Odds are stacked against Palestinian businesswomen
Women are working to advance their presence in the Palestinian business world and level the playing field with their male counterparts.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian women are facing economic and social barriers in business as they attempt to break the male monopoly over leadership roles in commerce.
According to a Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics report from December, female participation in the labor force in 2017 amounted to 19.2% of all women age 15 and older, with 1.9% of that figure owning businesses. About 66.4% of the 19.2% held service jobs and 11.9% of them worked in the trade sector.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Palestinian Businesswomen's Association (ASALA) Chairwoman Raja Rantisi said, “Female participation in businesses in the Palestinian territories is low, and is mainly centered on small enterprises such as beauty salons and clothing shops.”
She explained that small businesses willing to grow into big ones face complications, most notably a lack of financial resources, as Palestinian women continue to be denied a key source of money: inheritances. And then there is the wide societal perception that "women belong in the home."
