Includes bibliographical references and index.

Women, Work, and Patriarchy in the Middle East and North Africa; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Contents; List of Abbreviations and Acronyms; List of Figures; List of Tables; 1 Introduction; References; 2 Explaining the Low Rate of Female Labor Force Participation in the Middle East and North Africa; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Factors Affecting Female Labor Force Participation; 2.3 Specific Factors Affecting FLFP in MENA; 2.4 Methodology; 2.4.1 Data Limitations; 2.5 Empirical Analysis; 2.5.1 The Basic Model; 2.5.2 Region/Religion Models; 2.5.3 Oil/Region Models; 2.6 Conclusion 2.7 Appendices2.7.1 Appendix 1: List of Countries; 2.7.2 Appendix 2: Regression Analysis; References; 3 Invisible Work of the Invisible Half: Women and "Work" in the Middle East and North Africa; 3.1 Introduction; 3.1.1 Lack of Data and Studies on Women and Work; 3.1.2 Lack of Studies on the Informal Sector; 3.2 What Is Work?; 3.3 Informal Sector/Informal Economy/Informal Labor; 3.4 Informal Sector in MENA; 3.4.1 What Women do in the Informal Sector in MENA?; 3.4.1.1 Rural Informal Sector; 3.4.1.2 Urban Informal Sector; 3.5 Why Are Women's Economic Contributions Hidden from Statistics? 3.6 Why Women Have to Choose to Work in the Informal Sector?3.6.1 The Ideal Model of Male Breadwinner/Female Homemaker-Caregiver; 3.6.2 The Rigid Separation Between Public Spheres and the Private Sphere; 3.6.3 Permission to Work; 3.6.4 Discrimination in the Formal Sector; 3.6.5 Migration; 3.6.6 Combining Production and Reproduction in the Informal Sector; 3.7 Double Burden/Double Day; 3.8 Poverty, Female-Headed Households and the Informal Sector; 3.9 Patriarchal Bargain/Contract; 3.10 Class, Education, and Marital Status in the Informal Sector; 3.11 Social Safety Net; 3.12 Conclusion 4.4.2 Countries Inside and Outside the Patriarchal Belt4.4.3 MENA Oil-Dependent vs. MENA Non-Oil-Dependent Countries; 4.4.4 Countries with Dependency on Oil Income vs. Other Countries; 4.4.5 Muslim Countries Compared with Non-Muslim Countries; 4.4.6 MENA-Muslim Compared with Non-MENA Muslim and Non-MENA Non-Muslim Countries; 4.4.7 Middle East vs. North Africa; 4.4.8 Muslim African vs. Non-Muslim African Countries; 4.5 Conclusion; 4.6 Appendices; 4.6.1 Appendix 1; 4.6.2 Appendix 2; 4.6.3 Appendix 3; 4.6.3.1 Step 1: Initial Extraction of the Components

This book investigates why the rate of female labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa is the lowest in the world. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the book explains that the primary reason for the low rate of female labor force participation is the strong institutions of patriarchy in the region. Using multiple proxies for patriarchy, this book quantifies the multi-dimensional concept of patriarchy in order to measure it across sixty developing countries over thirty years. The findings show that Middle Eastern and North African countries have higher levels of patriarchy with regards to women’s participation in public spheres compared with the rest of the world. Although the rate of formal female labor force participation is low, women across the region contribute greatly to the financial wellbeing of their families and communities. By defining a woman’s place as in the home, patriarchy has made women’s economic activities invisible to official labor statistics since it has caused many women to work in the informal sector of the economy or work as unpaid workers, thus creating an illusion that women in the region are not economically active. While religion has often legitimized patriarchy, oil income has made it affordable for many countries in the region.