While MENA has made strides in improving women and girls’ health, much more needs to be done. Understanding the impact of conflict on women and girls is critical for designing both preventive…

Fadia Saadah, Sameera Al Tuwaijri |

Most workers in developing countries are in informal employment-- that is, a job that does not come with social security benefits and leaving them with limited means to manage risks to their…

Nadir Mohammed, Roberta Gatti, Marco Ranzani, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Nistha Sinha, Adam Elsheikhi |

Gender equality and fair treatment of women and girls is a moral imperative, but global data analytics, evidence and experience clearly demonstrate that including women also fosters economic…

Christopher Stephens |

Public sectors in MENA have struggled to reform for decades. Public sector employees account for 25% of total employment across the region and public sector salaries represent 32% of total…

Izzah Akram Malik, Jens Kromann Kristensen |

Over the last few years, the government of the UAE has made gender equality and women’s economic empowerment a top policy priority. To address deeper legal inequalities, the government requested…

Iva Hamel, Gharam Alkastalani Dexter |

The Middle East and North African countries cannot wait until the end of the pandemic to begin rebuilding the post-COVID region.

Ferid Belhaj, Nadir Mohammed |

It is undeniable that progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty over the last quarter century—from 36 percent of the world population in 1990 to an estimated 8.6 percent in 2018—and that…

Philippe H. Le Houérou, Antoinette Sayeh |

While addressing gender gaps in labor force participation rates remains a key concern in several countries, it is even more critical to focus on the quality of the jobs to which women have access…

Namita Datta |

"We’re the nation that just had six of our scientists and researchers win Nobel Prizes—and every one of them was an immigrant, " U.S. President Barack Obama recently said after the Nobel…

Bassam Sebti |

In many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and in fact around the world, teachers—who play a pivotal role in any effort to improve education quality—have not been officially…

Kamel Braham |