During a panel entitled "Feminist Foreign and Assistance Policies: Canada’s and Sweden’s experience in Jordan," Swedish Ambassador to Jordan Erik Ullenhag said that he truly believes that Jordanian and Swedish women both share the same aspirations and dreams.

During the panel, which was organized by the Canadian and Swedish embassies in Amman, Ullenhag stressed the need to empower women, because they will convey strong gender equality concepts to their children and communities.

The Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mary Kawar, said that the Jordanian government and the Jordanian National Commission For Women are working closely to integrate women and gender’s issues in all sectors of Jordan's Vision of 2025.

Kawar noted that there were still some barriers affecting women's participation in economy, including social norms, cultural traditions, stereotyped gender roles, lack of awareness of laws and regulations among females, and the absence of a gender-friendly working environment.

"Jordan has succeeded in bridging the gender gap in the health and education sector, according to Jordan's performance in the Gender Gap Index," Kawar said.

Kawar added that “however, we have not succeeded in reducing the gap in economic participation and political empowerment, where the participation rate for women in the labor force was only 17.3% in 2017.”

Kawar stressed on the need to further the efforts in order to strengthen the status of women in Jordan.