Abstract
Labor supply – a country’s population – and human capital – the skills and capabilities of the workforce – are two of the main drivers of economic growth and development. Hence, most developed countries with high GDP rates are those with large populations and highly skilled human capital. Governments build human capital through increased educational opportunities and high quality education. Furthermore, developed countries has implemented systems in place to take advantage of both male and female workers. Nonetheless, in patriarchal societies such as Arab states, culture and religion hinders countries from taking advantage of women’s economic contributions. The research focuses on the relationship between gender and education or literacy issues in Arab states and their implications on economic growth within the context of growing challenges in and demands of the 21st Century. Research suggests that Arab states would benefit economically from women’s increased involvement in the workforce preceded by their increased participation in education and literacy and leadership development.
Background
The economic climate in any country affects various industries and sectors including education and vice versa. In a report for the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Berger and Fisher (2013) argued that economics and education relate to one another because “there is a clear and strong correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and media wages in the state”. For instance, high-wage states produce a well-educated workforce because these states’ economy allows local governments to invest in education (Berger & Fisher 2013). Consequently, a knowledgeable, skilled, and highly capable workforce similarly influences economic growth and development (Berger & Fisher 2013).
Hence, the relationship between economics and education may be described as cyclical in that economic capabilities determine investments in education while overall educational outcomes consequently affect economic conditions particularly in the development of the state’s workforce. Nonetheless, this correlation is broad and would necessitate an extensive discussion of various issues and all the aspects underlying the link between economics and education. To narrow down the scope of research, the succeeding discussion will focus on one aspect of economics and education, and a region in the Middle East. Furthermore, the link between economics and education would be viewed within the context of the Arab states. In specific, the discussion focuses on women’s education and leadership development in the Middle East and the implications of this issue on the economy.
Women’s Growing Participation in the Global Economy
One of the main issues related to economics and education in the Middle East involve opportunities for women in formal education and their limited participation in the workforce. Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) wrote a report for the Financial Times in 2012 highlighting the increasing contributions of women to the global economic workforce. According to Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012), the number of women participating in the global economy will reach an estimate of billions during the next ten years. Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) likened the influence and contributions of women’s population in the workforce to that of the entire population of China and India. In these countries, the populations reaching billions drive economic growth because people fill in the states’ labor needs. In the same way, a relentless increase in the number of women in the global economy is expected to contribute to growth because they would fill in gaps in employment and skill in labor.
Despite the perceived contributions of women to the global economy, Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) argued that some governments fail to acknowledge this development, particularly in the Middle East as well as North Africa. Although there were improvements during the 20th and 21st Century in terms of women’s participation in the economy, Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) stated that this population is limited by an inadequacy of opportunities for them to engage and participate in the workforce. It is highly important that governments acknowledge the importance of providing women opportunities particularly in education so they would be able to participate efficiently in the local and global economy. Based on previous economic data, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for instance witnessed an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) following the increased employment of women in the workplace (Sabbagh & Jamjoom 2012). Other countries in the Middle East would likely experience pronounced economic growth if they encourage and support women professionally.
Governments as well as business leaders and stakeholders fail to take advantage of the contributions of women because they need a better understanding of how changes or developments in policies and approaches, particularly in education, would facilitate women’s participation in the regional workforce and allow them to contribute to economic growth. In the Middle East, women’s participation in the labor economy is limited due to various factors, particularly culture and religious beliefs and practices.
The Third Billion Index ranks 128 countries around the world in terms of how governments and leaders in these states empower women so they could contribute to economic growth (Sabbagh & Jamjoom 2012). The Index rates countries based on the overall preparation of women, the quality and implementation of access-to-work policies, entrepreneurial support, and input. Based on the Index collated in 2012, Arab states such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), UAE, and Yemen (with the exception of Qatar because this Arab state was excluded in the Index) ranked relatively low particularly in access-to-work polices and inputs. In terms of preparation and entrepreneurial support, these Arab states’ ranks were on the median level. Table 1 below shows the rankings of these Arab states in the Third Billion Index.
Source: Booz & Company 2012
The foregoing data shows that compared to other countries that rank high in the Third Billion Index, the aforementioned Arab states lack policies and programs that would empower women and enable them to occupy economic positions and contribute to economic growth and development (Booz & Company 2012). Aside from relating rankings in the Index, Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) also argued that existing research proves that literacy rates relate to women’s economic participation in general. Hence, the quality of education and women’s access to educational opportunities consequently affect their economic participation. For this reason, Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) concluded that “the economic advancement of women doesn’t just empower women but leads to greater overall prosperity” in terms of economic growth and development.
More importantly, Sabbagh and Jamjoom (2012) argued that the growing interest in women’s economic participation must be more relevant in the Middle East as well as North Africa (MENA) because most countries in the region have failed to tap into women as human resources. Since countries in the Middle East and North Africa are currently undergoing socioeconomic transformations, these nations could benefit from an increase in the economic contributions from the female population. As argued by Sabbagh and Jamjoom “these countries [in the Middle East and North Africa] have an untapped resource – a population of education and motivated women” (2012).
