Female labour participation and pay equity in Arab countries: commonalities and differences (*)

Abstract:

While there is a common belief that female labour indicators in Arab countries demonstrate a problematic situation, little is understood about the varieties within countries in that region. This paper attempts to draw a segmentation of the Arab world to show how different countries differ in this regard. It looks at two specific measures: the level of female participation as a percentage of male participation (FPM), and the female earned income to male income (FIM). Statistics from 20 Arab countries generated four clusters in which those countries are classified. Female labour indicators in most countries in the Arab world show similar patterns found in other countries in their stage of development. This confirms earlier research that indicates that women’s labour participation decreases as societies move away from agriculture into manufacturing, services and industry. Only four countries are identified as outliers whose labour indicators can be understood within the context of the cultural values that dominate. The implications are discussed and individual research on female labour within each Arab country is invited.

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Keywords:

female labour participation

pay inequity

gender

working women

Arab countries

economic development