Gender and trade

The study investigates the relationship between women’s entrepreneurship and ownership of land/property in Egypt and Jordan. By utilizing a conceptual framework that identifies five mechanisms linking the two, namely access to credit and finance, additional income, increased investments, improved intrahousehold bargaining and improved social norms, the research reveals that property/land ownership enhances women’s involvement in employment and entrepreneurship. However, it suggests that property/land ownership may have a limited impact on their bargaining power and on reducing gender-based violence. The study highlights the need for improved data and understanding of the interconnections between women’s economic inactivity and entrepreneurship, in order to formulate effective policies to support women entrepreneurs in the Arab region.

This report was jointly prepared by the United Nations Population Fund’s Arab States Regional Office (UNFPA-ASRO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and the League of Arab States. The report is based on data and information drawn from a survey filled out by 13 Arab Governments assessing their progress and challenges using national data. This Regional Review Report, is based on both quantitative and qualitative data provided by countries, finds that progress has been made in many areas. Some countries have enacted and are implementing new legislation to eliminate gender discrimination and to empower women and girls including through addressing negative social norms, investments in education, supporting their integration in the labour market, and a gender-responsive budgeting approach. There are good examples of investments in capacity-building and in strengthening of institutions, multisectoral coordination, accountability and participatory approaches. The responses provided by Arab Governments for this report recognize that complex issues must be addressed through cross-sectoral mechanisms. They underscore the need to allocate dedicated resources to meet the goals of the 2013 Cairo Declaration, to build capacities within ministries and departments, to make the best use of technology, and to build strong policy frameworks and implementatio mechanisms that will yield success. Similarly, countries also underline the importance to strengthen and expand systematic data collection mechanisms at national and local levels to ensure that their policies and measures comprehensively and effectively provide the complex picture presented by the Arab region across areas of the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2013 Cairo Declaration for the benefit of all their populations.

The National Gender Lens Pocketbooks 2022 provides a statistical visual portrait of countries’ progress in 40 selected key gender indicators at the governorate/city level. The Pocketbooks present gender-related and sex- disaggregated indicators in the areas of population, education, inequality, health, and work. The Pocketbook illustrates gender gaps over a two-year period. The National Gender Lens Pocketbooks are designed to serve as source of information on the issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment at subnational level to assist decision-makers in formulating improved policies and programmes; and to raise awareness on gender issues.

Across the Arab region, gender inequality continues to limit women from realizing their rights and full potential. Despite some progress in recent decades, women in the region earn less than men, have lower access to resources, and remain underrepresented in economic leadership. This can be seen acutely in the areas of women’s property ownership and economic empowerment. Unlocking women’s economic potential will require addressing the many intersecting constraints they face. This working paper has demonstrated that patterns and forms of lending for SMEs show vast discrepancies based on the gender and property ownership of borrowers. The data collected from several banks in Jordan present a starting point for in-depth investigation into other direct and indirect practices that may also contribute to the gender gaps identified in this paper.

The Arab region is the most unequal in the world, and inequality is increasing. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, high interest rates, growing debt burdens, the cost-of-living crisis and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine - which has disproportionately affected food and energy prices - are all contributing to widening inequality, both between and within countries. Inequalities in income and wealth are mirrored by inequalities in access to food. Around 181 million people across the region, close to 35 per cent of the Arab population, are food insecure; 12 million more than just one year ago. The majority of food insecure people also live in poverty. This report analyses the four pillars of food security: access, availability, utilization and stability, from an inequality lens. It provides policy recommendations for addressing inequality in food security through strengthening agricultural systems, production and trade, and also for mitigating climate change while adapting to its growing effects and improving disaster risk management. The report calls for immediate humanitarian assistance when shocks do occur, without political implications. Regional solidarity is called for in redistributing resources from those that have plenty to those that do not, coupled with increased investments in health, education and social protection.