Culture and Religion as Factors that Hinder Women’s Labor Participation
As formerly noted, culture and religion are the primary factors that hinder women’s economic participation. Arab countries are predominantly Muslim states. Hence, Islam is influential in law and policy development and implementation. Furthermore, culture and religion in Arab states render these countries as conservative. The prevalence of patriarchy in these countries prove widespread conservatism in the region.
Following the influence of culture and religion, particularly Islam, many women in the Middle East feel limited or hindered in their professional lives. Gender stereotyping in the workplace is prevalent especially in the way that men dominate organizations. Majority of individuals that hold leadership positions in the organization, for instance, are males. On the contrary, women in the workforce find it difficult to secure such positions even despite exerting the same amount of effort as their gender counterparts. A disparity in promotion rates is also an evidence of gender stereotyping in the workplace (Marmenout 2009: 13). Most men occupy leadership positions because the management would more likely promote them to higher positions than women (Marmenout 2009: 13).
Cultural and religious views of women also affect educational opportunities for this population. For decades, disparity in literacy rates between men and women existed in the Middle East particularly in Arab states (Alexander 2011: 128). In some cases, families supported the education of their male children while limiting same opportunities for girls in the family. The prevailing belief is that in patriarchal societies such as those in the Arab region, men were expected to work and support their families while women were expected to stay home, take care of domestic issues, and focus on childrearing (Alexander 2011: 128). As a result, patriarchal societies do not place value on women’s education thereby lowering this population’s literacy rates.
Impact of Gender Issues and Education on Economics in Arab States
Considering the foregoing discussion, we may now establish the impact of gender as an issue in education that affects economics and vice versa within the context of Arab states. Exploring and underscoring the important contributions of women to economic growth are particularly relevant in the case of Arab states because most countries in the region fail to tap this population as a human or labor resource. Culture and religion are the two main factors that hinder Arab states from encouraging women and providing opportunities for them to take on valuable roles in the local and global economy. Patriarchy in Arab states, as perpetuated by culture and religion, has long discouraged women to pursue education and establish their own career. Some women do not pursue higher education because men dominate various courses.
In Arab States economic development affects education in that the state’s revenue determines the government’s capacity to invest in education. Higher GDP means greater revenue for the state. Consequently, we may attribute higher GDP rates to investments in various sectors including education. For one, the government would be able to provide free public education or at the very least subsidize educational services with greater funding. Consequently, these types of policies in education would offer people more opportunities to learn. People that finish higher education would then become the country’s skilled workforce, whose output would then contribute to economic growth and development.
Basic economic concepts show that a country’s population volume is significant to economic growth because the people constitute the human capital. Within this context, a country’s population is its labor supply. Hence, population growth in any country means an increase in the state’s quantity of workforce. A large population, therefore, such as that in China and India is a good source of a potential labor force. Nonetheless, amassing a large population to constitute the labor supply is not enough. According to Piros and Pinto (2013: 260), the quality of labor is similarly important, which means that it is not enough for countries to have a large population. An effective and productive workforce that contributes to higher output must also be knowledgeable, skilled, and competent. Piros and Pinto (2013: 260) emphasized that the quality of the labor force in any country is highly important. A skilled and competent workforce is referred to as the human capital. “Human capital is the accumulated knowledge and skill that workers acquire from education, training, and life experience” (Piros & Pinto 2013: 260).
One of the ways that governments could increase human capital and tap into its labor supply is to invest in education and improve its quality. “An economy’s human capital is increased through investment in education and on-the-job training Studies show that there is a significant return on education” (Piros & Pinto 2013: 260). Hence, it is highly important that governments invest in education in such a way that they increase people’s access to education. Offering free public education is one of the ways related to policy development that would allow Arab states to increase educational opportunities for both men and women. Targeted policies to close educational or literacy gaps related to gender in the Arab region may include scholarships for female students or apprenticeship, training, and other types of programs for professional women in the workforce. In this way, female students would gain increased opportunities to earn degrees while women in the workforce would acquire skills and competencies, particularly leadership skills not only to fulfill their roles and responsibilities in the workplace but also to similarly accomplish the achievements of their male counterparts.
Ongoing Policy Development
In recent years, some Arab states began adopting, developing, and implementing policies to empower women and facilitate leadership development for this population. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for instance, the Government has implemented changes to encourage women not only to pursue higher education and invest in their careers or profession but also to engage actively in the economy. The shift in education and employment policies and approaches in the KSA contributed to the ongoing increase in the number of women joining the local and the global workforce.
