The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) announced the winners of the 2025 Munasara Award for Advancing Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, which was granted to the Modeling and Forecasting Team at ESCWA: Asiya Maskaeva, Ahmed Moummi, and Souraya Zein. The Award celebrates outstanding initiatives that drive transformative change towards gender equality across the Arab region.
The Award reflects the strong commitment of ESCWA to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment, underscoring its dedication to embedding gender perspectives across all areas of its work and supporting member States in achieving inclusive and equitable development.
Acting ESCWA Executive Secretary Mourad Wahba presented the Award to the winning team in recognition of for their initiative related to Gender-Responsive Macroeconomic Frameworks for Women's Economic Empowerment in Algeria. The project introduced gender considerations into macroeconomic modelling-a domain traditionally gender-blind-by developing Algeria's first gender-disaggregated Social Accounting Matrix and a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. These tools enable policymakers to assess how economic reforms impact women and men differently, paving the way for inclusive growth strategies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
In his remarks, Wahba encouraged the winners to maintain and uphold their valuable contribution to the organization's efforts in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in the Arab region.
Through rigorous analysis and collaboration with national institutions, the team has provided actionable evidence to design policies that create better employment opportunities for women and strengthen the leadership of ESCWA in gender-responsive economic planning. This achievement sets a replicable model for other member States and marks a significant milestone in mainstreaming gender into economic decision-making.
