INJAZ, Canada launch three-year programme to boost female participation in labour market

AMMAN — Youth development NGO INJAZ and the Canadian embassy in Amman on Sunday inaugurated the Launching Economic Achievement Programme for Women in Jordan, an initiative aimed at identifying and addressing the challenges faced by women in the labour market across the Kingdom. 

Launched in collaboration with the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and the Ryerson University in Canada, the project seeks to enhance the role of women in the economic development process while promoting a culture of gender equality in various fields. 

“Although Jordan is facing several economic challenges such as the scarce natural resources and the regional instability, we shall remember that the real wealth of a nation lies in its human capital,” INJAZ CEO Deema Bibi said during the ceremony, stressing “when youth and women are empowered and the environment allows for innovation, none of the aforementioned challenges can stop the economic advancement of our country”.

“Because of this, we should focus on fixing other issues present on the ground and find solutions to problems such as unemployment, low female participation in the Jordanian labour market and the minimal percentage of female entrepreneurs,” she added. 

“There are only a few countries in this world as generous and resilient as Jordan,” Canadian Ambassador Peter MacDougall said, expressing pride in "supporting this project not only because of its focus on women, but because of the ways in which it fosters innovation and entrepreneurship”.

The three-year project will target schools, universities, colleges and youth centres to enable women to establish their own projects and enhance their opportunities in the local labour market. 

The first pillar of the initiative will supports the development of a series of programmes for the achievement of entrepreneurship at schools and universities through the integration of the concept of gender in their curricula, establishing a joint cooperation between Jordanian and Canadian universities aimed at using the Canadian experience to improve the role of women in the entrepreneurial environment. 

Assistant vice president at the Ryerson University thanked all partners for “making this project a reality and creating a space for women entrepreneurs in Jordan”.

As a second pillar, the project will support INJAZ in the launching of a business incubator providing training spaces, meeting rooms and private service offices for the benefit of female entrepreneurs. 

The incubator is designed to be a “supportive, stimulating and innovative environment that caters to the basic needs of those who wish to establish their entrepreneurial ventures”, according to INJAZ. 

Vice president of international partnerships at CBIE Basil Alashi highlighted the importance of “unleashing the potential of women in the economy”, adding that “together, we can change the culture and practices in the Jordanian private sector, and hopefully motivate other countries to follow”.

The third pillar of the initiative will entail the launch of a nationwide campaign calling on citizens to support the role of women in the labour market through seminars held in cooperation with several civil society organisations to analyse the reality of working women in Jordan.