Abstract

The idea of women's economic empowerment in the developing world has been growing in momentum throughout the past decades. Today, it is a force that is dramatically redefining the concept of economic development and transforming the economic and political landscape of the Middle East. Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are finding innovative ways to participate in the labor market. As a result, they are becoming agents of change in their political, economic, and social environments. However, despite the tremendous amount of growth that has realized throughout the years, women in MENA face significant hurdles to realize their potential. This study will highlight the social, political, and economic developments that have taken place within the last decade, and describe how they have improved, or worsened economic conditions for women in the region. It will also describe the issues associated with previous developments, and their missing dimensions. The analysis will provide case studies to compare levels of women's empowerment in Jordan and Palestine. The concept of women's economic empowerment will be analyzed through a multidisciplinary lens in which factors such as religion, ideology, culture, politics, and economics are merged to understand the foundation of the problems facing women in MENA. The study will emphasize the importance of a sociocultural base in the analysis of women's labor force participation rates. These factors will also be analyzed from various levels of analysis: individual, state, and global.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2014

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Sadri, Houman A.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Political Science

Degree Program

International and Global Studies

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004683

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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