The Jordanian Economic Forum issued a paper titled “Jordanian Women and Equal Opportunities: Jordan’s Performance in the Gender Gap Index 2025”, aiming to support the national development process and enhance Jordan’s position in international indicators on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
اضافة اعلان
The forum emphasized in a press statement that narrowing the gender gap is not only a rights-based necessity but also a key developmental and economic lever that contributes to improving national economic efficiency and productivity.
According to the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index, the global gap closure rate reached 68.8%, while Jordan recorded 65.5%, ranking third in the Arab world after the UAE (72.4%) and Bahrain (68.4%). The forum highlighted that over the past decade, Jordan has demonstrated a tangible commitment to closing the gender gap through women’s empowerment strategies and incorporating gender equality goals into the Economic Modernization Vision and sustainable development programs.
The Ministry of Social Development’s strategic plan for 2022–2026 aims to raise women’s developmental participation to 27% by 2025 and integrate gender considerations into institutional policies and social protection programs.
The forum noted a gradual improvement in Jordan’s gender gap index, from 0.593 in 2014 to 0.655 in 2025, reflecting higher female enrollment in higher education and expanded participation in the education and health sectors. However, economic participation and political empowerment remain major challenges: women’s labor force participation in Jordan is among the lowest regionally, and political representation remains limited despite legislative improvements, including quotas.
Legislative reforms, such as the 2021 Local Administration Law, increased female representation in local and regional councils from 10% to 25%, and the 2022 Political Parties Law mandates that women constitute at least 20% of founding members of any political party. These reforms have contributed to increasing women’s participation in political structures, with women’s participation in Jordanian political parties reaching around 44% in 2025.
Despite these advances, social and economic realities slow progress. The forum called for continued reforms in the business environment, expanding social protection, and promoting women’s entrepreneurship to accelerate closing the gender gap.
Regarding sub-indices over the past decade:
Educational attainment: increased from 0.97 in 2014 to 0.99 in 2025, reflecting women’s academic success.
Health: rose from 0.94 in 2014 to 0.956 in 2025, showing improved healthcare services and gender equity in health opportunities.
Economic participation and opportunities: ranged between 0.50–0.55, stabilizing at 0.552 in 2025, indicating limited absorption of educated women into the economy.
Political empowerment: improved slightly from 0.07 in 2014 to 0.12 in 2025.
The forum highlighted that economic and political participation are crucial for social justice and governance quality. Persistent gender gaps in Jordan stem mainly from low economic and political participation, the “male breadwinner” model, and structural barriers such as weak public transport, limited private sector diversity, cultural obstacles, and wage gaps of 17–21%.
The forum emphasized that educational gains have not fully translated into employment due to weak government hiring and limited private sector capacity. Legislative reforms, including the 2019 amendments to the Labor Law, established pay equality, prohibited workplace discrimination, and required workplace nurseries to facilitate balancing family and work life.
Initiatives such as the 2015 Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment and the Economic Modernization Vision 2022–2033 have focused on supporting women’s entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and participation in future sectors like technology and renewable energy. Civil society and the private sector also play a complementary role, particularly in rural areas.
Key structural challenges remain: female labor force participation was only 14.9% in 2024. Weak implementation of Labor Law Article 72 on nurseries, social biases, limited flexible work, sectoral concentration, and private sector wage gaps all hinder women’s economic participation.
The forum recommended actionable policies, including:
Enforcing Article 72 with tax incentives for compliant institutions.
Expanding nursery support programs through public-private partnerships.
Establishing flexible work arrangements with social protections.
Improving safe and affordable public transport.
Launching training programs for women in growth sectors (technology, energy).
Linking private sector incentives to female employment levels.
Measuring and publishing the gender wage gap annually.
Enhancing gender-sensitive labor inspections and training inspectors.
Increasing women’s representation in elected councils and economic bodies to at least 30%.
Promoting female leadership in parties, unions, and local councils.
Integrating gender perspectives into public policies and budgets.
Establishing a national observatory for gender equality to monitor indicators and assess their impact on human development.
Reviewing gender-related laws and integrating equality concepts into curricula.
Launching awareness campaigns to challenge stereotypes.
The forum concluded that empowering Jordanian women is not only a matter of justice but an economic and strategic choice that enhances productivity and increases the national economy’s competitiveness.
