AMMAN - Women's contributions to the Kingdom's political, economic and judicial spheres continue to rise gradually, but more work is needed to magnify this increase and quicken its pace, according to activists.
Seventeen per cent of Jordanian women aged between 20 and 45 work, compared to 77 per cent of men, according to the World Bank's 2012 World Development Report, "Gender Equality and Development".
"With few women employed, young women lack role models to follow into employment as well as the network connections to help them find jobs," the report said, adding that employers lacking experience with female employees may be reluctant to hire women.
The percentage is higher than what the Department of Statistics (DoS) recorded in 2009, when it put women's economic activity rate at 14.9 per cent.
"Women's participation in the labour force has increased, which is a good sign," Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary General Asma Khader told The Jordan Times.
"The rates of women's contribution to the economy and other sectors remain low, but they are gradually increasing, which leaves room for optimism," she said.
Deputy Reem Badran (Amman, 3rd District) agreed with Khader.
"There is some progress, but it remains slow and below the desired level. Women should have a greater contribution to the gross domestic product of the Kingdom," she stressed.
The MP, who is also deputy president of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, added that women's membership in companies' boards of directors "is still very low".
According to the World Bank report, women comprise less than 2 per cent of the boards of directors of Jordanian companies.
In the political sphere, Badran and Khader praised the increase in the women's quota in municipal councils from 20 to 25 per cent in the Municipalities Law.
"When it was 20 per cent, women won 27 per cent, so we now expect them to win 30 per cent," Khader, a former minister, said.
"We have also seen many women appointed as ministers in previous governments, and there is an increase in the number of women in both Houses of Parliament," she noted.
The Lower House includes 13 female deputies, with only Badran winning outside the 12-seat quota, while the Senate included nine women in its initial make-up.
But Badran argued that the number of women under the Dome remains below expectations.
"This is still a small number. The percentage should be higher than this, so we are hoping that the new elections law will address this issue," she said.
According to a 2009 DoS study, women's presence in the Cabinet stood at 14.3 per cent.
But the gender gap was high in membership of professional association councils, with women constituting only 3 per cent. Women's presence in chambers of commerce was also low (1.1 per cent).
A study released last year by the JNCW revealed that female representation in the public sector decreases when moving upwards in the organisational hierarchy and increases when moving downwards.
Titled "Gender Auditing in the Public Sector in Jordan", the report found that women occupy 10 per cent of senior management, 18 per cent of middle management, and 46 per cent of non-management positions in 81 institutions.
But Khader said there were some signs that women will play a larger role in the public and private sectors in the near future.
"With the Social Security Corporation's maternity insurance, employers are hiring more and more women," she said.
The insurance provides protection for women working in private companies and encourages investors to hire women, covering women's wages during their maternity leave.
"The fact that more and more women are pursuing higher education and graduate studies will also reflect positively on their contribution to politics and the economy," Khader noted.
According to figures issued this year by the Phoenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies, 51 per cent of bachelor's degree holders in the Kingdom are female.
Meanwhile, in the legal sphere, Jordanian women have gone a long way, according to Judge Ihsan Barakat, the first woman to assume the post of Amman attorney general.
"Jordanian women have proven their competency in the judicial field and assumed key positions, such as deputy prosecutor general and attorney general. We also have 109 female judges," she told The Jordan Times.
Barakat added that there are more than 5,000 female lawyers registered at the Jordan Bar Association, whose total membership stood at almost 18,000 in 2010.
She said that the role of women in the judiciary as decision makers will reflect positively on their role in other fields, including politics and the economy.
Citing her personal experience, the attorney general pointed out that as the first woman to assume this position, she has had "no problems" in terms of public acceptance.
"Jordanian society is capable of accepting change," she said.
Khader agreed with Barakat, arguing that "women's participation is now something that society demands".
Badran said responsibility lies with everyone to give women a greater role, which will lead to "better political and social development".
"Women have to work tirelessly; society has to give women the chance to prove themselves; and regulations and laws that help women take on administrative positions should be adopted," she stressed.
© Jordan Times 2011
