in Selected Countries, 1931–2004 74 2.10