Today, the European Commission launched a new initiative to boost women’s employment across the Middle East and North Africa. The Surging Women’s Employment Initiative, a flagship initiative under the Pact for the Mediterranean, will mobilise €25 million, including a €10 million contribution from the EU, to help create 500,000 additional jobs for women. This initiative aims to contribute to increasing women’s employment in the region by 5% by 2030.
The initiative was unveiled by Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica during an event with UN Women in the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York. The Commissioner said: “Women’s economic empowerment is not only about equality – it is about unlocking talent, driving growth and creating more prosperous societies across the Mediterranean. Through the Pact for the Mediterranean, we are turning this ambition into action. This initiative aims to help create 500,000 jobs for women and increase women’s employment by 5% by 2030, investing in skills, entrepreneurship and opportunities.”
Women’s participation in the labour market in the Middle East and North Africa has remained at around 20% on average for more than two decades. Narrowing the employment gap between women and men could increase regional GDP by as much as 60%, while boosting productivity, innovation and economic resilience.
Through the Surging Women’s Employment Initiative, the EU will work with UN Women and other partners to expand economic opportunities for women, focusing on skills, entrepreneurship and job creation. The initiative will support reforms for private sector-led growth, engage businesses to expand women’s employment and develop new employment opportunities in sectors with strong potential, including the care, green, science and technology sectors.
This is one of the many projects under the Pact for the Mediterranean, the Commission’s plan putting investment in people, skills and economic opportunities at the heart of stronger relations between the EU and its Mediterranean partners.
The Surging Women’s Employment Initiative builds on growing efforts to strengthen women’s economic participation across the region. More than 900 companies have signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles, while UN Women and partners have contributed to reforms of 20 laws in Arab States supporting women’s economic participation.
Equality and women’s empowerment are cross-cutting priorities under the Pact for the Mediterranean and an integral part of the EU’s external action in the Middle East and North Africa.
(For more information: Guillaume Mercier – Tel.: +32 2 298 05 64; Luca Dilda – Tel.: +32 2 295 21 53)
