No country has fully achieved equality for women, Amman conference hears

AMMAN — Despite substantial progress made in the area of women’s empowerment worldwide, the full political and economic integration of women remains a challenge that no country has really overcome, experts highlighted on Thursday. 

The two-day conference “Breaking through the Barriers of Women’s Socioeconomic Empowerment” kicked off in Amman on Thursday, with an in-depth look at the obstacles preventing women’s high representation rates in all sectors. 

“While women in Jordan face many challenges to enter the labour market, a recent study by UN Women found that the majority — over 60 per cent — would like to work, or are willing to do so if given the opportunity,” said Ziad Sheikh, UN Women Jordan representative.

At the opening address, he noted that women cited specific factors that would encourage them to work, such as the availability of what they considered decent work opportunities and the accessibility of transportation. 

As for obstacles hindering their participation in the workforce, they cited household responsibilities, safety and fear of harassment, both in the public sphere and in the workplace itself, and the preference to work at home, according to Sheikh.

“Further analysis of the actual cost of Jordanian women joining the labour force vis-à-vis the entire income would help us better understand how and what is needed to overcome these areas,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the UN representative stressed the importance of the two-day event, which he described as “timely”, as the UN’s 162 member states adopted by consensus the conclusions of the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in the field of women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.

In their conclusions, the member states agreed to ensure women’s full and equal participation in leadership positions and to ensure women’s right to work as well as their rights at work. 

In the presence of Princess Wejdan, Princess Dina Mired, and Princess Dana Firas, representatives of local and European government, civil societies and parliaments highlighted the efforts of their respective countries to ensure the equality of women. 

Organised by UN Women in cooperation with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jordan (CAFRAJ), the Mediterranean world Economic Foresight Institute, the World Bank, and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, discussions included barriers to gender equality and women’s rights in the areas of refugees, media, economy, politics and arts. 

Princess Wejdan underlined the important role women have played throughout history in the field of arts, especially in the Islamic world. 

The opening address included speeches from Andrea Matteo Fontana, EU Ambassador/head of delegation to Jordan, Ahmad Armoush, president of the CAFRAJ board, Talal Abu Ghazaleh, chairman and founder of the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Organisation, Elisabeth Guigou, president of the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Foreign Affairs Commission at the French National Assembly and Laurence Rossignol, French minister of Families, Children and Women’s Rights.