The concept of “Sustainable Development” was adopted during “The Earth Summit” in Rio, in 1992, and The UN “Commission on Sustainable Development” (CSD) was established to review progress achieved towards the implementation of the concept and the entailed “Agenda 21” adopted then. Yet since that time, limited progress was achieved. Many observers stated that the mechanisms for implementation needed reform at all levels: national, regional and international.

Public social expenditure is indispensable, and its right mix as social investments and social protection measures would improve growth and human development toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For more than three decades, the ESCWA region has been exporting capital; experiencing volatile real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth; has the highest unemployment rate globally; suffers from rising income inequality; and has a poorly-balanced economic structure that is overwhelmingly based on the export of oil.

Discussions and ongoing debates on Arab women’s rate of economic participation, which is lower than any other region of the world, have emphasized the failure to turn educational gains of the past decade or so into increased participation in the labour force. The present study offers a new reading of current data and key indicators on women’s employment and education attainments to identify structural barriers that have impeded the process of fostering women’s employment.