JCI data reveals status of women workforce in Jordan’s industrial sector 

AMMAN — The industrial sector employs more than 91,000 women, representing 35 per cent of the sector’s 267,000 workers, the majority of them are Jordanians employed in approximately 18,000 industrial facilities across the Kingdom.

According to the Jordan Chamber of Industry’s (JCI) figures, around 1,500 members, partners and owners of industrial companies are women. 

Several factories have a women workforce for several reasons, such as their higher productivity, compliance with labour laws and regulations and job stability, as JCI’s studies show that the turnover rate of women in Jordanian factories is approximately 15 per cent, against 25 per cent for men.

The main challenge in creating employment opportunities for women in the industrial sector stems from the nature of work in several sub-sectors, such as construction, plastics and wood, where women do not exceed 5 per cent of the total workforce, while the leather and textile industry is more appealing to educated and skilled women, employing about 67 per cent of its workforce. Additionally, the pharmaceutical industry employs about 35 per cent of the sector’s workforce.

The JCI highlighted a number of industrial initiatives and projects aimed at increasing women’s economic participation in the industrial sector, including the productive branches initiative launched by the Ministry of Labour, which involves the establishment of new factory branches in remote and underprivileged areas to provide training and employment opportunities, particularly for women. 

Over the past two years, more than 30 branches for the garment sector have been opened in various governorates, employing approximately 8,000 Jordanians, of whom roughly 90 per cent are women.

Women make up nearly 47.1 per cent of Jordan’s total population, or about 5.3 million people. Their participation in the labour force is around 13.8 per cent, while the unemployment rate among them is around 31.4 per cent.

Within specific age groups, the highest unemployment rate for women is in the 20-24 age group, at 49.1 per cent, followed by the 25-39 group, at 30.3 per cent.

In terms of education, women with a bachelor’s degree or higher have the highest unemployment rate at 35.7 per cent.

At the regional level, women residing in Irbid face the highest unemployment rate at 36.3 per cent, closely followed by Tafileh at 36 per cent. The lowest unemployment rate for women is recorded in Maan at 21.9 per cent.