From Degrees to Disparities: Gender, Education, and Employment in Egypt and the Middle East “A Systematic Review” | ||||
| المجلة العربية للإدارة | ||||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 01 July 2025 PDF (159.74 K) | ||||
| Document Type: بحوث باللغة الإنجلیزیة | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/aja.2025.390799.1868 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
Nouran Nashaat  
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| Business Information Systems Department, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This review examines the role of four key dimensions: gender, education, intergenerational factors, and employment sector choices in women’s labor force participation levels across Egypt and the MENA region. Although women have made substantial progress in schooling attainment, MENA countries still report some of the lowest female labor rates worldwide. Based on a review of 22 studies published in peer-reviewed journals, institutional reports, and working reports between 2019 and 2023, several recurrent themes are identified: the mismatch between education and employment; preference for the public sector; and structural and cultural barriers. The results indicate that education is not sufficient to ensure women’s employment. Women prefer working in the public sector because of higher job security, maternity benefits, parental leave, and full employment. However, job availability in the public sector is shrinking. One of the key patterns identified by the study is related to intergenerational factors because mothers’ employment is linked to daughters’ labor force entry. The study found that the most common constraining factors to be insufficient childcare, social norms around women’s roles, and the predominance of informal employment. Arranging incentives for the private sector, improving social infrastructure, implementing labor laws that are gender-responsive, and supporting informal employers are solutions to the problem. The review suggests that subsequent studies should focus on a longitudinal and comparatist analysis and thus, the study presents a framework for creating inclusive, gender-aware employment policies to address men and women’s persistent gap in employment across the MENA region. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Female; Employment; Gender; MENA | ||||
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