The Future of Women's Participation in the Arab Labor Market: Partial Econometric Analysis of the Case of North African Countries

This paper seeks to study the individual and family determinants of women's participation in the labor market in North Africa (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco). A logistical model was used, based on individual data drawn from a field survey conducted by the Arab Forum for Alternatives within the framework of "SAHWA" project. The results showed that involvement in the institution of marriage, advancing age, taking care of the family in the absence of the father, and high educational level, all reduce the possibility of women's participation in the Arab labor market. Then, the positive family influences were highlighted as an incentive for women to integrate professionally. The study concluded that improving women's future participation in the labor market in North African countries, and in the Arab region in general, cannot be reduced to integrating the gender approach into public policies and related programs, but is closely related to the extent of the development of informal institutions.

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This paper seeks to study the individual and family determinants of women's participation in the labor market in North Africa (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco). A logistical model was used, based on individual data drawn from a field survey conducted by the Arab Forum for Alternatives within the framework of "SAHWA" project. The results showed that involvement in the institution of marriage, advancing age, taking care of the family in the absence of the father, and high educational level, all reduce the possibility of women's participation in the Arab labor market. Then, the positive family influences were highlighted as an incentive for women to integrate professionally. The study concluded that improving women's future participation in the labor market in North African countries, and in the Arab region in general, cannot be reduced to integrating the gender approach into public policies and related programs, but is closely related to the extent of the development of informal institutions.

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