Women's Participation in the Agricultural Sector, Rural Institutions and Community Life

Although the contribution of the agriculture sector to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s (Jordan’s) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and labour force has declined over the last decades, women’s participation in the agricultural sector remains a critical source of employment for the country’s poorest citizens, and also serves as a major source of subsistence and food security in the country. While only 2% of the total working-population in Jordan, and 0.9% of its total female labour force, was employed in agriculture as of 2014 according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about 25% of the total poor in Jordan who live in rural areas continue to depend on agriculture as a primary source of livelihood.

The agricultural sector in Jordan is also known to have the highest proportion of informal workers compared to other economic sectors. Sixteen percent of women who work in the agricultural sector are informally employed, which is higher than the proportion of men (5%). According to FAO, women in Jordan are also actively involved in home-based agricultural activities, typically managing small homestead gardens and looking after the family plot. Despite women’s seemingly active role in the agriculture sector, a review of existing literature and secondary data suggests that limited up-to-date information is available on the subject of women’s involvement in the sector, possibly due to its informal nature. While some research exists on the challenges facing the agricultural sector in general, very limited up-to-date gender-disaggregated data is available on the challenges specific to women working in the sector.

A greater understanding of women’s roles and working conditions within the agriculture sector in Jordan, as well as the specific barriers and challenges they face is needed to enable development and resilience actors to enhance women’s ability to meet their livelihoods and food security needs through their engagement in this sector as well as to enhance the role of women in the rural economy as a whole.