Jordan Leads in Reforms Supporting Women's Economic Participation: World Bank

Alanbatnews -

Jordan has emerged as one of the leading countries globally in implementing reforms that support women's economic participation, according to a recent World Bank report.

The report, titled "Women, Business and the Law 2026," highlights Jordan's progress in enacting legislation and policies that promote women's rights in the economic sphere.

The World Bank indicated that Jordan surpasses the global average in indicators measuring the framework supporting women’s economic rights.

Specifically, Jordan achieved a perfect score in the area of pay equity following legislative reforms, the World Bank noted.

Furthermore, the report emphasized that Jordan has maintained a score of 100 in entrepreneurship and women's access to business.

Proposed extensions to maternity leave to 90 days and prohibitions against dismissal during pregnancy are expected to further enhance protections for female workers in Jordan, according to the World Bank.

The report, which compared 190 countries, showed that Jordan scored 52.50 in the legal framework index, 68.55 in the supportive framework index, and 40.22 in the perceptions of enforcement index.

While Jordan exceeded the global average in supportive frameworks, it remained below the global average in both the legal framework and perceptions of enforcement, indicating a gap between written laws and their practical application.

Reforms implemented by Jordan in recent years have been pivotal to this progress, particularly in the area of wages, where Jordan's score rose to 100 in 2024 after amendments promoting equality and non-discrimination.

Jordan's score in the workplace environment also increased following the prohibition of gender-based discrimination, the elimination of restrictions on women's work, and the institutionalization of flexible work arrangements.

The introduction of a clear definition and criminalization of sexual harassment in the workplace was also noted, although the score in this area remains at 0.

Proposed amendments to the labor law, including extending maternity leave and prohibiting termination during pregnancy, are expected to further enhance protections, though the score in this area remains at 40.

Legislative requirements mandating employers to provide childcare facilities or alternatives are also being introduced.

This progress has been supported by the World Bank's Mashreq Gender Facility, which promotes childcare, strengthens the legislative and workplace environment, enhances women's economic opportunities, and implements gender-sensitive strategies.

Despite these advancements, Jordan still has one of the lowest rates of female participation in the workforce among non-conflict countries, at 14% over the past two decades.

However, reforms since 2020 have raised Jordan's score from 40.6 to 59.4, surpassing the regional average for the Middle East and North Africa and approaching the global average, though a gender equality gap persists.

The World Bank’s Mashreq Gender Facility is a multi-donor trust fund supporting various activities, including childcare support, legislative and workplace environment improvements, increased access to economic opportunities for women, and implementation of gender-sensitive strategies.

The World Bank report methodology now includes policies and institutional frameworks, along with an assessment of the practical application of laws.

The analytical framework is based on three pillars: the legal framework, supportive frameworks, and perceptions of enforcement.

During the report launch, the Minister of Social Development and Chair of the Ministerial Committee for Women's Empowerment, Wafa Bani Mustafa, stated that Jordan has made significant progress in the Women, Business and the Law index, driven by legislative reforms.

Bani Mustafa emphasized that improving Jordan's ranking in the report is a priority of the Economic Modernization Vision, supported by continuous legislative reforms.

Key achievements include constitutional amendments ensuring women's empowerment and protection from violence and discrimination, as well as labor laws supporting childcare and prohibiting wage discrimination.