The report reviews the articles of the Convention one by one, up to article 16. It should be noted that the Committee is keen for the report to deal with the particular situation of certain groups of women, such as handicapped women, migrant workers etc., and has called for the report to devote a special heading to these groups. Accordingly, the situation of seven groups of women are reviewed immediately after article 16: the elderly, the handicapped, mine victims, prisoners, migrant workers in domestic service, refugees and displaced persons. Furthermore, given that the efforts of recent years have not been confined to those of official bodies, however important these are, but extend to the work of non-governmental organizations in a variety of areas, this report is anxious to affirm the important role played by NGOs in pushing for the removal of obstacles to equality by shedding light on their most significant activities and achievements, as these relate to the Convention. However, as the period covered by the report is fairly lengthy and the size of periodic reports has to be kept within limits, the committee supervising preparation of the report liaised with 22 NGOs concerned with women’s affairs to provide it with an account of their activities during the period of the report. The not inconsiderable amount of material for which there was insufficient space in the report has been placed in an annex.

A big deficiency in the labour markets of the three Arab countries (Jordan, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territory) examined in this paper arises certainly from the low employment rates of women but also from the low employment rates of men. An implication of this finding is that the economy does not generate enough jobs, not just for women but also for men. This result is generally applicable to other Arab countries that have more or less the same labour market characteristics as those in the three countries examined in this paper. Adding to the low employment rates of Arab women and Arab men the previous two findings (that is, employment segregation and wage differences) implies that the income and output losses estimated in this paper are bound to increase further in the future as Arab women’s participation in the labour force increases. In the dire times the 5. Arab region currently faces, more and better use of female workers may prove to be one of the strongest drivers for economic growth and social development.

This report therefore aims to understand the significance of women’s voice, agency and participation in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, offering recommendations that should enable the Bank to design its operations and investments and engage in meaningful international policy dialogue on the advancement of gender equality in these countries. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey – though diverse countries with many differences – share cultural similarities and an Islamic heritage. Countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have struggled to translate considerable reductions in gender gaps with respect to education – as well as health – into equal participation in aspects of social and economic life; the World Bank (2012) has dubbed this the “MENA Paradox”. This study explores the disconnect between these indicators following the conceptual definition of agency in the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report (WDR 2012), specifically to examine the extent to which plural legal frameworks and social norms affect the “five expressions of women’s agency”, which are: 1 Access to and control over resources; 2 Freedom from the risk of violence; 3 Freedom of movement; 4 Decision-making over family formation; and 5 Having a voice in society and influencing policy.

The papers in this issue of al-Raida address the challenges and opportunities for Arab women’s labor market participation in the greater context of globalization and social transformations and examine the issue from a number of complementary vantage points and policy implications.

There is enormous variation in the patterns of labor allocation, especially among women, across countries and over time, with significant consequences for the performance of the economy. Among many other results, the analysis suggests that effective government is one of the most important factors associated with female labor force participation (LFP) and employment. Some labor protection policies tend to be more beneficial for women’s labor market activity than for men’s. Such policies may be helping better employment matches to form.