Gender Issues in Iraq and Private Sector Development

1. A presentation on gender issues in Iraq and Private Sector Development Presentation by Dr Stephen Rimmer (Senior PSD Specialist) and Mr Mohammed Al-Ani, PSD Specialist World Bank Washington DC, 12:30 – 14:00, 14 November, 2012

2. World Bank The role of women in society - background • World Bank – and other development partners such as the UN - have prepared several reports on role of women in Member countries • Women represent a key resource for all countries • Most countries have taken measures to provide greater fairness, access and equality • It is clear that more needs to be done to give women opportunities enjoyed by others, such as access to the labour market • Limited information is available about role of women in Iraq – Investment Climate Report (2012) provides new insights and raises new and important questions – especially for addressing gender issues in fragile and post conflict environments

3. World Bank Why remove barriers to women’s participation? • Globally women comprise 41 % of the labour force • Reducing poverty – women actively participating in society are better able to provide for themselves, their families and contribute to society • Resilience – women actively participating creates more resilient families and societies – supporting the next generation • Promotes economic growth by drawing on the resources and talents of women • Human rights – women rights (fairness, dignity and choice) are important issues in all civilized societies and religions • More representative decision making -

4. World Bank There can be a range of barriers to greater participation of women, including: • Economic barriers to participation (finance, property, jobs, transport etc) • Access to education and training • Access to health • Legal rules and processes (discrimination, marriage, divorce, property etc) • Public participation and representation in decision making forums (Parliament, courts etc) • Crime and insecurity • Other restrictions (on movement, male consent etc)

5. World Bank Globally countries are removing barriers to women in many areas of society, including: • The WBG report “ Women, Business and the Law 2012: Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion” finds that at least 103 countries impose legal differences on the basis of gender • Between June 2009 and March 2011 41 laws and regulatory reforms were enacted that could enhance women’s economic opportunities and participation • But important to note that there many non-legal factors influencing participation and also considerable variations between and within countries

6. World Bank Female labour participation rates (source World Bank 2012):

7. World Bank Some key facts – women in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region? • MENA women’s labour force participation the lowest in the World • Middle East and North Africa has more legal differences in treatment than any other region • Significant development in recent years in the area of women’s legal rights • A number of countries have amended laws that were discriminatory towards women (eg Jordan) • There have been advances in the region regarding health and education where the region compares favourably with some other regions

8. World Bank Some key facts – women in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region? • Women are often under-represented in Parliament and decision making bodies compared to other regions – but women are slowly increasing their participation • Most MENA countries struggle with high unemployment – especially for your people and women • So a key challenge for the region is to generate economic growth that will generate new jobs • It is important to note that there is enormous variations in the region in the role of women and this is a complex issue • Understanding and dialogue often impeded by a lack of high quality information and also anecdotes about the situation of individuals being incorrectly taken out of context and extrapolated to all women (or countries) in the region

9. World Bank • The Iraq Constitution accords equal status to men and women, including equal rights to education, employment, right to vote and run for public office • The Constitution states that no law can override “established rulings” of Islam, so interpretations of Sharia law are also important • The Iraq Constitution has a quota that at least of 25% of seats in the Parliament must go to women • Women in Iraq substantially affected by insecurity and previous hostilities • While both men and women have been affected, some measures suggest that gender gaps are increasing in Iraq, while others suggest it is decreasing Some key facts – women in Iraq?

10. World Bank • There is an absence of job opportunities (eg. 45% of women Iraqi women surveyed in 2007 described employment opportunities are poor, with 27% saying that have no opportunities at all • Illiteracy is around 19% - 12% for males and 26% of females • Primary school enrollments rates for women are increasing, from 75% in 2004 to 83% in 2007 • The number of women headed households is high, around 11% reflecting the impacts of wars and internal displacement Some key facts – women in Iraq?

11. World Bank Some key facts – women in Iraq and participation in the labour force? • Participation relatively high in education, health , real estate and agriculture • Participation low in most other sectors, such as transport and retail • Women are prominent in government, with women in government often working in senior Director-General level jobs (but still under-represented in senior posts) • Women working for the government have entitlements such as maternity leave, these are not usually available in the private sector

12. World Bank Iraq labour force participation by gender Participation rate 13% (Source Household economic survey)

13. World Bank Economic participation and private sector development • According to the World Bank’s Investment Climate Report (2012): • Women’s participation in the private sector is relatively low • Only 7% of sampled firms reported that a woman was one of its principal owners (compared to 34.9% Egypt, 33.5% Lebanon and 24.4% Libya) • Women as principle owners – large firms (44%), medium firms (8%) and small firms (5%) • Female ownership of firms enhances firm productivity – so impediments to female participation impede enterprise development, productivity and economic development

14. World Bank Economic participation and private sector development • According to the World Bank’s Investment Climate Report (2012) (continued): • Women unlikely to be senior managers (1.1% Iraq, 29.1% Lebanon and 22.8% Syria) • The incidence of firms in Iraq with a female as a senior manager is higher among large firms (11%) than among SMEs (1% of both small and medium-sized firms) – this is lower than the average for MENA

15. World Bank Economic participation and private sector development • According to the World Bank’s Investment Climate Report (2012) (continued): • When asked their reasons for not hiring more women, senior managers’ main reason (regardless of firm size), was that the security situation (54%) difficulties travelling to work (43%), higher absentee rates (46%), more expensive benefits (41%) and regulatory impediments (36%) • In all cases (except the security situation) these impediments are greater for small and medium sized businesses vis-à-vis large businesses

16. World Bank • Understanding of gender issues in Iraq impeded by lack of information and understanding of legal, cultural and social factors impacting on female participation • The legal and regulatory system provides a basis for increased female participation • Cultural and historical factors are also important • Security situation significantly and adversely impacts on female participation • While there are identifiable impediments to participation of women, a broader key impediment is lack of private sector development in Iraq and jobs • Strengthening the role of the private sector will result in greater opportunities for women in Iraq Key conclusions.....

17. World Bank • Participation in the labour force is not solely a function of laws and regulations • Participation also affected by historical, cultural, religious and security factors • Given that security is the most important impediment in Iraq – what implications does this have for other countries experiencing conflict (Libya, Syria, and others???) – will there be a significant drop in female participation in the private sector in these countries? • If so, what is the most appropriate response from international partners in fragile and post conflict countries – should we focus on laws and regulations first, or might other interventions be more effective (eg. helping women network and access information, including via IT and communication solutions etc?) Some key issues for discussion.....

18. World Bank Thank you Questions, comments and discussion.....