In recent years Jordan has undergone a series of initiatives to establish the kingdom at the forefront of social, economic, and technological progress in the region.

Since highly educated women frequently present a social and economic boon to a country, Jordan has ensured a successful and steady flow of female graduates into the employment market.

The recent release of a new report by the Canadian-sponsored National Center for Human Resources Development (NCHRD), in association with the Jordan-based Al-Manar Project, does however, cast a pall over the otherwise pleasing advancements.

According to the survey, in 2005 the distribution of Jordanian employees by gender demonstrated an 86.8 percent male majority over a 13.2 percent female minority. Within two years a slight increase brought female participation in the labour market to 15.7 percent, while male participation decreased to 84.3 percent.

Yet further disparities emerge on the earnings front as 8.1 percent of male employees earned JD 500 or more per month in 2007, while the figure for women remained at 4.4 percent, despite rising from 2.8 percent two years previously.

The diminutive figure on both counts proves further perplexing due to the preponderance of Jordanian women holding undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Just as the Jordanian labour market is dominated by a male majority, so too do female employees surpass their male counterparts in terms of higher education qualifications.

During the period 2005 to 2007, the number of male workers holding undergraduate degrees rose from 13.9 percent to 16.8 percent; likewise, holders of graduate degrees increased from 2.6 percent to 3.0 percent.

Contrastingly, female employees holding undergraduate degrees increased during the same period from 38.4 percent to 43.2 percent, while postgraduate holders grew from 3.6 percent in 2005 to 4.6 percent in 2007.

Of equal interest is the distribution of employees by gender within the employment sectors, with women flourishing in the field of professionals – that is, as doctors and lawyers – with figures rising from 42.2 percent to 47.9 percent over the same two year period.

The technical professions witnessed a slight decrease in female activity, down from 29.1 percent to 24.3 percent, although the total remains higher than the male presence, which dwindled by a fraction from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 8.5 percent in 2007.

Occupations comprising legislators, senior officials, and managers remain however, fiercely elusive to the female grasp with 0.0 percent holding positions in the field, although male employees have retained a steady hold with 0.1 percent between 2005 and 2007.

At present, women make up half of the six million strong population, and complaints that they are being deprived their share in the decision making due to the conservative, tribal-oriented government sector have become more vocalized in recent years.

Due to such calls, change is slowly eking its way forward: last year seven women won seats in the 28-strong cabinet of Prime Minister Nader al-Dahabi, with four named as ministers.

When compared with previous cabinets, in which two or three women occupied such positions, an optimist could cite the appointments as a step of progress on the path to gender equality in the government sector.

Encouragingly, and somewhat contradictory to initial assertions by the survey, the percentage of women active in the Jordanian labour force between the ages of twenty and thirty-nine years trump their male counterparts over the three year period.

In 2005, of male workers between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine, 34.4 percent were engaged in the labour market, while in 2006 and 2007, their percentage increased to 34.9 and 33.8 percent respectively.

Similarly, between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine years, their presence remained consistent, fluctuating only from 30.3 percent down to 29.1 percent, before rising back to 30.9 percent.

For female employees, however, the nineteen years are marked by a veritable flurry of activity that leaves their male cohorts gasping on the sidelines as the primary age group – between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine – peak in 2005 at 39.1 percent, rise in 2006 to 41.0 percent, before stabilising in 2007 at 39.1 percent.

Proving these years to be but a warm-up, a substantial surge occurs between the age of thirty and thirty-nine years with figures of 36.8, 34.7, and 37.3 percent for the 2005 to 2007 period, marking a notable increase.

From the midst of these figures emerges a compelling picture of the gender dimension within the contemporary Jordanian work force, and one which lends added poignancy to the message conveyed by Queen Rania, on her YouTube channel.

Under the frenzied guise of the television series 24, the short clip titled, ‘See What Arab Women Are Up To’, depicts a collection of women in an array of professions, from home-makers, judges, and CEOs.

Up-beat and contemporary, the objective of such clips is to change the global misconception that oppression remains a prominent feature in the lives of Arab women.

Unfortunately, it cannot obscure the reality that both within and external to the kingdom oppression remains tangible, both in the social and professional spheres of female activity.

While the recent sentencing of a man for ten years over the killing of his sister has been lauded as the first step towards banning such killings, the long and arduous fight to reach this stage emphasizes the necessity to mark this landmark sentencing as more than a one-case gesture, and to ensure that women’s rights are on the agenda to stay.

The plethora of organizations operating within the kingdom to ensure such an agenda persists provides pleasing solace, particularly given their scope of support.

From matters concerning sexual health to workshops on the role of women in politics, groups such as the Human Rights Forum for Women’s Rights, the Federation of Professional and Business Women, the General Federation of Jordanian Women, and the Al Kutba Institute for Human Development ensure that the needs of Jordanian women are emphasized and addressed.

Of particular note is the General Federation for Jordanian Women (GFJW). Established in 1981 as a national non-governmental organization of women’s associations, societies and individuals, the Federation continuously strives to enhance the political, economic and social status of Jordanian women.

Comprising eighty-six Jordanian women’s organizations throughout eleven GFJW local governorate branches, the Federation also advocates legislative reform favouring women and initiates income-generating activities in collaboration with other NGOs, including the Noor al-Hussein Foundation.

Previous and ongoing projects include ‘Enhancing Women’s Participation in Political and Parliamentary Life’, which operated for one year in 2001, and an ‘ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Literacy Program’, started in 2002, which aims to improve young women’s computing skills and provide them with the skills to find suitable employment.

Just as the rights of women infuse a plethora of issues on a global scale, so too, in Jordan does it require attention and change.

From citizenship and nationality laws to honor killings and equal professional opportunities, each aspect remains a contentious, yet crucial issue – so much so that it would be a churlish endeavor to address the profound implications of the status quo, and the necessary changes, within the confines of a single article.

With a budding population of highly educated, motivated, and conscientious women, Jordan must continue to push the boundaries that have, to date, prevented women from occupying significant roles in the country’s employment market, particularly in the legislative, official, and managerial sectors.

The study by Al-Manar provides hope and disappointment in equal measure: Jordanian women are better educated and more active in the work force than ever before and yet their presence remains muted.

Despite this, progress is being made – it will be a slow process, but as long as it is sustained, changes will occur.

Perhaps there is no conclusion more fitting to such a capricious issue than that which Queen Rania surmised towards the end of the aforementioned broadcast: while much progress in the realm of women’s rights remains to be charted, for the moment, we can extol the progress that has been achieved thus far – and shall continue to be made, thanks to the endeavors of women’s organizations, and the sheer tenacity of the Jordanian women themselves.

K. Luisa Gandolfo is a graduate of the University of Exeter, where she recently completed her Ph.D. in Middle East Studies. In between research, she is a freelance journalist and compulsive reviewer of books.

Tags: careers, gender, jordan, k. luisa gandolfo, news