Case Study Of Employment Of Female Workers In Jordan
- What is Womenomics, and why is this an important term to discuss in Jordan’s employment of female workers?
- What strategies could be helpful, inpromoting gender equality in Jordan?
Womenomics is a term that combines both women and economics. It is a theory that links theadvancement of women to increased development rates. It is an important term to discuss in Jordan’s employment of female workers, since 46% of female unemployment impacts a high unemployment rate for Jordan. The term was developed by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe,in efforts to help boost Japan’s slowing economy. This was an economic strategy that reportedwomen have a dynamic role in economic development in nations.
Combing this report with thecurrent standpoint of women and economics in Jordan, this term suits the overall picture of theanalysis that the female labThough there are no comprehensive studies yet conducted on this, it would be difficult toconclude that the presence of foreign workers alone is a leading cause of domesticunemployment for Jordanian citizens. Studies reveal that foreign workers substitute forJordanians in the private sector not because of any skills-based difference (that is, the assumptionthat foreigners are more talented), but rather because employers assume those foreigners will bemore productive, work longer hours and have lower financial demands. Contrary to popular belief, however, most unemployed Jordanians have educational qualifications that match those offoreign workers.
Statistically speaking, the proportion of women looking for work sharply declines with age. The 2010 JLMPS showed that one in every two educated women in their 20s is looking for a job, but cannot find one. It also noted that only 7% of women who ever worked found their first job afterturning 30 years old (Department of Statistics, 2010).
These figures indicate that 95% of womenhave married by the time they reach 30 years of age, and only a very small percentage of marriedwomen who have never held a job before entering the labor market actually do so by seekingemployment after marriage (World Bank, 2012b). This validates the earlier educational bias thatmakes the marriage market more “attractive” than the labor market. Against this background,promoting greater female labor participation over the next 10 years must focus on women at ayounger age, for it is much easier to place unmarried women in their 20s into viable work thanpersuade married Jordanian women, especially mothers, to enter the labor market for the firsttime. In Jordan, once women leave the labor market, they are unlikely to return.
