Education and Enrollment
· Jordan has eliminated the gender gap in education enrollment, but school dropout is a reality influenced by the need to work for men or family duties for women
· Women comprise a slightly higher proportion of students in secondary and higher education
· Boys’ schools suffer from a shortage of teachers and violence against students such that 60% of male students report being subjected to at least mild abuse. Girls’ schools are generally more constructive, as girls are encouraged to succeed in school. Both boys’ and girls’ schools face a shortage of school counselors and often engage in “tracking” for educational plans and career prospects based on gender
· Lower levels of education hinder female employment more than male employment
· Only 15% of females (15 and older) are economically active vs. 65% of males. The majority of women who work do so in education, health, or public administration sectors, therefore a downsize in the public sector will have greater effect on women
· Female labor force participation is low because of cultural factors/ gender stereotyping, employer preference for “more productive” male workers, difficulty for women with hijab to get private sector work, and large female employment in the informal sector
Population and Health
· Females have a slightly higher life expectancy (74.4 years) vs. men (71.6)
· Obesity is a serious problem: 70% of females and 63% of males overweight or obese
· Fairly high fertility rate (3.8) is unexpected in Jordan, due to high levels of female education
· Jordanian youth face many unmet medical needs and lack of education about reproductive health and family planning matters
· The shortage of female medical professionals leads women to use alternative, less effective means of family planning
Family Relations
· According to surveys, women are generally held responsible for reproductive health while men have final decision on children
· The median age at first marriage has been increasing, 26.1 for women, due to financial instability of young Jordanians
· 40% of women report being married to a relative
· One third of women surveyed report having experienced gender-based violence
Political Participation
· Female participation is low: 13 out of 120 seats in parliament, which is only one more seat than mandated by quota
· Female voting is considered very low because female and male voting percentages are equal, despite a prohibition on members of the Jordanian military (a large employer of men) voting in parliamentary elections
· Women have held 11% of ministerial portfolios since 1980
· The number of female judges is low but the participation in this field is increasing
· Female participation in diplomatic core has quadrupled to 17%
· The Jordanian constitution is considered to provide for equal rights, according to legal scholars; discrepancy in practice results from social norms and patriarchal traditions
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