Brussels, 15/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - The participation of women in the economic life of southern Mediterranean countries only stands at 23%.
This rate is the lowest in the world and is responsible for a 25% loss in these countries' GDP. Inequalities were also highlighted in wages and access to senior posts.
This situation was highlighted by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which brought together nearly 250 experts in Barcelona on 9-21 May to discuss the role played by women in the economic life of these countries. The task will also involve identifying the obstacles to equality and sketch out sustainable solutions, as well as set up a platform to work on this issue, explained the UfM in a press release. According to the UfM, the conference seeks to “define sustainable solutions that help overcome the main obstacles preventing the full economic participation of women and to enhance the synergies between the different actors in the region, as well as identify strategic action and concrete regional programs that help promote fairer and more inclusive growth in the region”. (Fathi B'Chir)