Improving female labour force participation in MENA

The economic gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains one of the largest in the world. Female labour force participation in MENA is the lowest globally, estimated at 20% (2019). This policy brief article presents arguments related to women’s participation in the job market, including men’s perceptions, along with practical realities of child care, commuting, low salaries and lack of access to information. Emerging evidence from randomised evaluations conducted by researchers affiliated with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in Egypt suggests that a range of programs to support women finding and getting to the work site, and interventions to update men’s perceptions, can increase women’s labor force participation.