Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Glossary of Terms -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Overview -- The Gender Paradox -- The Costs of Low Participation of Women in the Economy and the Political Sphere Are High ... -- ... But the Benefits of Enhanced Participation of Women Are Positive -- Factors That Have Empowered Women in Other Parts of the World Have Been Less Effective in MENA -- Achievements in Women's Education and Health ... -- ... Are Not Matched by Gains in Women's Participation in the Labor Force -- What Has Slowed Women's Entry into the Labor Force? -- Even If Demand Factors Play a Role ... -- ... Standard Labor Market Discrimination Does Not Explain Low Participation ... -- ... But the Combination of Social and Economic Factors Does -- A New Agenda about Gender -- What Needs to Be Done ... -- ... And Who Needs to Do It -- 1. Why Does Gender Inequality Matter in MENA? -- A Historical Perspective on Gender Equality in MENA -- Outline of the Report -- Notes -- 2. Closing the Gender Gap in Education and Health -- Increasing the Achievements in Women's Education -- Dramatic Increase in Years of Schooling and Literacy -- Progress in Reducing Gender Gaps in School Enrollment -- Completion Rates That Reflect Continued Discouragement for Girls -- Educating Women for Empowerment -- Greater Emphasis Needed to Create Demand for Schooling -- Enrollment of Girls from Remote and Poor Families -- Making Progress in Health and Fertility -- Life Expectancy That Has Increased -- Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates That Have Fallen -- Fertility That Has Fallen Dramatically -- Challenging the Health Sector: Social Health and Second-Generation Issues -- Reduction in Early Pregnancies -- Increase in Reproductive Health Knowledge -- Improvement in Women's Access to Health Services -- Notes -- 3. Women in the Economy.

Women's Participation in Economic Activity Has Increased at an Accelerating Rate ... -- ... But Participation of Women in the Labor Force Remains Low -- Economic Impact of Low Participation by Women in the Labor Force -- The Burden of High Economic Dependency -- Forgone Return on Investments in Girls' Education -- High Costs for Households Headed by Women -- The Costs of Low Female Participation Compared with Family and National Income -- Unemployment and Female Participation in the Labor Force -- Women Face Higher Unemployment than Men Do ... -- ... But Higher Female Labor Force Participation Is Not Associated with Higher Unemployment -- Mixed Effect on Female Employment from Old Patterns of Growth -- Women Have Tended to Work More in the Public Sector -- Women and Men Are in Informal and Unregulated Categories of Work -- Women Remain in Agriculture Longer than Men Do -- The Challenge of Inclusion in the Private Sector -- Appendix: Labor Force Participation Rates That Very with the Data Source -- Notes -- 4. Constraints on Women's Work -- The Traditional Gender Paradigm in MENA -- Key Elements of the Traditional Gender Paradigm -- Traditional Norms That Affect Labor Market Behavior -- Discrimination in Wages, Benefits, and Job Segregation -- Gender Gaps in Wages -- Family Benefits and Other Nonwage Compensation That Favor Men -- Gender-Based Job Segregation That Reduces Economic Efficiency -- Restrictions on Women's Flexibility as Workers -- Constraints on Women Originating from the "Code of Modesty" -- Other Factors Limiting Women's Work -- Combining Work and Family Responsibilities -- Government-Mandated Maternity Leave Policies -- Support for Working Mothers -- Notes -- 5. The Gender Policy Agenda to Meet Demographic and Economic Needs -- A Definition of the Agenda for Change -- Harmonizing Legal Structures.

Building an Infrastructure to Support Women and the Family -- Providing Skills for the Labor Market -- Reforming Labor Market Policies -- A Rallying Agent for Change -- Inclusion: More Participation by Women in Political Life -- Accountability: State Leadership Still Matters Greatly -- Notes -- Appendix: Legal and Statistical Background -- Bibliography -- Index -- Boxes -- 2.1 Educating Girls Means Smaller, Healthier Families -- 2.2 Approaches to Literacy Training for Women: Examples from the Republic of Yemen and the Islamic Republic of Iran -- 2.3 Raising Girls' Primary Enrollment in Egypt: Working on the Supply and Demand Sides -- 2.4 Typical Socialization of Boys and Girls -- 2.5 Two Awareness Campaigns in Jordan -- 2.6 Effects of Gender Discrimination That Begin Early in Life -- 2.7 Successful Family Planning Programs in Tunisia and the Islamic Republic of Iran -- 2.8 Falling Fertility in Oman and the Republic of Yemen-A Tale of Two Countries -- 2.9 Disadvantages of Early Marriage -- 2.10 HIV/AIDS -- 3.1 Definitions and Available Data Affect How We View Female Participation in the Labor Force -- 3.2 Explaining Changes in Female Participation in the Labor Force in MENA -- 3.3 Effects of Women's Earnings on Expenditure Patterns -- 4.1 A Typical Dilemma -- 4.2 Clashes between Public and Private Empowerment -- 4.3 Trends in Egyptian Wage Differentials -- 4.4 Female Income Earners as Main Providers of the Household:Gender-Related Cases in the United States -- 4.5 Garment Workers in Morocco: Daughters but Not Wives -- 4.6 Night Taxis in the Islamic Republic of Iran -- 4.7 Protection of Women's Safety -- 4.8 Gender Distinctions That Hinder Business Development -- 4.9 Models for Funding Maternity Benefits -- 4.10 Mothers in Germany: Briefcase or Baby Carriage? -- 4.11 Jobs, Jobs, and More Jobs ... from Dutch Disease to the Dutch Miracle.

