This report provides a comparative overview of the policies affecting women’s participation in public life across the MENA region. It examines the existing barriers to women’s access to public decision-making positions, and provides a cross-country assessment of current instruments and institutions.

The Government of Jordan has strengthened its commitment in recent years to gender equality and women's social and economic empowerment through Jordan's Renaissance Plan 2019-2020 and more recently through the preparation of the Women's Economic Empowerment Action Plan under the Mashreq Gender Facility. Furthermore, the Jordan National Commission for Women is coordinating the development of the National Women's Strategy, encompassing the government's vision of women's empowerment and the national plans that address different areas of gender equality. The note touches on societal and household level issues such as existing social norms; the enabling environment provided by the legal framework; specific constraints to women's economic activity that are pronounced in the Jordan context such as access to care provisions and transport; access to entrepreneurship and finance, with a focus on technology-enabled services; and what may be considered to attract more Jordanian women in the rural areas to engage in employment in the agriculture sector. Given the saturation of the public sector in terms of employment, the focus is specifically on areas in which the private sector may play a leading role.

Women's rights in the middle east and North Africa / edited by Sameena Nazir and Leigh Tomppert / 2005.

Increasing women's participation on corporate boards and in senior management is among the crucial requirements of companies all around the world. IFC is no exception. The authors have seen for ourselves the positive results from greater diversity in corporate leadership. Stated simply, gender balance is good for business. The participation of women in the labor market has been a major driver of growth and competitiveness in economies. Yet, when it comes to corporate leadership positions, there remains a huge gap between the numbers of men and women represented. In Jordan this is no different. Men have assumed the highest positions of corporate leadership, even as women represent a strong untapped asset for the country. Despite constituting a large portion of society in Jordan, women have a minor presence in boardrooms and in senior decision-making positions. The research in this publication sets out to demonstrate: the degree of involvement by women in boardrooms and senior decision-making positions in the corporate world; the value of their presence when they are involved in those positions (specifically whether there is a correlation between women in the boardroom and the financial performance of companies); and some of the challenges that women face in reaching such decision-making positions. The publication also includes some recommendations for ways to overcome those challenges.