ANALYSIS: You Say You Want a Revolution

The organic revolution that ousted the Tunisian president last week is unlikely to spread through the Arab world anytime soon. But Arab leaders have surely learned a good lesson. Never again will they underestimate the power of poverty. Unfortunately, they may continue ignoring the main force that is so essential for developing their countries' economies: Women.

Ask the average regional economic expert about the importance of women and they are likely to agree with the United Nations' mantra that no country can move forward without empowering its women. They concede the positive correlation, reinforced by so many international studies, between economic development and supporting women in the workplace. They even believe that investing in women's education is no longer a topic for discussion, but an unwavering commitment as necessary as infrastructure and water.

Too often, however, policymakers commit only to the rhetoric, and fall short of incorporating women into the economy. During one economic conference I attended recently in Syria, a Western educated local expert captured the overriding mentality about women and jobs. He said while it is important to encourage women to join the workplace, it is “difficult to do so when so many men do not have jobs.” His underlying belief is not uncommon.

It is difficult to propel a country's economy forward so long as its women are underrepresented in the workforce, consistently underemployed and underpaid. In Syria, for example, less than one in five women works outside the home, according to official statistics, and that is typical for the region. Moreover, women tend to favour public sector jobs for the short hours and relative job security.

As countries like Syria move toward a laissez-faire economy, they must also make the private sector more appealing to women. Many companies unabashedly pay women less, sometimes by half, for the same job. And culturally there is little outrage over this disparity. The thinking goes something like this:
“A woman is not responsible for feeding her family. Her income is for her personal use only. Not for her children, not the household, not her parents, siblings or husband. Whereas a man is legally responsible for the keep of his wife, daughter, sister or mother. So yes, it makes perfect sense for companies to pay her less”.

But this thinking is clearly flawed. Although Islamic family law does require a man to be financially responsible for his female relatives, many women end up fending for themselves nonetheless, unable or too ashamed to take their male relatives to court for financial support.

Furthermore, this wage disparity ends up being a double edged sword. When I travel in Syria I often hear young men, including my own cousins, complaining that many jobs go to their female friends, because “the company can pay them less.”
It is also still acceptable to post help wanted advertisements that ask for an “attractive and unmarried young woman” to fill an administrative role in a private company. Laws that define and prosecute sexual harassment in the workplace are not yet reliable, if they exist at all.

In the oil rich Gulf countries, perhaps the biggest obstacle of all is a strong culture that discourages women from working outside the home unless the work conditions are deemed “suitable” by patriarchal standards. Such is the case in the UAE. Ironically, the Emirati government is one of the most committed to bringing women into the workforce, mainly because Emiratis are a minority in their own country, and policymakers know that women are integral to their country's development. But although Emirati women outnumber men in college, in some departments by as much as 70 percent, they remain underrepresented in the workplace.

The main reason for women's underrepresentation is an overprotective, patriarchal culture that discourages female independence. According to one recent study at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, Emirati women shun jobs that might require them to relocate to another town, even if that town is only a one hour drive away.

Cultural norms might vary from country to country, but the patriarchy still rules, even in a country like Lebanon, that fancies itself as the most liberal in the Arab world. A recent report in al Hayat, a leading regional newspaper, surveyed Lebanese men and women who see themselves as progressive. The working women had varying viewpoints on their role within the family, with some saying they would expect their husband and children to move abroad with them if their jobs so demanded. But the men seemed to have one answer to that: “No way!” Only the man's job would merit such a move, they claimed.

Holding women back from achieving their potential in the work place has another unintended ramification. Increasingly throughout the Arab world young people are having trouble getting married. This is mainly because a young man is expected to have a house, a car and a regular paycheck before he can ask for a bride's hand in marriage – not to mention a dowry in gold or cash that he must pay the bride. With official (and conservative) unemployment rates hovering near 10 percent in many Arab countries, only the rich seem able to marry.

The revolution in Tunisia was ignited by the plight of one unemployed and unmarried young man. While these events are unlikely to spread to other Arab countries, perhaps a different sort of radical change is overdue in the Arab world. Perhaps it is time for an Arab cultural revolution.