5.1 Women in Politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran -- 5.2 Women in the Judiciary -- 5.3 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women -- Figures -- O.1 Progress in Empowering Women in MENA and Other Developing Regions, 2000 -- O.2 Ratio of Nonworking to Working People in MENA and Other Developing Regions, 2000 -- O.3 Male and Female Labor Force Participation, by Region, 2000 -- O.4 Female Labor Force Participation and Unemployment in MENA and OECD Countries, 2000 -- O.5 Female Labor Force Participation Rates, by Age and Region, 2000 -- O.6 Policy Framework for a Comprehensive Gender Policy in Support of MENA's New Development Model -- 2.1 Progress in Female and Male Education and Life Expectancy in the MENA Region, 1970-2000 -- 2.2 Average Years of Schooling for Women in MENA Countries, 1960 and 1999 -- 2.3 Rising Female and Male Literacy Rates in the MENA Region, 1970-2000 -- 2.4 Declining Gender Gap in Primary Gross Enrollment in MENA Countries and World Regions, 1980-2000 -- 2.5 Declining Gender Gap in Secondary Gross Enrollment in MENA Countries and World Regions, 1980-2000 -- 2.6 Gender Gaps in Tertiary Gross Enrollment in MENA Countries, 2000 -- 2.7 Primary School Completion Rates in MENA Countries, 2000 -- 2.8 Secondary School Completion Rates in MENA Countries, 1990 and 2000 -- 2.9 Tertiary Completion Rates in MENA Countries, 1990 and 2000 -- 2.10 Rising Gender Gap in Completion Rates from Primary to Tertiary Education in MENA Countries, 2000 -- 2.11 Gaps between Female and Male Life Expectancy at Birth in MENA Countries Compared with Middle-Income Average, 1970 and 20 -- 2.12 Infant Mortality per 1,000 Live Births in MENA Countries, 1980 and 2001 -- 2.13 Decline in Total Fertility Rates in MENA Countries, 1980 and 2002 -- 2.14 Contraceptive Prevalence in MENA Countries, 2003 or Most Recent Year.

3.1 Actual and Projected Growth in Female Participation in the Labor Force in MENA, 1950-2010 -- 3.2 Male and Female Participation in the Labor Force in World Regions, 2000 or Latest Year Available -- 3.3 Ratio of Actual to Predicted Female Participation in the Labor Force in MENA and Selected Countries and Regions, 1980 and -- 3.4 Variations in Female Rates of Labor Force Participation in Country Groups within MENA, 2000 -- 3.5 Ratio of Nonworking to Working People in Developing Regions, 2003 -- 3.6 Female Education and Labor Force Participation in MENA and EAP, 1970-2000 -- 3.7 Sources of Income for Female- and Male-Headed Households in MENA Countries, Various Years -- 3.8 Potential Increases in Average Household Income If ... -- 3.9 Male and Female Unemployment Rates in MENA Countries and World Regions, Most Recent Year -- 3.10 Female Unemployment Rates by Educational Level in MENA Countries, Various Years -- 3.11 Female Labor Force Participation and Unemployment in MENA and OECD Countries, 2000 -- 3.12 Female Employment in the Public Sector in MENA Countries, Various Years -- 3.13 Public Sector Employment as a Percentage of Women's and Men's Jobs, Various Years -- 3.14 Informal Employment as a Percentage of Total Nonagricultural Employment, 1994-2000 -- 3.15 Informal Sector Work as a Percentage of Labor Force Participation in MENA Countries, Various Years -- 3.16 Women Are Not Leaving Agriculture as Quickly as Are Men in MENA Countries, 1970-2000 -- 3.17 Paid Private Sector Employment as a Percentage of the Labor Force, Men and Women in MENA Countries, Various Years -- 3A.1 Labor Force Participation Rates, by Data Source -- 4.1 Age-Specific Female Participation Rates in MENA and World Regions, 2000 -- 4.2 Participation Rates for Married and Unmarried Women in MENA Countries, 1990s.

5.1 Policy Framework for a Comprehensive Gender Policy in Support of MENA's New Development Model.