Factors Influencing Females Work Participation and Work Performance in the Jordanian Public Sector

Abstract

With the current development and increasing participation of women in work in developed countries, we find it important to study this issue in Jordan. The objective of this study was to explore the reasons behind the lacking representation of females and their work participation in the Jordanian public sector despite the high percentage of education attainment among them. In general around the world, the increase in women’s labor force participation over the past few decades was the main driving force of economic growth. Engaging women into the work sphere as much as possible is considered part of the solution to economic problems and poverty. To achieve this, the researchers employed a comparative and experimental approach to explore the reasons behind the lacking representation of females and their work participation in the Jordanian public sector, based on the outputs and recommendations published from previous studies in this. The results reveal that economic conditions, legal frameworks that cover employment matters, social prejudices and norms towards females work outside of the house, the existence of, religious beliefs are the main specific reasons for women's participation in the labor market. The social view that females are homemakers, mother, and dependents has led to the development of public policies that while aimed at providing protection, have led to the raise in discrimination against them. It is vital to work on building awareness and attitude change about women and men’s roles among the general population, in order to facilitate the increase of female work participation.

Keywords: Females, Work Participation, Work Performance, Jordan, Public Sector.

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-5-03

Publication date: February 29^th 2020