WOMENA: Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Lived Experience and Health of Working Women in the MENA

Main Links
- About AUB
  About AUB
  
  Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut is a teaching-centered research university based on the American liberal arts model of higher education. AUB has over 8,000 students and 800 faculty members. The University encourages freedom of thought and expression and seeks to graduate men and women committed to creative and critical thinking, lifelong learning, personal integrity, civic responsibility, and leadership.
- Academics
  Academics
  
  AUB is accredited in the US by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and includes six faculties: Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Architecture, Agricultural and Food Sciences, Health Sciences, and Business. AUB offers more than 130 programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees. The main language of instruction is English.
- Admissions
  Admissions
  
  Learn more about how you can join the American University of Beirut. AUB seeks applicants with a proven record of academic excellence, intellectual vitality, and civic responsibility. In accordance with its founding mission and its equal opportunity policy, the University admits students regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, or nationality.
- Research
  Research
  
  The vibrant and dynamic research environment at AUB enhances the educational experience for all and serves the wider communities—local and global—by advancing knowledge in a wide range of disciplines.
- Outreach
  Outreach
  
  Recognizing and honoring our responsibility for others has been an integral part of AUB’s mission since the earliest days. Today, AUB is at the forefront of addressing the most pressing concerns of this country, this region, and its people.
- Boldly Campaign
  BOLDLY Campaign
  
  To ensure the University can continue to inspire current and future generations of smart and able students who can rise to this challenge, we are embarking on a transformative capital campaign, BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve.
AUB Community
- A - Z
- Find People
- Libraries
- Alumni
Public
- Telehealth
- AUBMC
- Give
Useful Tools
- E-learning
- AUBSIS
- Webmail
- Title IX Online Training

WOMENA: Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Lived Experience and Health of Working Women in the MENA - From COVID to Recovery

Page Content
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
____________________
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a world outlier for low female labor force participation despite women's high educational attainment. Furthermore, the region also has one of the largest gender gaps in unemployment and low rates of investment in early childhood development. Scholars point to constraints to both the demand and supply of female labor, yet gendered experiences within the workplace are critical.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a direct shock that affected disproportionately women's work, with the region bearing the largest loss of female employment due to COVID-19 globally. In a region with the world's highest pre-pandemic gender disparities in unpaid care work, COVID-19 has shifted that burden further towards women. The consequences pose additional health costs to women who are under-researched. To address the underlying issue, four work packages were run in parallel:
- Work-package 1 Desk review on women’s work and health before, during and after the pandemic in the MENA region and policy situation analysis.
- Work-package 2 Secondary analysis of regional data sources on sex-disaggregated labor force participation and health-related outcomes.
- Work-package 3 Analysis of gender inequalities in work and health in Lebanon through a national telephone survey reaching 4,725 Lebanese residents.
- Work-package 4 Exploring the lived experiences of women who left the education and health work force during the COVID-19 pandemic through semi-structured in-depth interviews.
Research Timeline: 2023-2024
STAKEHOLDERS
____________________

Stakeholder meetings are held regularly to incorporate diverse perspectives into the project activities. Learn more here.

CONFERENCES
____________________

Dr. Stephen McCall joined the WOMEN RISE regional meeting at Monash University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, where team members from across Asia came together to engage with colleagues, sharing projects' progress and fostering collaboration.

Ms. Myriam Dagher presented a research poster on the interplay between gender, employment attrition, and food insecurity from the Work Package 3 telephone survey conducted. Learn more here.

TEAM
____________________

Research Team
- Jocelyn DeJong (PI, work-package 1 lead), Professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, FHS and Associate Provost, AUB
- Serena Canaan (co-PI, work-package 2 co-lead), Assistant Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University (SFU)
- Pamela Zhgeib (Decision-maker PI), Head of Mother and Child Health Unit at Ministry of Public Health
- Nisreen Salti (Work-package 2 co-lead), Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, FAS, AUB
- Stephen McCall (Work-package 3 lead), Assistant Professor of Practice and Acting Director of CRPH, AUB
- Ali Abboud (co-I), Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, FAS, AUB
- Hala Ghattas, Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina
- Sasha Fahme (Work package 4 lead), Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine
- Ghada Saad, Instructor of Public Health Practice, CRPH, AUB
- Rita Itani, Project Coordinator, CRPH, AUB
- Myriam Dagher, Research Coordinator, CRPH, AUB
Funder
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Contact Us

For various questions, please try contacting us via social media first!
read more

Privacy Statement

We take data privacy seriously and adhere to all applicable data privacy laws and regulations.
read more

Copyright and Disclaimer

Written permission is needed to copy or disseminate all or part of the materials on the AUB website.
read more

Title IX, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Discriminatory Harassment

AUB is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment to all members of its community.
read more

American University of Beirut

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Work-package 1 Desk review on women’s work and health before, during and after the pandemic in the MENA region and policy situation analysis.

Work-package 2 Secondary analysis of regional data sources on sex-disaggregated labor force participation and health-related outcomes.

Work-package 3 Analysis of gender inequalities in work and health in Lebanon through a national telephone survey reaching 4,725 Lebanese residents.

Work-package 4​ Exploring the lived experiences of women who left the education and health work force during the COVID-19 pandemic through semi-structured in-depth interviews.

STAKEHOLDERS

​​Stakeholder meetings are held regularly to incorporate diverse perspectives into the project activities.​ Learn more here​. ​

CONFERENCES

Dr. Stephen McCall​ joined the WOMEN RISE regional meeting at Monash University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, where team members from across Asia came together to engage with colleagues, sharing projects' progress and fostering collaboration.

Ms. Myriam Dagher​ presented a research poster on the interplay between gender, employment attrition, and food insecurity from the Work Package 3 telephone survey conducted.​ Learn more here​.

TEAM

Research Team

Funder​

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Contact Us

Privacy Statement

Copyright and Disclaimer

Title IX, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Discriminatory Harassment

Work-package 4 Exploring the lived experiences of women who left the education and health work force during the COVID-19 pandemic through semi-structured in-depth interviews.

Stakeholder meetings are held regularly to incorporate diverse perspectives into the project activities. Learn more here.

Dr. Stephen McCall joined the WOMEN RISE regional meeting at Monash University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, where team members from across Asia came together to engage with colleagues, sharing projects' progress and fostering collaboration.

Ms. Myriam Dagher presented a research poster on the interplay between gender, employment attrition, and food insecurity from the Work Package 3 telephone survey conducted. Learn more here.

Funder