EU, BDC, Tamkeen launch campaign to promote women’s economic participation

AMMAN — EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI), Business Development Centre (BDC) and Tamkeen for legal aid and human rights have jointly launched a media campaign titled “Your business, wherever it is, should be regulated”, under the patronage of Senator Maysoon Otoom. 

The campaign is part of the “Towards Stronger Economic Participation of Women in Jordan” programme, which is funded by the European Union. The campaign aims to address the needs and concerns of women working in the informal economy, highlight the specific challenges they face, and advocate for gender sensitive approaches to formalise their work.

The campaign is in line with the Government’s Women Economic Strategy for the Economic Modernisation Vision (2022), which highlights that women constitute the largest percentage of workers in the informal economy in Jordan. The executive summary of the Strategy indicated that 48 per cent of Jordan’s total workforce operates informally, and that women make up 56.8 per cent of it.

The official launch featured a panel discussion led by experts who commented on existing employment procedures, proposed financial incentives and tax exemptions, revision of the social protection system, as well as development and implementation of gender sensitive policies. 

Furthermore, they emphasised the need of a national frame to formalise the informal economy, enhancing accountability and compliance of both the private and public sectors with labour laws, strengthening the coordination and networking among the various actors on local and national levels, and conducting research and studies to further understand and analyse the extent of the informal economy and women’s status in it.

Experts also provided recommendations that emphasised the necessity of fostering coordination between public and private sectors, as well as civil society institutions, raising awareness about the challenges faced by women working in the informal sector, and benefits of formalising the informal sector for women, and for the whole society.  

The EFI with the consortium BDC, Tamkeen and the strategic partner SADAQA, is committed to work with relevant national institutions in Jordan to promote a social, cultural and professional supportive environment for women’s work. In addition, the organisations are working to equip women with specialised skills and provide them with employment opportunities.