2026-07-01http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/416013This brief summarizes some of the significant constraints women in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) face: limited labor market mobility, a mismatch between skills acquired in school and what is in demand in the labor market, and legal or institutional factors related to cultural norms, all of which inhibit the transition from school to work. The brief identifies various policy options and outlines the World Bank's strategy for supporting governments in achieving gender parity in the region. Rigorous analytical work, experimental policy pilots and lending operations with a strong gender focus all form part of the Bank's strategy towards reducing gender gaps in economic opportunities.application/pdftext/plainCC BY 3.0 IGOhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igoWorld BankACCEPTABLE COLLATERALACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO RESOURCESADOLESCENT GIRLSAGRICULTURAL SECTORATTENDANCE OF GIRLSBARRIER TO WOMENBARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENTBASIC INFRASTRUCTUREBIODIVERSITYBLOCK GRANTSBORROWINGBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS LOANBUSINESS LOAN APPLICATIONBUSINESS PLANBUSINESS PLANSCAPACITY BUILDINGCHILD CARECHILD CARE SUBSIDIESCHILD CARE SUBSIDYCHILD HEALTHCHILD-CARECHILDBEARINGCHILDBIRTHCITIZENSCIVIC PARTICIPATIONCOLLATERALCOLLATERAL REQUIREMENTSCOMMUNITY COLLEGECOMMUNITY COLLEGESCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCREDIT LINECREDIT PRODUCTCULTURAL NORMSDAYCAREDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT OF WOMENDISADVANTAGED WOMENDISSEMINATIONDROPOUTEARLY MARRIAGEEARNINGSECONOMIC ACTIVITIESECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENECONOMIC OPPORTUNITYEDUCATED WOMENEDUCATION DEVELOPMENTEDUCATION OF GIRLSEDUCATION SYSTEMSEDUCATIONAL CHOICESEMPLOYEEEMPLOYEREMPLOYERSEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEMPOWERMENTENHANCING WOMENENROLLMENTENTERPRISE GROWTHENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIESENTREPRENEURIAL TRAININGENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIESFAMILIESFAMILY RESPONSIBILITIESFARMERSFEMALE EDUCATIONFEMALE EMPLOYEESFEMALE EMPLOYMENTFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIPFEMALE LABORFEMALE LABOR FORCEFEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFEMALE LIFE EXPECTANCYFEMALE LITERACYFEMALE PARTICIPANTSFEMALE POPULATIONFEMALE TEACHERSFERTILITYFERTILITY RATESFINANCIAL INTERMEDIARYFINANCIAL SUPPORTFORMAL BANKSFORMAL EDUCATIONGENDERGENDER ACTIONGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER EQUALITYGENDER EQUITYGENDER FOCUSGENDER GAPGENDER GAP IN EDUCATIONGENDER GAPSGENDER ISSUESGENDER PARITYGENDER WAGE GAPSGIRLS IN SCHOOLGOVERNMENT AGENCIESGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTHANDICRAFTHANDICRAFTSHOUSEHOLD CHORESHOUSEHOLD DUTIESHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUSBANDSINCLUSION OF WOMENINCOME TAXINCOME TAX CREDITINFORMAL NETWORKSINFORMAL SECTORINFORMAL WORKERSINFORMATION ASYMMETRIESINTERNATIONAL BANKJOB OPPORTUNITIESKEY CHALLENGESKNOWLEDGE BASELABOR CODELABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLABOR SUPPLYLACK OF ACCESSLACK OF RESPECTLEGAL STATUSLEVEL OF EDUCATIONLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLIFE EXPECTANCYLITERATE FEMALESLIVE BIRTHSLIVING STANDARDSLOAN PRODUCTSMALARIAMANDATESMARITAL STATUSMATERNAL HEALTHMATERNAL MORTALITYMATERNAL MORTALITY RATEMATERNITY BENEFITSMATERNITY LEAVEMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE LENDINGMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALMOTHERNATURAL RESOURCESOPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIPOPPORTUNITIES FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENOUTREACHPILOT PROJECTSPOLICY DIALOGUEPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY LEVERPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOLINGPRODUCTIVITYPROGRESSPUBLIC FUNDSPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICESQUALITY OF EDUCATIONRATE OF GROWTHRURAL AREASRURAL GROWTHRURAL WOMENSALARY COSTSCHOOL ATTENDANCESCHOOL ENROLMENTSCHOOL FACILITIESSCHOOL HOURSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSEXUAL HARASSMENTSIGNIFICANT POLICYSMALL ENTERPRISESOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL FUNDSOCIAL NORMSSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL SERVICESSPATIAL MOBILITYSTATUS OF WOMENTAX INCENTIVESTECHNICAL SUPPORTTERTIARY EDUCATIONTRANSPORTATIONUNEMPLOYED WOMENUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATESURBAN AREASURBAN DEVELOPMENTURBAN POVERTYURBAN WOMENVILLAGEVILLAGESVOCATIONAL TRAININGVOUCHERVOUCHERSWOMANWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWORKFORCEWORKING CONDITIONSWORKING WOMENWORLD CONFERENCEWORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMENYOUNG MENYOUNG MOTHERSYOUNG PEOPLEYOUNG WOMENWorking Paper