Trade and Gender Gap (equality) in Jordan

- 8 July 2021

Trade topics: Gender and Trade, Jordan, Labour

The main focus of the project is the role that trade may play in empowering women and enhancing their contribution especially in light of the fact that women participation in labour force in the region is considered the lowest compared to others.
 
The study will seek to analyse whether a more open trade policy helps bridge the gender gap in Jordan, what the key determinants of female participation in the labour force are, and what the best policy practices to maximize the benefits gained by women from trade are. It will also examine RTAs and their provisions on female participation in the labour force, drawing on research methodologies developed by the UNCTAD, which did studies at the country level on the impacts of trade policies on women as consumers and producers and on other dimensions of their lives. However, the UNCTAD studies covered only three countries: Bhutan, Cape Verde and Lesotho. Given that according to the most recent ILO estimates, female participation in labour force in Jordan is only 15%, this project is of particular importance and it is envisioned that the study can be used as a model for other countries similarly situated.
 

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