Gender gap persists as Jordan’s unemployment doubles over decade: Report

Unemployment in Jordan has nearly doubled over the past decade, climbing from 11.9 percent in 2014 to 21.4 percent in 2024, with women bearing the brunt of the rise, according to a new report released by the Solidarity Is Global Institute – Jordan (SIGI-JO), also known as Tadamon.

SIGI-JO warns that despite years of national strategies aimed at economic empowerment, women remain significantly more vulnerable in the labor market. Female unemployment surged from 20.7 percent to 32.9 percent over the past ten years, compared to an increase among men from 10.1 percent to 18.2 percent.

“These numbers confirm that women have been the most affected by economic shifts,” the organization said, noting that despite a sharp rise in male unemployment as well, women continue to face structural and social barriers to entering and remaining in the workforce.

Marginal improvements, widening disparities

The labor force participation rate in Jordan fell slightly from 36.4 percent in 2014 to 34.1 percent in 2024. However, the breakdown shows diverging trends: male participation declined sharply by over six percentage points (from 59.7 percent to 53.4 percent), while female participation saw a modest increase from 12.6 percent to 14.9 percent.

While SIGI-JO acknowledges the improvement in women’s participation, it stresses that the change remains insufficient. It attributes the slow progress to entrenched obstacles such as:

• Limited availability of safe and suitable job opportunities
• Early withdrawal of women from the labor market
• Poor access to reliable public transportation
• Inadequate protection against workplace violence and harassment
• Persistent gender stereotypes surrounding women’s roles in society

Decade of policy, little impact

Over the last ten years, Jordan has launched several national strategies, including plans for economic empowerment, flexible work policies, and social protection schemes. However, SIGI-JO states that these efforts have not translated into tangible improvements for women on the ground.

The organization is calling for a new approach, one that shifts from traditional policies to bold, inclusive interventions grounded in gender analysis. It recommends offering tax and employment incentives to the private sector for hiring women, opening non-traditional career paths for women, enforcing stronger labor protections in the informal economy, and investing in technical training for women across governorates.

Empowerment as national priority

“Economic empowerment of women is not a luxury or an elite demand—it is a strategic necessity,” SIGI-JO emphasized, urging stakeholders to turn promises into commitments and policies into measurable outcomes.

The press release was issued as part of the “Safe Pathways in the World of Work” project, implemented by SIGI-JO with support from the African Development Fund.

SIGI-JO concluded that empowering women economically is a national responsibility that