The Role of International Relations in Empowering Women in the Gulf? — Inequality Exposed
By: Shey Abdu.
Tags: International Relations, Inequality, Politics, Middle East, Gender

In adherence to external pressure, Gulf countries have loosened their grip on women’s participation in politics, however through what is seemingly a decorative form of political participation (Alfassi, 2017). External pressure, specifically with regards to human rights, can manifest in the form of international agreements and trade, summits, resolutions, international goals, international programs, and multinational companies.

International Agreements & Trade

International agreements can be a very strong legally binding method of mandating the Gulf states to empower women and increase their political participation. For example, signing the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) requires countries of the Gulf states to submit a quadrennial report on women’s rights. This has encouraged the Gulf states to perform better with women empowerment to improve the overall outcome of their quadrennial report.

Trade agreements, whether bilateral or multilateral, have positively contributed towards women empowerment. Signatories of trade agreements are monitored by institutions, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations, which are mandated by declarations and commitments to abide by a set of human rights and gender equality standards. For example, the U.N. Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality has enacted a series of policies that compel participating states and international trade institutions to establish trade regulations that could minimize existing gender inequalities (Zakaria, 2018). Major economic players and members of the WTO, like Canada, have suggested the complete incorporation of these policies in trade agreements.

The significance of international trade as a form of external pressure towards women empowerment in Gulf states finds its root in the rentier reality of the region. According to El Beblawi (2016), rentier states are dependent on exporting their natural resources to maintain their economy. Since a large portion of the Gulf states’ economy is dependent on the exports of oil, they are compelled by policies of international trade agreements, which are often in line with the United Nation’s policies on gender equality. In addition, Gulf states are currently attempting to move away from oils rents through implementing diversification plans, such as Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Vision 2021 (National Agenda 2021, na; Saudi Vision 2030, n.a), accordingly; Gulf states are attempting to create a more favorable trade and business environment through adhering to global philosophies and trends, which includes gender equality and women empowerment.

Summits, Resolutions, and International Goals

While agreements play a crucial part, hosting of conventions and summits also adds further pressure on Gulf countries to perform better. For example, the Committee of Arab women has chosen Riyadh as the capital of Arab Women for the year 2020 (Saudi Press Agency, 2020). Saudi Arabia was also selected to host the G20 summit for the year 2020 in Riyadh, all of which encourages it to further empower women. Another recent commitment observed is Dubai’s hosting of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) MENA Regional Summit in 2020 (Ding, 2020). In order to qualify to host these summits, Gulf countries must implement change and improvement to gender equality.

Furthermore, Gulf states have been pressured by global institutions, notably the European Union, to improve their gender statistic. For example, in 2011 the European Parliament (EP) adopted an EU-GCC Cooperation resolution which calls GCC member states to facilitate women’s access to labor markets and education by ending all forms of discrimination against women. The EP provides incentives for GCC member states to improve their human rights, specifically concerning women empowerment. To exemplify, the UAE was granted visa-free access to the EU after it satisfied a series of criteria, in particular, human rights and the empowerment of women (Seikaly et al, 2014).

International goals are universal calls often implemented by the UN in which the majority of countries partake. The Sustainable Development Goals, are a set of goals in which global leaders agreed to during the SDG summit in September 2015. These goals are being pursued globally, including by Gulf states. To exemplify, the UAE has created an online platform ( https://uaesdgs.ae) to exhibit the current initiatives and projects in the UAE to implement the SDGs. There is a total of 17 SD — including gender equality and women empowerment as the fifth goal. The fifth goal has six main targets, with the fifth target being full and effective participation of women across political, economic and public life (Gender Equality UN, n.a). The commitments made by Gulf states to these SDG will encourage further women empowerment and an increase in women participation in politics. This is evident in Saudi Arabia permitting women to participate in municipal elections in the same year (2015) as they had made their commitment to the SDGs.

International Programs & MNC

Global reform programs are compelling the Gulf nations to increase the participation of women in the political and economic setting. For example, programs like We-Fi, which are housed by the World Bank, trigger women empowerment in the region. The program aims to advance women entrepreneurs in developing economies through the combined financial efforts of 14 governments and additional institutions (The World Bank, 2020). Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are part of We-Fi, which exposes them to policies that focus on women empowerment.

While programs have often been implemented by multinational and international institutions, bilateral programs have also been a force that has propelled women empowerment in the Gulf. For example, the U.S. — Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) projects works with local leaders to increase the political and economic participation of women, to support female visionaries, and to provide training to women to enable them to contribute to their respective countries’ development. The program also grants educational exchange opportunities for women in the MENA region.

Finally, women empowerment has been driven by foreign multinational companies. MNC often have global corporate philosophies that mandate women’s advancement in business. For example, PwC has developed a partnership with the UN Women’s HeForShe initiative, which aims to achieve global gender equality in the workplace. PwC has offices in all the gulf countries, where the HeforShe initiative continues to play a crucial role (PWC, n.d). In addition to partnerships with international bodies, MNC’s are creating their own personal initiatives to reinstate their global corporate philosophy on gender. For example, in an attempt to develop and retain women, General Electrics in the UAE has created the Women’s Network, which aims to “ fosters the professional growth and development of women working at GE by providing mentoring, networking, skills development, and coaching on career paths “ (General Electrics, n.d).