Jordan is moving towards developing a unified institutional mechanism to monitor and improve women's labour force participation, as part of efforts to shift from multiple individual initiatives and programmes towards an integrated national framework built on coordination, data sharing, results monitoring and impact measurement.
The Ministry of Labour is leading this process in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and relevant national government institutions. The initiative supports efforts to achieve the targets of Jordan's Economic Modernisation Vision and its Executive Programme, which identify increasing women's economic participation as a national priority for achieving more inclusive economic growth and strengthening the competitiveness of the Jordanian economy.
As part of this process, the Ministry of Labour, in cooperation with the ILO, convened a national workshop on the "Unified National Mechanism to Enhance and Monitor the Indicator for Increasing Women's Labour Force Participation", bringing together representatives of ministries, national institutions, international organizations and relevant partners.
The workshop marked an important milestone in a broader national consultation process led by the Ministry of Labour with institutions and partners over the past period, with technical support from the ILO. The consultations resulted in agreement to move towards establishing a national team to monitor women's labour force participation and to develop an institutional framework defining the roles of relevant stakeholders and mechanisms for coordination, data sharing, monitoring initiatives and measuring their impact.
The consultations identified a broad range of initiatives and programmes implemented by more than 30 national institutions in areas that directly or indirectly affect women's economic participation. These include employment, skills development, social protection, transport, the care economy, legislation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation.
© ILO/ Zaid Abadii
From multiple initiatives to measurable national impact
Ibrahim Al-Saket, Assistant Secretary-General for Operations and Logistical Support at the Ministry of Labour, said the ongoing process forms part of national efforts to align initiatives and projects related to women's economic participation, strengthen their sustainability and link them more clearly to targeted outcomes at the national level.
"Increasing women's participation in the labour market requires coordinated efforts among ministries, government departments, partners and international organizations, and linking interventions to targeted outcomes, with a focus on quality jobs and measuring the extent to which women benefit from them, while strengthening the documentation of rights and grievance mechanisms," Al-Saket said.
This work is particularly important given the persistent gap between women and men in economic participation. According to data presented by the ILO during the workshop, women's economic participation rate stood at 14.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 51.2 per cent for men.
Reem Aslan, Manager of the ILO's Decent Work for Women Programme in Jordan, said increasing women's labour force participation goes beyond being a social objective and constitutes an economic necessity linked to Jordan's ability to achieve growth, expand employment opportunities and improve living standards.
"We are brought together by a shared objective: to expand economic and employment opportunities for women and harness the talent and capabilities available across the Kingdom. Increasing women's labour force participation is not only a social issue; it is an economic necessity linked to Jordan's ability to achieve growth, create jobs and improve living standards," Aslan said.
She added that the Economic Modernisation Vision aims to at least double women's economic participation, alongside integrating more than one million young women and men into the labour market, making women's participation an important indicator for measuring progress in the implementation of the Vision.
"Success requires moving from individual initiatives towards an integrated national approach based on coordination, data and accountability-one that addresses the barriers women face in entering and remaining in the labour market and aligns our efforts towards a shared national objective," Aslan said.
She noted that establishing a national team to monitor women's labour force participation would provide an institutional platform bringing together relevant stakeholders, supporting data sharing, coordinating initiatives and monitoring progress, thereby helping translate joint efforts into measurable results.
Analysing initiatives and identifying pathways to impact
Asma Al-Nassan, Acting Director of the Women's Work Directorate at the Ministry of Labour, said the Ministry had conducted an in-depth analysis of activities and initiatives included in executive plans aimed at women's economic empowerment and submitted by institutions participating in the consultation process.
The analysis found that 15 per cent of the initiatives reviewed have a direct impact on increasing women's labour force participation. These initiatives were classified under three main pathways: direct employment, capacity building, and sustaining women's participation in the labour market.
"Analysing these initiatives helps us identify the interventions most closely linked to the indicator, target efforts more effectively and strengthen complementarity among institutions. This can reduce duplication across programmes and improve our ability to measure their actual impact on women's economic participation," Al-Nassan said.
During the workshop, Al-Nassan presented the findings and outcomes of the national consultations, as well as the proposed framework for joint action among national stakeholders during the next phase.
An institutional framework for the national team
As part of efforts to translate the consultation outcomes into operational mechanisms, Duaa Ajarmeh, Decent Work for Women Programme Support Officer at the ILO, presented the proposed Terms of Reference for the national team tasked with monitoring the indicator for increasing women's labour force participation.
The proposed Terms of Reference outline the purpose of establishing the team, the roles and responsibilities of member institutions and focal points, as well as mechanisms for coordination, follow-up, information exchange and data sharing. Together, these elements are intended to provide an institutional foundation for joint action while strengthening clarity of responsibilities, accountability and progress monitoring.
"The proposed Terms of Reference aim to transform coordination among institutions from fragmented efforts into a sustainable institutional framework that clearly defines roles and responsibilities and establishes practical mechanisms for follow-up, data sharing and cooperation among relevant stakeholders," Al-Ajarmeh said.
