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The Legal Dimensions of Women’s Employment in the Jordanian Private Sector: An Analysis of Family-Related Rights

Authors:
Ghofran Hilal at University of Jordan
Ghofran Hilal
Hadeel Al-Zu’bi at University of Jordan
Hadeel Al-Zu’bi
Thawab Hilal at University of Salzburg
Thawab Hilal
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Abstract

This paper seeks to explore why women’s participation in the Jordanian workforce remains comparatively low—despite an increase in the number of employed women across many countries and regions. Focusing on the Jordanian private sector, where the greatest disparities lie, we assess the conformity between the provisions that regulate family-related rights in the workplace within national labour law and international law. From this examination, we conclude that whilst law offers the potential for significant positive change in the Jordanian labour market, and notwithstanding the labour law reforms which took place between 2000 and 2020, the underlying structure of the existing laws is inimical to the goal of women’s full participation. Using a women’s rights perspective, we argue that, instead of piecemeal reform, the labour law sphere must be revised as a whole to better accommodate respect for women’s needs in the workplace. This change must be underpinned by family-friendly legislation, which, as our study shows, is a key factor in alleviating some of the major challenges facing women workers.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Feminist Legal Studies (2022) 30:331–354
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-022-09497-3
1 3
The Legal Dimensions ofWomen’s Employment
intheJordanian Private Sector: AnAnalysis
ofFamily‑Related Rights
GhofranHilal1· HadeelAl‑Zu’bi1· ThawabHilal2
Accepted: 5 August 2022 / Published online: 27 August 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2022
Abstract
This paper seeks to explore why women’s participation in the Jordanian workforce
remains comparatively low—despite an increase in the number of employed women
across many countries and regions. Focusing on the Jordanian private sector, where
the greatest disparities lie, we assess the conformity between the provisions that reg-
ulate family-related rights in the workplace within national labour law and interna-
tional law. From this examination, we conclude that whilst law offers the potential
for significant positive change in the Jordanian labour market, and notwithstanding
the labour law reforms which took place between 2000 and 2020, the underlying
structure of the existing laws is inimical to the goal of women’s full participation.
Using a women’s rights perspective, we argue that, instead of piecemeal reform,
the labour law sphere must be revised as a whole to better accommodate respect
for women’s needs in the workplace. This change must be underpinned by family-
friendly legislation, which, as our study shows, is a key factor in alleviating some of
the major challenges facing women workers.
Keywords Family-related rights· Jordanian labour law· Private sector· Public
international law· Women’s employment· Women’s rights
* Ghofran Hilal
g.hilal@ju.edu.jo
Hadeel Al-Zu’bi
h.alzubi@ju.edu.jo
Thawab Hilal
Thawab.hilal@wur.nl
1 Department ofPublic Law, Faculty ofLaw, University ofJordan, Queen Rania St., Amman,
Jordan
2 Wageningen University andResearch, Wageningen, TheNetherlands
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Most importantly, through education and awareness programs, society could take a step to change the perception of women as the sole family carer and that men can play the same role in handling work-family conflict. Moreover, labour laws can be revised to accommodate women's needs better and intertwine with family-friendly legislation (Hilal et al., 2022), which can be the key factor in alleviating work-family conflicts. Quotes from the focus group: ...
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