1) Despite women in MENA achieving higher levels of education equal to men, their labor force participation rates remain very low. 2) This is paradoxical since historically higher education leads to higher participation. 3) The reason for this is that as public sector jobs, which were more accommodating to women, declined, private sector jobs grew but are less accommodating and hospitable to women, especially married women.

1. R A G U I A S S A A D , U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I N N E S O T A
A N D E R F
PEERING BEHIND THE TRENDS IN
WOMEN’S LABOR FORCE
PARTICIPATION IN MENA
ERF Conference on
Gender Equality in the MENA Region
October 24-25, 2015

2. INTRODUCTION
• MENA’s very low levels of female LF participation
are well established
• Out of the 20 countries with the lowest participation rates,
15 are MENA countries

3. REASONS FOR LOW FEMALE
PARTICIPATION IN MENA
• Supply-side
• Conservative gender
norms that emphasize
women’s
• Primacy of the family
and the domestic
sphere
• The role of oil and oil-
related revenues in
perpetuating
patriarchal family
structures
• Neo-patriarchal state
institutions, reinforced
by oil-revenues
• Demand-side
– Oil and oil-related
revenues distorting
structure of economy
away from female-
intensive sectors
– Weak, dependent
private sectors that are
unwilling to assume the
cost of women’s
reproductive roles
– When demand for labor is
high, jobs typically go to
cheaper foreign workers

4. MAIN QUESTION
• Why are trends in female LF participation so flat,
despite dramatic rise in education and falling
gender gaps in education?
• We know that historically, LF participation is positively and
strongly associated with educational attainment
• Paradox: Why are rapidly rising rates of educational
attainment for women not translating into rapid increases in
participation?

5. The gender gap in education as essentially closed in all
three countries
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
YearsofSchooling
Year of Birth
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990Year of Birth
Males Females
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Year of Birth
Egypt TunisiaJordan
Average Years of Schooling by Year of Birth and Sex
Source: Egypt: ELMPS 2012, Jordan: JLMPS 2010, Tunisia: TLMPS 2014

6. The proportion of secondary and post-secondary graduates has risen
rapidly among women in all three countries. Note the explosive rise in
post-secondary attainment in Tunisia in recent years
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1950 1970 1990
Year of birth
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1950 1970 1990
Year of Birth
Secondary, Females
Post-Secondary, Females
Secondary, Males
Post-Secondary, Males
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1950 1970 1990
Year of birth
Proportion Secondary and Post-Secondary Attainment by Year of
Birth and Sex
Egypt TunisiaJordan
Source: Egypt: ELMPS 2012, Jordan: JLMPS 2010, Tunisia: TLMPS 2014

7. There is a very strong gradient of participation with educational
attainment. Educated women participate at much higher rates
than less educated ones in all three countries
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Jordan 2010
Egypt 2012
Tunisia 2014
Female Labor Force Participation by Educational Attainment
Source: Egypt: ELMPS 2012, Jordan: JLMPS 2010, Tunisia: TLMPS 2014

8. Despite rising educational attainment among women and a
strong relationship between participation and education,
participation rates are essentially stagnant in all three countries.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2000-1
2001-1
2002-1
2003-1
2004-1
2005-1
2006-1
2007-1
2008-1
2009-1
2010-1
2011-1
"As reported by
CAPMAS"
Linear Trend 2000-
2006
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2000-1
2001-1
2002-1
2003-1
2005-1
2006-1
2007-1
2008-1
2009-1
2010-1
2011-1As reported by DOS
Linear Trend 2000-
2006
Egypt Jordan
Female Labor Force Participation Ages, 15-64 (percentage).
Source: Egypt: CAPMAS, Labor Force Survey, Jordan : DoS, Employment and Unemployment Survey, Tunisia:
INS, Enquete Nationale sur la Population et l’Emploi
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
As reported by INS
Linear Trend 2006-2014
Tunisia

9. SO WHAT EXPLAINS THIS
PARADOX?
• Relationship between participation and
educational attainment is weakening for women
• Educated women are facing a much more adverse
labor market due to the decline in the probability of
public sector employment
• Married women are more affected because of the
inhospitable environment they face in the private
sector

10. WEAKENING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN EGYPT
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1998
2006
2012
Female Labor Force Participation by Educational
Attainment, Egypt
Source: ELMS 1998, and ELMPS 2006 and 2012

11. Source: Author’s calculations from ELMPS 2012, JLMPS 2010 and TLMPS 2014
The main reason for the drop in participation among educated women
is the dramatic drop in public sector employment opportunities
11

12. Source: Author’s calculations from ELMPS 2012, JLMPS 2010 and TLMPS 2014
The growth of private sector formal wage employment only partially
made up for the slowdown in public hiring. And these private sector jobs
are much less hospitable to women!
12

13. Source: Author’s calculations from ELMPS 2012, JLMPS 2010 and TLMPS 2014
Private informal wage employment has also grown significantly,
especially in Egypt. This represents an even less hospitable environment
for educated women, especially married women.
13

14. Marriage is a watershed event in terms of women’s ability to
remain in private wage employment, but this is not the case
for public employment and non-wage employment, which
continue to rise well after marriage
Egypt TunisiaJordan
Source: Egypt: ELMPS 2012, Jordan: JLMPS 2010, Tunisia: TLMPS 2014

15. Predicted Probability of Government Employment for a 30
year-old female university graduate over time
0.1.2.3.4.5.6
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
0.1.2.3.4.5.6
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
Never Married Ever Married

16. 0.05.1.15.2.25.3
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
0.05.1.15.2.25.3
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
Predicted Probability of Private Wage Employment for a 30
year-old female university graduate over time
Never Married Ever Married

17. Predicted Probability of Non-Wage Employment for a 30
year-old female university graduate over time
Never Married Ever Married
0.01.02.03.04
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
0.01.02.03.04
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt

18. Predicted Probability of Unemployment for a 30 year-old
female university graduate over time
Never Married Ever Married
0.1.2.3.4.5.6
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt
0.05.1.15.2.25.3
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
AlgeriaTunisia
JordanEgypt

19. Predicted Probability of Non-Participation for a 30 year-old
female university graduate over time
Never Married Ever Married
0.1.2.3.4.5.6
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
Algeria
Tunisia
JordanEgypt
0.1.2.3.4.5.6
2000 2005 2010 2015
year
Algeria
Tunisia
JordanEgypt

20. CONCLUSIONS
• Supply side factors are strongly favoring increased
women’s participation in the labor force
• Women’s participation is stagnating in MENA due to
demand-side factors that adversely affected
opportunity structures for women
• Deterioration of job quality in MENA has affected both
educated men and women, but women are
increasingly unable to reconcile the worsening
conditions with their reproductive
• Under current labor demand conditions, private sector
employers are currently unwilling to make the necessary
adjustments to create a more hospitable environment
for women