Nationalization of the Workforce in the GCC Countries IV

Despite significant achievements in female education in the Arab region, women’s labor force participation in this region is the lowest in the world today. Arab women suffer from wage discrimination and their access to leadership positions is often restricted by institutional barriers and gender bias. Access to resources and to the labor market remains a challenge, including among university graduates. And across sectors, women’s economic contributions remain undervalued and/or undocumented. The GCC countries particularly stand to benefit from full and meaningful integration of women in the labor force in support of their ongoing pursuit to reduce dependence on foreign labor. This workshop concludes the series on nationalization of the workforce in the GCC countries with an exploration of innovative policy and programmatic approaches to Arab women’s economic empowerment within the parameters of the post-2015 development agenda. Convened by

• Samira Atallah, Director, Centre for Women, United Nations-Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA)

In Collaboration with