One of the major trends in the employment of women is their participation in home-based jobs. According to Allam (2012), “As economic pressures encourage even conservative women to join the workforce and segregated government jobs grow hard to come by, women are increasingly seeking flexible home-based jobs”. As a result, the government is looking for ways to meet this demand and take advantage of women’s economic participation.
Part of the government’s willingness to address this specific concern is that women staying at home for work adheres to Islamic principles. While working at home, women may also fulfil their domestic duties. Although this situation does not fully offer women the freedom to pursue their professional goals as they please, it is a welcome development in a conservative state with culture and religion that created gendered gaps in education and literacy. According to business leaders and public officials focusing on women’s employment, regardless of the location of the employment whether it is in the office or at home, the government’s goal is to encourage women to contribute to the economy.
Current efforts and initiatives to tap into women’s population as human resources, however, are limited. Aguirre, Hoteit, Rupp, and Sabbagh (2012: 3) suggested that countries occupying low positions in the Third Billion Index such as Arab states must learn from developed nations such as Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK. Based on the Index, these countries rank high in terms of providing women empowerment and involving women in the workforce. Aguirre, Hoteit, Rupp, and Sabbagh (2012: 3) also emphasized the importance of doing so because the aforementioned developed countries showed significant growth in GDP rates over the past few decades due to the involvement of women in the workplace. In the US, for instance, GDP rates increase annually by 5 percent because male and female employment rates are almost equal. The same GDP growth rate pattern may be observed in countries such as Japan where men and women are free to pursue education and engage equally in the workplace later on.
Aguirre, Hoteit, Rupp, and Sabbagh argued that “To empower women – as employees, producers, and business owners – and strengthen the impact of their contribution, government and business leaders will need a better understanding of the most effective levers available to them” (2012: 3). Education is one of these “levers”. Governments in the Arab states need to understand that inclusive education, which provides opportunities for both men and women, is one of the primary factors that would allow these countries to take advantage of both population’s contributions to economic growth. Aguirre, Hoteit, Rupp, and Sabbagh (2012:3) mentioned the abolishment of policies that restrict female participation in education and the workforce as well as increased cultural, educational, financial, and social support for female leadership as the main policies that Arab states must adopt in order to actively engage women in the economy.
Conclusion
The foregoing discussion brings to light one aspect of education in the Arab region in the Middle East within the context of economics. As formerly noted, a country’s economy is largely driven by its labor supply. Essentially, the country’s entire population constitute the labor supply, which means that the population determines the potential number of workers who would be filling jobs in various sectors and consequently drive economic growth. Aside from the population, the knowledge, skills, and competencies of people in the country are also essential. To develop a skilled human capital, governments invest in education such that they widen access to educational opportunities and improve the quality of educations so people would acquire requisite skills and competencies that would allow them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities in the workplace.
Taking advantage of the population and building a skilled human capital, however, are not the only issues that countries in the Arab region need to focus on. Culture and religion in this region have influenced labor, and therefore, the economy in these countries. Social views of men and women are based on culture and religious practices. As a result, gendered gaps exist in Arab countries. In the education sector, gendered gaps manifest in the disparity of literacy rates between men and women. Arab nations are patriarchal states due to the widespread influence of Islam, the prevalent religion in the region. In patriarchal societies, people expect specific gender roles that differentiate men and women – men work and support their families while women stay at home to fulfil their domestic duties and take care of the children.
Nonetheless, economic challenges and trends in the global workforce have forced countries all over the world to reconsider their policies and approaches when it comes to education, gender, and building human capital. Challenges in the 21st Century, particularly gaps in employment, inadequacy of skilled and competent laborers, and the demands of public and private sectors, which consequently affect economic growth, brought about a change or transformation in employment approaches and practices. More women around the world are increasingly participating in the economy including countries in the Middle East. Despite the prevailing conservatism in countries such as the Arab states, governments have realized the importance of tapping into its labor supply including women.
The challenge, therefore, in conservative and predominantly patriarchal states such as the countries in the Arab region is the governments and business leaders’ willingness to go beyond the limitations of culture and religion so as to facilitate economic growth by closing the gendered gap in literacy rates. As formerly noted in the Third Billion Index, Arab states are ranked significantly lower than developed countries such as Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Data from the Index shows that Arab states, particularly Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, KSA, UAE, and Yemen do not have an efficient system and adequate policies in place to prepare women for their positions in the workplace. Furthermore, these Arab states lack support for entrepreneurship and leadership involving women.
Some Arab states, however, have shown increasing commitment to involve women in their workforce. The KSA, for instance, has introduced and implemented various policies to assist women gain employment. Furthermore, various universities in the Arab region have created new programs for women or have opened up opportunities for this population to pursue preferred careers despite the dominance of males in these fields. In this way, Arab states would be able to close literacy gaps between men and women and consequently allow women to gain requisite skills and competencies to engage competitively in the local and global workforce. Finally, women’s growing involvement would then lead to improvements in economic growth.
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