The Determinants Of Female Labour Force Participation In The West Bank And Gaza Strip

Author : Ruwa' Altalhami
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (15 download)

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Download or read book Challenges Facing Palestinian Women's Participation in Labor Force and The Opportunities that Rise written by Ruwa' Altalhami and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My research emphasizes the situation of women in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in light of the ongoing conflict over the land and the deteriorated economic and financial conditions. In the recent years, the subject women in labor has generated a special interest among researchers and academics. This is due to importance of their participation and existing obstacles to it. Despite the high rate of education among Palestinian women and the existing initiatives by NGOs, their participation rate in the labor market remains among the lowest in the world and compared to men (Al-Botmeh, 2015). The main challenges facing their participation include political, economic, social and cultural factors. This research sheds light on these challenges and the existing gaps in certain methods used to engage women in the labor market. It digs deeper into the limitations of instrumentalist approaches to development, in addition to the importance of adopting transformative approaches that consider effects of gender roles, relations and norms in the process of womens development. Research Design: The research aims at answering the following questions: Main Question: What are the main reasons behind the low participation rate of Palestinian women in labor force and how could this issue be addressed? Sub Questions: 1. What are the political, economic, social and cultural obstacles hindering Palestinian womens participation in the labor force? 2. What are the limitations of using instrumentalist approaches to development for the purpose of increasing Palestinian womens participation in the labor force? 3. Why is it important to adopt transformative approaches in the process of Palestinian womens development? Methodology The research focuses on the case of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and targets the areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem excluding Gaza Strip. The sampling method is purposive, in addition to having a convenient sample within the purposeful group. Primary data: Primary data include online questionnaires and unstructured interviews. For the purposeful group, the questionnaires target males and females who received vocational trainings by Palestinian organizations or centers. For the convenient group, questionnaires were distributed to a list of other people that provided their opinions regarding issues discussed in this research. In total, 150 online questionnaires were distributed among males and females and 138 (97 females, 41 males) responses were received. Moreover, as part of the purposive sampling, four unstructured interviews were conducted with Palestinian civil society and women organizations that advocate for womens rights and provide vocational and capacity-building trainings. The interviews focused on the challenges women face regarding participation in labor force, in addition to questions related to the vocational trainings offered by these NGOs. The interviews were conducted with four organizations, two from East Jerusalem and two others from the West Bank. Secondary data: Secondary data is derived from previous research including books, articles, surveys and reports regarding all aspects of the topic. The data are provided from international cases and Palestinian ones as well. The provided statistics are also derived from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and other Palestinian centers and organizations that offer national statistics and reports regarding the discussed issues. Conclusions This research aims at analyzing factors behind the low participation rate of Palestinian women in labor force by digging deeper into social relations and cultural ideologies and practices. The presented research, surveys and justifications show gaps in certain instrumentalist approaches applied for empowering women and engaging them in the labor market. Previous research and results of this one reveal that some of these approaches are concerned with the political context and economic matters hindering womens participation while ignoring the effect of households, community and market on womens conditions within the Palestinian context. The analysis provided paves the way for future reforms that include the adoption of new approaches that lead to transformative change in the lives of women and more gender equality on the ground. Such transformative models tackle womens subordination by challenging gender norms rooted in the society and unleash the potentials of women. Recommendations The research suggests reformation of development policies and strategies including those concerning VET to respond to strategic gender needs of both men and women. Moving towards transformative approaches is recommended for addressing gender issues related to the low participation of women in their societies. Its crucial that all relevant stakeholders realize their roles in achieving that. A collaboration between the Palestinian authority, civil society organizations and international NGOs is needed. The Palestinian Authority has the power to reform existing laws and include gender education and knowledge in the education curriculums. This facilitates the discussion and tackling of related issues by the society and breaks the perception of perceiving gender topics as a taboo. International NGOs play a role in building the capacities of local ones regarding gender concepts. This promotes the adoption of gender-frameworks and inclusion of gender-sensitive strategies in the planning and implementation of development strategies by Palestinian organizations.