Jordan Builds Unified National System to Build Women’s Employment Plans

Women’s economic participation in Jordan stood at 14.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2025, compared with 51.2 per cent for men, according to ILO data presented at the workshop.

Jordan is preparing a unified national mechanism to track women's participation in the labour market, bringing scattered programmes, government bodies, and development partners into a shared system built on reliable data, clear responsibilities, and measurable results. Led by the Ministry of Labour with technical support from the International Labour Organization and cooperation from GIZ, the process reflects a growing recognition that individual projects cannot close the country's wide gender gap in employment without stronger coordination and accountability.

A national workshop in Amman brought together representatives from ministries, public institutions, international organizations and partner agencies to discuss how the mechanism should operate. The meeting followed months of consultations that identified programmes run by more than 30 national institutions across employment, skills training, social protection, transportation, childcare, legislation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation.

A major employment gap demands coordinated action

Women's economic participation in Jordan stood at 14.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2025, compared with 51.2 per cent for men, according to ILO data presented at the workshop. The scale of this difference shows why increasing women's employment is not only connected to equality, but also to household income, business growth, job creation and Jordan's ability to make full use of the skills available across its population.

Ibrahim Al-Saket, Assistant Secretary-General for Operations and Logistical Support at the Ministry of Labour, said institutions need to connect their initiatives with specific national outcomes while paying greater attention to job quality, women's access to opportunities, labour rights documentation and grievance systems. Reem Aslan, Manager of the ILO's Decent Work for Women Programme in Jordan, described women's employment as an economic necessity tied directly to national growth and improved living standards.

Jordan's Economic Modernisation Vision calls for women's economic participation to at least double while more than one million young women and men enter the labour market. Reaching that target will require policies that help women secure jobs and remain employed, especially when difficulties involving transport, childcare, working conditions, discrimination, social protection and limited access to suitable opportunities can push them out of the workforce.

Many programmes exist, yet their impact remains difficult to measure

An analysis led by the Ministry of Labour examined activities included in women's economic empowerment plans submitted by participating institutions. Only 15 per cent of the initiatives reviewed were found to have a direct effect on increasing women's labour force participation, with those interventions falling into three broad areas: direct employment, capacity building and support that helps women remain in work.

Asma Al-Nassan, Acting Director of the Women's Work Directorate, said this assessment can help institutions focus their resources on programmes closely connected to the national participation indicator. A clearer picture of what each organization is doing could reduce duplicated work, reveal neglected needs and show whether women are receiving lasting employment benefits rather than short-term assistance that is difficult to track.

The proposed national team would give ministries and partner institutions a permanent space for exchanging information, monitoring programmes and comparing results. Draft terms of reference presented by ILO officer Duaa Ajarmeh set out the responsibilities of member institutions and focal points, along with procedures for cooperation, follow-up and data sharing. This structure could turn occasional coordination into a more stable working arrangement where responsibilities are understood and progress can be checked.

Shared statistics will guide policies and future investment

Creating a common statistical foundation was a central part of the workshop because institutions cannot measure progress consistently when they use different concepts, definitions or data systems. Grace Eid, an ILO statistics specialist, explained international methods for calculating labour force participation and related indicators, while Amani Joudeh from Jordan's Department of Statistics outlined the national framework used to measure participation, employment and unemployment.

Participants also examined how programmes should be linked to national indicators so that funding and policy attention can be directed toward interventions producing stronger results. Working groups discussed data-exchange arrangements, the responsibilities of institutional focal points, cooperation among partners and priorities for a joint action plan covering the next phase.

The recommendations call for a stronger institutional framework, clearly assigned duties, regular information exchange and joint methods for measuring performance and impact. They also identify the barriers requiring sustained attention, including decent job availability, skills, transportation, childcare and early childhood services, workplace conditions, legislation, entrepreneurship, social protection and employment opportunities for women with disabilities.

The workshop was held under the ILO's Equality@Work project, supported by the Government of Norway. If the proposed mechanism is carried through effectively, Jordan will gain more than another employment initiative; it will have a national system capable of showing where women are finding opportunities, where they are being left behind and which policies deserve greater support.