Women, work, and economic restructuring: A regional overview

I examine patterns, problems, and prospects of women's employment in MENA, where the regional political economy is changing in the context of the pressures of globalization. The research indicates that a trend in all countries is an increase in the supply of job-seeking women, and a “feminization” of government employment. It is likely that the opening up of economies may subvert some patriarchal aspects of gender relations by increasing women's economic participation in the long run, but the social terms on which this is done are highly problematic in the short run.