Women in the workforce and how can education change the narrative - Case of Lebanon

What if nations alter their mentality? What if they ceased to view women as submissive members of society and began concentrating on policies that would gradually integrate women into the labor force and subsequently the economy? What if they stop seeing them as dependent and begin to think that the solution is to give women greater room to demonstrate to the world the strength they possess??

The globe should be fighting for human rights and equality, notably SDG 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, according to the United Nations SDGs (created in Rio de Janeiro in 2012). However, women in Lebanon still have to deal with everyday struggles and barriers that keep them from entering the workforce. Although women have lately stepped up their attempts to advance gender equality, domestic initiatives in patriarchal nations still require the assistance of different groups to dismantle the traditional gender norms of the area. To attain gender equality in the workplace, three significant obstacles must be removed: educational, social, and economic ones. Through well-established rules that cover every step of their journey from conception until they enter the workforce, women will be able to combat gender inequality.

The current Lebanese situation

1. Education

According to women's economic participation in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, a report prepared by the World Bank Group (2020), women with less education have a lower rate of labor market participation. The higher a person's educational achievement, the more they participate, but the connection between education and participation is far stronger for women than for men. Two-thirds of Lebanese women with a tertiary degree are working or looking for work. These women make up almost half of the percentage of the overall female population in Lebanon. As a result, less-educated women, who make up almost half of the Lebanese female population, have a low labor force participation rate (Lundvall, 2016).

2. Social

According to the same study, fertility in Lebanon affects women's employment rates. First, women without children have comparable participation rates of about 70%, whether they are single or married, but when it comes to those who have young children (birth to three years old), the percentage plummets to fewer than 30%. Second, only 10% of women without children are part-time workers; however, this proportion increases to 50% for moms with young children. Third, part-time work is still an option for moms, frequently after their children have finished their obligatory schooling, despite a subsequent reduction. After having a child, women either leave employment or, if they can, work part-time.

3. Economic

Low labor demand is a first-order barrier to finding meaningful employment for both men and women, claims the same World Bank Group report (2020). Due to severe and frequent shocks (mostly political) , modest development in Lebanon has not resulted in enough employment creation. Furthermore, the employment that was created was of low quality and in sectors with low productivity. Le Borgne and Jacobs (2016) estimate Lebanon's employment-to-growth elasticity to be under 0.2, which is low even among MENA nations. As a result, unemployment rates are consistently high, particularly for women and young people. Weak labor demand might continue to restrict economic prospects for both men and women in the future in light of the region's economic slump and crisis related to ongoing conflicts. Women, however, may have extra challenges that will have a bigger impact on them because of the societal preference for males in the limited available occupations, which reduces women's possibilities of participating in productive activities, and because poor employment growth impacts women more than men.

The recommendations / policies

Its several policies leading to one combined, fighting gender inequality should start by fighting the roots of this inequality embedded in Lebanese society.

1. Raising Equal minds?

Parenting classes can be established by a union that includes psychologists, educators, and sociologists. These classes will teach parents ways to raise their kids in an equal and healthy environment. Lebanese in general, and specifically the young generations, are ready to learn all that is new. Yet, these young generations and their young parents were probably raised in a discriminatory environment. Here comes the role of this union and these classes in helping and developing these parents so they can appropriately play their role to achieve equality between their children.

2. Educating Equal Minds

The curriculum has to be rethought, and educational changes must be implemented. Children should be taught both explicitly and implicitly in school that they are all equal regardless of gender.

The explicit study of gender studies and gender equality can be taught as a stand-alone course or as additional reading for social studies and civics students.

Implicitly, by not confronting any discrimination in any way. No study workgroups should initially be limited to males or girls. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, girls and boys may both participate in performing arts and physical sports. Children should not feel bad for participating in any of these activities.?Moreover, STEM fields should not be limited to boys while literature and humanities should not be limited to girls. Additionally, literature in Arabic, French, and English schools should not portray males as the holders of power and women as helpless dependents who are constantly in need of men's protection.The only distinctions that should be taught to them are those found in biology lessons, where kids learn how their bodies work and develop respect for their bodies, including any differences, as well as for the bodies of the other gender.?

Additionally, the naturally flawed Arabic and French languages themselves need to change. The focus will be in the following on the flaws of the Arabic language that is discriminatory in itself. 1) When we have a group of people that includes women and men, no matter the number of each, we use a masculine pronoun to refer to these people neglecting completely the presence of women in this group. 2) Several Arabic terms do not have a feminine version such as ?????? which means deputy, as if women cannot play such a role. Ironically, if we follow the Arabic rule and add ? to the word (what is usually done while changing from masculine to feminine) we will end up having the word: ??????? and this word means calamity. 3) The feminine plural rule (??? ?????? ??????), the rule is normally used to change from singular feminine to plural feminine and yes, of course, all rules have exceptions but why an exception such as ????? (animal), which is a singular masculine word and should follow the masculine plural rule, became ??????? (animals) by following exceptionally the feminine plural rule. 4) Moreover, all words referring to objects and animals, whether they are masculine or feminine, when they are transformed to plural, they are all preceded by ???, the same pronoun used usually to refer to women. These are only a few examples of the many other flaws that can be found embedded in the language, and that is only promoting, whether intentionally or not, more discrimination.

At universities, gender studies and women's empowerment classes should become more renowned all over the country. Specifically, by elevating gender knowledge to the same level as English proficiency.?

3. Guaranteeing an Equal Environment in the Work Field

Responsible business?is a designation for companies that take CSR (corporate social responsibility) seriously and implement ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) strategies to address global needs and realize the SDGs by 2030. That is what Lebanese businesses should be looking forward to and applying. To address the three ESG factors generally and gender equality specifically, businesses should establish internal and external policies and initiatives. It is the social and governmental obligation of businesses to ensure gender equality in the workplace, and it is the duty of all business stakeholders (NGOs, the government, workers, clients, investors, suppliers, etc.) to exert pressure on them to do so.

Such regulations will help Lebanese society cultivate and educate diverse minds. Equal rights will be a core value that both sexes will uphold throughout their lives. Because boys and girls will learn to respect human bodies, including their own, neither a man nor a woman will tolerate sexual harassment. Girls will now select their majors based on their interests and aspirations rather than what they were advised to do, and as a result, they will not tolerate not being a part of the workforce where they practice the work they are passionate about. Future company owners will be raised on a foundation of equality, and they will create ethical organizations that prioritize and uphold gender equality.

Fighting gender inequality and addressing equality is not a new issue. It has been tackled for years and years, and the process has always been slow, but that does not mean that giving up is a solution. Policies such as the ones described above should be considered so that society can continue improving until one-day true gender equality is achieved. Until then, everyone involved should keep contributing because if not, the gap, the injustice, the inequality, and the discrimination will keep increasing, and while the whole planet is moving forward, Lebanese women and Lebanese people, in general, will be left behind. That is exactly the opposite of what the United Nations (which includes Lebanon) aims for.