Planting Economic Seeds

April 27, 2009 — For the women of the Middle East and North Africa, economic empowerment can be a continuous uphill battle. In Egypt and Jordan, women make up no more than 24 percent of the paid workforce. For Palestinian women, the percentage is as low as 13.

Locking women out of the labor force limits their opportunity, reduces family income, and stifles economic growth throughout the region, according to institutions such as the World Bank. And, without other women as role models, young women in the workforce face greater barriers to achieving professional growth and assuming leadership positions.

To create greater economic opportunities for women in the Middle East, CEDPA has partnered with Seeds of Peace to pilot the new Women’s Leadership for Greater Economic Participation program for 15 young women from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Palestine. The program is generously funded by the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative.

Participants, whose ages range from 18–28, are graduates of Seeds of Peace camps and programs, which empower young leaders in the Middle East with skills to advance reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

The economic training program has three phases. In the first phase, the young women participated in an April 20-24 workshop in Amman, Jordan, where they increased their knowledge and skills, and received a greater understanding of the value of women’s economic empowerment and participation.

Participants learned that leadership skills are an essential component of a women's ability to participate in the economic sector.

Throughout the workshop, sessions addressed the challenges these young women face in participating in the formal economy in their respective countries. As emerging women leaders, they also examined the importance of being role models for the women that follow them.

The workshop included sessions on how to advocate and mobilize communities to overcome barriers for women within their societies. At the end of the week, these young women developed individual action plans to partner with local community organizations working on women’s economic empowerment.

One participant plans to hold a series of workshops for young women who have just returned from Seeds of Peace camp. Others, working as a group, will work with a local women’s handicraft cooperative and help them to market their goods overseas.

In the coming months, whether the country teams are working as a group or individually, participants from each country will meet monthly to support each other on their projects, trouble-shoot and lend a hand where needed. Each team will be guided by an in-country CEDPA-assigned coach, who will help the teams meet their goals.

The young women will come back together at the end of the year in CEDPA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters for eight days to share their successes and any challenges they faced in implementing their plans. Sessions will focus on advancing the skills they had put into practice during their individual projects, and give the young women the opportunity to meet with international organizations working with women on economic participation.

Learn more about CEDPA’s training programs.

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