She added that the proposed framework aims to enable the national team to monitor initiatives linked to the indicator and connect them to national objectives and outcomes, supporting evidence-based decision-making and helping identify gaps, priorities and areas for cooperation among institutions.
Data and a common statistical methodology as a foundation for policy and monitoring
Developing a common understanding of the data, statistical concepts and methodologies used to measure labour force participation was a central component of the workshop, reflecting the importance of establishing a consistent evidence base for monitoring progress and assessing the contribution of national policies and programmes to increasing women's participation in the labour market.
Lara Al-Tamimi, Director of the Policies and Studies Directorate at the Ministry of Labour, presented the Ministry's mechanism for monitoring the implementation of programmes and policies that contribute to increasing women's labour force participation. She highlighted the importance of coordination among relevant institutions and of linking programmes and interventions to national indicators.
"Having a clear monitoring methodology and linking programmes and policies to the indicator allows us to assess progress more accurately and helps direct interventions and resources towards areas that can have a greater impact on women's participation in the labour market," Al-Tamimi said.
Grace Eid, Statistics Specialist at the International Labour Organization, presented the ILO's statistical methodology for measuring labour force participation and related labour market indicators. Her presentation addressed the key concepts and definitions underpinning the calculation of the indicator and highlighted the importance of applying internationally agreed statistical standards to ensure consistency and comparability in measuring and interpreting labour market outcomes.
Eid also highlighted how a clear understanding of the methodology behind the indicator can help national stakeholders distinguish between different labour market measures, interpret changes in women's labour force participation more accurately, and better connect policies and interventions with measurable labour market outcomes.
Representing Jordan's Department of Statistics, Amani Joudeh presented the national methodology and statistical framework used to produce labour force indicators in Jordan, including the measurement of labour force participation, employment and unemployment. She also outlined the role of official national data in tracking changes in women's participation in the labour market and supporting evidence-based policymaking.
The two statistical presentations provided an important technical foundation for discussions on the proposed national mechanism, helping establish a shared understanding among participating institutions of what the indicator measures, how it is calculated and how progress should be interpreted and monitored.
Discussions underscored the importance of strengthening coordination around data, establishing regular mechanisms for data and information exchange among national institutions, and ensuring that monitoring of programmes and initiatives is aligned with a common statistical understanding of the indicator. This would enable stakeholders to assess progress more consistently and strengthen the use of evidence in designing policies and interventions aimed at increasing women's labour force participation.
National and international partnership to support the mechanism
Maram Abdel Nabi, Technical Adviser on Economic Cooperation and Private Sector Development at GIZ, said the joint effort aims to establish a unified national mechanism that facilitates the exchange of data and information among ministries, government departments and relevant stakeholders.
"The objective is to build a common understanding of how the indicator for women's participation in Jordan's economy is calculated and monitored, and to establish a clear working mechanism that defines the roles of relevant stakeholders and strengthens coordination among them, thereby improving the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing women's economic participation," Abdel Nabi said.
Through participatory working groups, workshop participants discussed coordination mechanisms among national stakeholders, the roles of focal points and supporting institutions, mechanisms for data sharing and effective cooperation among partners, as well as priorities for a joint action plan for the next phase.
© ILO/ Zaid Abadii
A roadmap for the next phase
The workshop resulted in a set of national-level recommendations to guide the next phase of work. These focused on strengthening the institutional framework for the proposed national team, defining the roles and responsibilities of member institutions and coordination mechanisms, and developing a more systematic approach to exchanging data and information related to women's labour force participation.
The recommendations also emphasized the importance of aligning national initiatives and programmes with the indicator and its targets, developing joint mechanisms to monitor performance indicators and measure the impact of interventions, strengthening complementarity among existing programmes and reducing duplication, as well as identifying priorities and concrete implementation steps for the next phase.
The proposed National Team for Monitoring the Indicator for Increasing Women's Labour Force Participation, led by the Ministry of Labour with technical support from the ILO and GIZ and the participation of relevant national institutions, is expected to serve as a platform for institutional coordination, programme and initiative monitoring, data sharing and the tracking of performance indicators.
The national process will also support the development of policies and reforms that address barriers preventing women from entering and remaining in the labour market. These include issues related to decent employment opportunities, skills, social protection, transport, the care economy and early childhood services, the working environment, legislation, entrepreneurship, the employment of women with disabilities, and other factors influencing women's economic participation.
Developing the national mechanism represents a step towards transforming increased women's labour force participation from an objective shared across multiple programmes and institutions into a national indicator supported by systematic monitoring, coordination and results measurement. This will contribute to achieving the targets of the Economic Modernisation Vision and to building a more inclusive labour market and an economy better able to harness the potential of both women and men.
This activity was held under the "Equality@Work" project, implemented by the International Labour Organization in Jordan with support from the Government of Norway.
