Jordan achieved a significant milestone by ranking third among Arab countries in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index with a score of 65.5%, reflecting steady progress in education and health sectors but persistent challenges in economic participation and political empowerment. The Jordan Economic Forum highlighted comprehensive national strategies addressing women's empowerment, legal reforms, and socio-economic barriers shaping the country's gender gap landscape.
Jordan's Progress in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index
According to the Jordan Economic Forum’s paper titled
"Jordanian Women and Equality of Opportunity: Jordan's Performance in the Gender Gap Index 2025,"
published by Khaberni on October 25, 2025, Jordan scored
65.5% on the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index. This ranking places Jordan third in
the Arab world, trailing only the United Arab Emirates (72.4%) and Bahrain
(68.4%). Globally, the gender gap closure rate reached 68.8% in 2025, situating
Jordan just below the global average.
The Forum underscores that narrowing the gender gap is not
simply a legal or moral obligation but an economic imperative that contributes
to national productivity and economic efficiency. Jordan’s gender gap score
reflects decades-long efforts, including empowered legal frameworks, social
development plans, and international commitments that promote gender equality.
Education and Health: Jordan's Leading Sectors for Women
The Jordan Economic Forum’s report reveals remarkable
performance in educational attainment and health equality. Educational
attainment consistently ranks high, with the gender parity index for education
rising from 0.97 in 2014 to 0.99 in 2025. This achievement signifies nearly
full parity between men and women regarding enrolment and academic success.
Similarly, health equality improved, with the index rising
from 0.94 in 2014 to 0.956 in 2025, reflecting better access and quality of
healthcare services across genders. These gains illustrate Jordanian women's
strong presence and success in education and healthcare professions, bolstered
by effective policies and increased female enrolment rates.
Economic Participation and Political Empowerment Challenges
Despite these successes, the Forum identifies economic
participation and political empowerment as areas requiring significant
improvement. Jordanian women’s participation in the labour market remains low,
with a rate of just 14.9% in 2024, among the lowest in the region. The economic
participation index stabilized at 0.552 in 2025, demonstrating the economy’s
limited capacity to absorb female talent, particularly in the private sector.
Regarding political empowerment, the index rose modestly
from 0.07 in 2014 to 0.12 in 2025, reflecting incremental but limited progress.
While legislative reforms—such as the Local Administration Law No. (22) of 2021
raised women's representation in local councils from 10% to 25%, and the
Political Parties Law of 2022 mandated a minimum of 20% female founding members
in political parties—have improved women’s formal presence in politics, overall
political representation remains low.
The Forum notes that women’s political participation within
parties reached around 44% in 2025, a promising development, yet social and
economic realities continue to impede faster gains.
Legal and Policy Frameworks Supporting Women’s Empowerment
Jordan’s legal system has seen substantial reforms to
enhance gender equality. For instance, amendments to the Jordanian Labour Law
in 2019 enforce equal pay for equal work and prohibit workplace discrimination.
The law also mandates institutions to provide nurseries to support working
mothers balancing family and professional responsibilities.
The formation of the ministerial committee for women's
empowerment in 2015 unified government efforts to enhance accountability and
policy coherence for gender equality. Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision
(2022–2033) integrates women’s economic inclusion as a strategic objective,
focusing on entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and women's participation in
emerging sectors like technology and renewable energy.
Social and Structural Barriers to Gender Equality
The Jordan Economic Forum emphasises that beyond legal
reforms, cultural norms and structural barriers significantly affect women’s
full participation in economic and political life. The persistence of
traditional family roles, the so-called "breadwinner model,"
disproportionately views women’s work as secondary, limiting their employment
opportunities.
Challenges such as inadequate public transport, lack of
part-time or flexible work options, and gender pay gaps—which range between 17%
and 21%—reflect ongoing implicit discrimination and practical obstacles within
the labour market.
Moreover, weak enforcement of Article (72) of the Labour Law
relating to childcare facilities hinders working mothers, with World Bank
reports citing low compliance with nursery provision obligations.
International and Regional Context
The 2025 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic
Forum highlights the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s gender parity
score at 61.7%, the lowest among global regions, yet on a trajectory of
improvement. Jordan’s score exceeds the regional average, showcasing its role
as a regional leader in narrowing gender disparities.
The report notes that the MENA region particularly trails in
political empowerment, with a global score of only 10.5%, whereas Jordan’s
ongoing reforms are gradually lifting women’s political roles. The UAE leads
the region with a political parity score of 37.2%.
Jordan’s advancements are also aligned with international
efforts, including partnerships with UN Women and other bodies, enhancing data
transparency and reinforcing the implementation of gender equality policies.
Calls for Continued Reform and Social Change
The Jordan Economic Forum calls for acceleration in reforms
to boost women’s entrepreneurship, expand social protection mechanisms, and
transform the business environment to be more inclusive for women. It suggests
establishing a national gender equality observatory to monitor indicators,
reform laws with gender impact, and launch awareness campaigns to counter
stereotypes.
The Forum stresses empowering women is not merely a question
of justice but a strategic economic choice, crucial to improving productivity
and national competitiveness. International experiences confirm that higher
women’s economic and political participation improves governance quality and
social equity.
Jordan's ranking as third in the Arab world in the 2025
Global Gender Gap Index with a score of 65.5% reflects considerable progress,
especially in women’s education and health. Nevertheless, challenges remain in
economic participation and political empowerment, which the government and
civil society are actively addressing through legal reforms, strategic plans,
and social initiatives.
The steady rise in Jordan’s gender gap score demonstrates a clear commitment to gender equality as a developmental priority supported by comprehensive policies that balance legal, economic, and cultural dimensions. Continued efforts will be essential to translate educational and health achievements into tangible, equitable economic and political roles for Jordanian women.