The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are undergoing transformative changes as the region deals with the fallout from the Arab Spring uprisings, the civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and Libya, geopolitical shifts, and the COVID-19 pandemic. As the region’s complex landscape of issues evolves, prioritizing women’s economic empowerment should be an essential part of addressing current challenges across MENA countries.

Gender equality promotes economic growth, contributes to reducing income inequality, and boosts economic diversification. These are critical needs in the MENA region, which faces challenges including poverty, weak economic governance, the concentration of wealth, misalignment of education, and a struggling labor market with high unemployment rates.

At the same time, the rise of the largest, most well-educated and highly urbanized generation of young people in the region’s history imposes both challenges and opportunities that will impact the future of individual countries and MENA as a whole. The region’s ability to ensure its youth have access to robust education, adequate jobs, and the quality of life that they aspire to will determine the role that young people play in this changing landscape.

Progress has elevated people’s expectations, but as the 2016 Arab Human Development Report points out, advancing overall well-being is only meaningful if people have the opportunity to make choices and exercise those choices. The United Nations defines human development as “…expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices."

Advancing the MENA-region economies is an essential part of that effort. Moreover, while the Arab region as a whole saw an increase in human development levels between 1980 and 2010, mostly due to gains in education and health, inequality is rising.2

In this policy brief, we detail why private enterprise and women’s economic empowerment is important for the advancement of societies; describe the successes and challenges of the MENA region in ensuring women’s financial inclusion; and make recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders in promoting prosperity in the region.