The objectives of the council are as follows: To monitor trade and investment relations, to identify opportunities for expanding trade and investment, and to identify issues relevant trade or investment such as negotiation in an appropriate forum. To hold consultations on specific trade and investment matters of interest of the parties. To identify and work to work the removal of impediments to trade and investment flows between the parties. To seek the advice of the private sector and civil society, where appropriate, in their respective countries on matters related to the work of the council.

The periodical publication reveals how Women in the Arab region continue to have the poorest outcomes in the world of work, whether in comparison with men or in comparison with women in other regions. The insufficient employment generation and the poor quality of created jobs, along with deficiencies in the national frameworks for gender equality contribute to women’s limited participation. Women have limited participation in paid employment, in the ownership of enterprises, and in the leadership of government, workers’, and employers’ organizations. Where they participate, they are often in lower positions, are paid less, or face multiple forms of discrimination. Stories of success typically remain limited and do not achieve scale. There is a slow but growing tendency by the labor market institutions of the region, be it governments, workers’, or employers’ associations, to engage in key gender equality issues such as underpayment of jobs with a high concentration of women or high levels of unemployment among educated youth, especially young women.

UNDP CO are encouraged to incorporate gender into their work and promote women’s rights and empowerment. This can take place by identifying and establishing benchmarks and minimum standards at three levels: the organization itself, the development intervention, and the larger national context. The key elements targeted by UNDP deal with management of gender-mainstreaming, capacities and enabling environment of the CO, knowledge management, inclusion of gender streamlining within programmes and projects, partnerships built for coordination mechanisms of gender equality, and results/impacts of the CO’s contributions. Therefore, a Gender Strategy at the CO level accounts for this gender design, assesses it, and designs a path of action relevant to it. The UNDP CO in Lebanon has in fact considered gender parity in its operations and assessments of concrete development projects in the country. However, implementation is loose and does not follow a concrete institutional framework with a solid long-term vision. In order to determine the causes and remedies of this deficiency, an assessment of the situation that targets the three aforementioned levels - namely the national context, and the interventions of the CO in Lebanon – is vital. A valid assessment provides the basis for the design of a Gender Strategy that accounts for the flaws and strengths of the CO’s work as well as a plan of action to ensure that staff are held responsible for delivering gender equality results and are aware of the importance of doing so.

This policy brief unveils the underlying causes and consequences of young women’s unemployment in the region and warns that the inability of young women to reach into the labour market, would not only affect their potential income, but may also expose them to poverty. From an economic perspective, it is estimated that the opportunity cost of the unemployment crisis of young women amounts to $50 billion annually. The brief draws examples from several Arab countries on the poor transition of young women from school-to-work, and urges policy makers to introduce policy interventions, based on a strategic framework to empower women and achieve gender equality.

Arab women trade unionists, seeking a greater role in workers' organizations, will convene a regional workshop in Lebanon from February 4 to 6, entitled: "Women and trade unions in Arab countries: Decent work through organizing". The meeting aims to promote a greater appreciation of the value of women’s work and their role in workers’ organizations. Participants will explore ways to increase women’s participation in trade unions and enable them to build synergies with NGOs that advocate for women’s rights. The event brings together participants from Lebanon, Jordan, the occupied Palestinian territory, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Algeria. It is part of a series of activities undertaken by the project "Strengthening Workers' Organizations in Arab Countries through Economic, Social and Legal Literacy".