Arab women make up 16% of labor force

On the sidelines of the Arab Labor Conference being held in Luxor Aicha Abdel Hady, the head of the women's labor committee, said studies carried out by Woman's Labor Center in Tunisia found that Arab women accounted for 16% of the total labor force in the Arab world.

Women's participation in Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Kuwait and Syria is the highest. Agriculture accounts for 40% of women's labor in the Arab states.

Abdel Hady called for improving women's situation throughout the Arab world.

Women's labor related concerns vary considerably between Arab states, and the issues involved relate to parity in wages, benefits and opportunity. Many cultural impediments remain for women who desire to enter the work force in many places.