Jordanian report highlights way to go on women’s rights

Jordan’s Department of Statistics (DoS) has released a report highlighting the slow progress being made in women’s rights, as the world celebrates International Women’s Day on Friday.The new DoS report focuses on women’s rights in the workplace, which analysts have claimed falls far short of the country’s stated ambitions. According to the report, women were responsible for 15 percent of Jordan’s economic output in 2012. In the public sector, just one of 20 employees are women, while 17.4 percent of private sector workers are female. Female business leaders and self-employed account for just four percent of the country’s total workforce. From the total employed women in Jordan, 41.8 percent work in education and 14.3 percent in health and social services. The DoS report highlights a significant decline in illiteracy amongst Jordanian women over the last century, with 10 percent in 2012 compared to 85.4 percent in 1961.