Explaining the Gap: An Analysis of Educational Attainment and Female Workforce Participation in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Female school enrollment rates in the Middle East and North Africa are increasing steadily, and have been for the last 40 years. Yet, despite high female education rates, there is a high gender gap in the workforce, with women making up only 25.5% of the region's total workforce. Using panel data from the World Bank and the PRS Group, covering the years from 1980 to 2009, in a country fixed effects regression and controlling for demographic and cultural indicators, this study looks at the effect that female school enrollment rates and religious influence in politics have on this gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa. The regression results support the idea that education has an influence on whether females participate in the labour force. However the statistically insignificant results on the religion in politics variable make it difficult to confirm how influential religion is on female labour force participation.