The role of women in the democratisation process and governance changes in North Africa and the Middle East societies is the subject of a conference held by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on 20 June. The ETF was invited to present the findings of its recent study on women and work.

‘Women played a crucial role in the revolution in Tunisia and Egypt,’ said Outi Kärkkäinen, ETF expert and one of the speakers at the conference. ‘Now it needs to be ensured that they equally benefit from the changes. Democratisation process must benefit the whole population in the countries in question and a half of the population are women.’

The ETF’s research shows that women are more and more educated, but they still face obstacles when they seek work or make careers. The study carried out by the ETF on women’s education and employment chances in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, provided some answers what could be done to improve women's status in the region.

The study proposed a number of recommendations. They include communication campaigns to improve the image of working women, facilitating women’s transition from school to work through work placements, gender-sensitive career guidance, enforcement of equality laws, and financial support to private businesses. Finally, the ETF recommends that donors of international assistance take into account gender issues while designing and carrying out their interventions.

‘Governments have invested substantially in facilitating girls’ and women’s access to education in recent years, but if something is not done to facilitate their access to work, this investment will be wasted’, said Ms Kärkkäinen. ‘A significant proportion of nations’ wealth is being underused and human resources wasted.’