Women Economic Empowerment in Economic Sector Women Economic Empowerment in Economic Sector CAWTAR (Center of Arab Women for Training and Research) har inkommit med ett projektförslag för ett stöd från Sida om SEK 5 000 000 SEK för genomförandet av en insats i Mellanöstern och Nordafrika - Empowering Women Towards Gender Equality in the MENA Region. Målet med insatsen är att öka kapaciteten hos alla aktörer inom den ekonomiska sektorn (beslutsfattare, företag, organisationer etc) vad gäller kvinnors rättigheter inom handelsområdet. I denna fas som sträcker sig från 1:a december 2017 till 31 maj  2019 kommer fokus att läggas på att skapa en grund för att skapa nationella och regionala nätverk, informera och utbilda beslutsfattare, öka medvetenheten hos aktörer för att på ett seriöst sätt integrera ”Gender Mainstreaming” in den ekonomiska integrationen. Insatsen syftar också till att stödja en effektiv implementering av internationella normer och regelverk inom arbetsmarknaden i länderna i Mellanöstern och Nordafrika, vilket på sikt bedöms öka kvinnors möjligheter till arbete. Women in the Arab region continue to face discrimination in the workplace partly due to social and cultural norms but largely to structural and legislative obstacles that limit and undermine women’s participation in the labour market. Despite some gains in education attainment for girls, women participation in the labour force remains very low compared to men and their female counterparts in other regions. Only 22.5% of Arab women are in the labour force compared with 75% of men in this region and 50% of women worldwide. 

These multiple challenges require multiple and coordinated efforts in various areas; and trade as part of regional cooperation could become an engine for development and growth for the region as it can bring investment opportunities, access to economic activities, and better jobs once well designed, with targeted policies. Such targeted policies could be shaped with proper investment in the related human capacities that could lead economic diversification efforts and regional connectivity with a view to increase prosperity across the region with benefits especially for the poor.

To tackle these challenges, Sida has initiated an intervention together with a new partner; “The Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR)”. The current proposal submitted by CAWTAR is about a contribution of 5 MSEK to implement an 18-month regional project focusing on women economic empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa region through gender mainstreaming in economic policies and trade agreements during the period 2017 to 2019.

The proposed intervention is an inception and pilot phase for a more ambitious project with an ultimate goal of empowering more women in the Middle East and North Africa region to enjoy equal rights, life prospect and opportunities with men as a result of better integration in labour and trade markets.

The inception & pilot phase will be devoted to reinforce the knowledge and define/support the position of relevant governmental institutions, private sector and civil society organisations in the six targeted countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia) , the League of Arab States (LAS) and its specialised regional organisations, and CAWTAR’s networks and partners on women economic empowerment and the opportunities given to women in economic policies and trade agreements at both national and regional levels. This will be achieved through producing appropriate knowledge, such as situation analysis with relevant indicators, country profiles, actors of change mapping, and policy and programme reviews from gender perspective, as well as through networking, sensitisation, and advocacy for change to reach consensus on national and common regional priorities to develop a strategic framework of interventions on women economic empowerment and gender and trade.

CAWTAR will be the main implementing partner for this intervention, and no funds will be channelled to their local partners. It is proposed that Sida supports the total intervention budget equivalent to 5 MSEK for 18 months starting December 1, 2017. Sida assess that this intervention is of high relevance for a region suffering from a chronic low women participation in the job market. Long term, this intervention aims to improve the situation for women in the job market, empower women and reduce the poverty level. Women in the MENA region continue to face gender-based-discrimination as shown by the lowest levels of female public participation, in spite of the countless government and civil society programs seeking to empower women socially, economically, and politically. Lack of women’s empowerment is linked to the society, community & family structure institutionalized in all spheres and at all levels, restricting women’s status and defining the roles of men and women but also political will which is obviously not enough strong as shown by the multiple available indicators. The objectives of this intervention has been to work with gender in the economic secor in six countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia). This intervention was developed by a common vision (Sida and CAWTAR) to carry out a number of principles, while conceptualizing and testing pilot elements as the best and most efficient means to test and carry out new approaches, methodology and tools as well as initiatives that will contribute to achievement of empowerment of women and equity in access to and control of economic resources including trade markets towards Gender Equality. This, in turn, is based on the fact that the women participation in the workforce in the broader MENA region is the lowest in the world. There is a substantial needs for mainstreaming gender issues in the labour market in general but specifically in the economic sector. 
The overall long-term objective of this partnership is to provide support and technical expertise on gender and human rights integration in economic policies and trade in the MENA region.
Economic participation of women in the MENA Region faces up diverse and multiple obstacles and barriers. Indeed the effect of policy on economic and social activities tend to be different when concerning men or women as they have different economic and social roles and different access to and control over resources (e.g. ownership and control of productive resources such as inheritance, land, credit, and their own labour, decision-making and participation) due to socio-cultural, political and economic factors. In fact Gender Construction influences both causes and consequences of disempowerment of women and poverty.
The intervention targets national as well as regional organisations in the MENA region. Directly reached are individuals and institutions who are targeted by the implementation in terms of direct communication and participation to the activities in the context of the gender and trade. Indirectly reached are individuals and institutions who are informed on the project to involve them in the process at the occasion of events not organized by CAWTAR in the context of the gender and trade.