Resource information
Over the last three decades Jordan has
made substantial investments in its human resources,
spending more than 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) on health and education. Like their male counterparts,
women and girls have benefitted from these policies and
their quality of life has improved. The Jordan Country
Gender Assessment (CGA) has two primary objectives. The
first is to assess gender imbalances in the areas of
economic participation in the labor market, agency, and
access to justice; provide a framework for policies or
interventions to the Government of Jordan (GoJ) on
addressing imbalances; and provide a basis for implementing
the activities included in the Gender Action Plan (GAP). The
second objective is to develop and strengthen partnerships
with GoJ agencies, Civil Society Organization's (CSOs),
and academic institutions to promote collaboration on
addressing gender-related issues impacting development, and
in particular to develop mechanisms for cooperation on
implementation of the GAP. This CGA will further explore, in
the Jordan country context, the argument that the
considerable progress in human development in Jordan has not
yet led to consistently higher women's participation in
economic, political and social life, which in turn has
slowed women's economic participation. Access to
justice is directly linked to the issue of agency-whereas
agency defines the legal and social boundaries of rights and
practices, the concept of access to justice covers the tools
and mechanisms aiding persons in exercising these rights.
Obstacles to women exercising agency in Jordan are caused by
a combination of the treatment of women versus men under
applicable legal frameworks, with gaps further widened by
restrictive social norms that can govern women's
behavior. Recent legislative and regulatory reforms, if
implemented effectively, have the potential to increase
women's agency through expansion of rights and
improvements in service delivery. Despite legal and social
impediments to accessing land, levels of registration of
land by women have been increasing in recent years.
