A Statistical Portrait from a Gender Perspective Mrs. Manal Sweidan - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Seventh Global Forum on Gender Statistics Government of Japan and United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) Tokyo, Japan, 14 to 16 November 2018 Migration in Jordan A Statistical Portrait from a Gender Perspective Mrs. Manal Sweidan Head of Gender Statistics Division Department of Statistics, Jordan Email: manal@dos.gov.jo; manal.sweidan@hotmail.com

Migration in Jordan, a Statistical Portrait Jordan is considered to be one of the top 10 countries of destination for migrants from Arab countries Number of Migrants Sourcehttp://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/ migration/data/estimates2/index.shtml (accessed 30 January 2015).

Migration in Jordan, a Statistical Portrait..cont Jordan is a major migrant-receiving country Average annual growth rate 19 (2004-2015) % of migrants 2015 31 out of the total population 2004 8 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Demographic Characteristics of Migrants, 2015 A higher percentage of males in comparison to females in age groups 20-49 and it is more obvious in the 25-29 age group, which is within the range of the legally allowed working ages

Migrant Population by Region & Sex, 2015 Regional political instability in the countries nearby formed the migration picture in Jordan Male Female % of the total migrant population 82 70.7 60 52 48 40 22.6 18 6.8 Arab Asian Countries Arab African Countries Other Countries

Migrants by Country of Citizenship & Sex, 2015 Regional political instability in the countries nearby formed the migration picture in Jordan

Female Migrants as Heads of Households by Age Group, 2015 16% of migrant households are headed by females compared to only 11.6% among the Jordanian households Female 13.6 14.5 13.7 11.3 9.5 8.9 8.6 7.3 5.9 4.0 2.7 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+

Educational Characteristics of Males by Nationality Jordanian males have higher percent of high school level & higher education compared to migrants. There is a higher percentage of illiteracy among migrant males compared to male Jordanians. 35 34 Male Jordanian 26 Male Migrants 20 17 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 Illiterate Read and Less than High school Diploma Bachelors write high school level degree and above

Educational Characteristics of Females by Nationality … cont The same pattern exists among the female population in Jordan. 38 Female Jordanian 26 Female Migrants 24 20 17 15 14 11 11 11 8 6 Illiterate Read and Less than High school Diploma Bachelors write high school level degree and above

Reasons of Migration to Jordan, 2015 Insecurity and armed conflict in the migrants origin countries was the main reason for leaving their countries 55.1 Insecurity/ Armed Conflict in 60.6 Country of Origin 54.3 18.3 Work 12.4 19.2 15.9 Total 12 Accompanying 16.6 Female 7.1 Others 10.5 6.6 Male 3.5 Study & Medication & 4.4 Study Tourism 3.2

Patterns of Migration in Jordan Labor Other flows, migration like 18% dependents study 26% Forced migration 56%

Forced Migration

Forced Migration in Jordan Among the 56% migrants who said they came to Jordan as result of the armed conflicts, 86% consider themselves Refugees, 10% considered as non-refugees while the remaining 4% don't know Don't Know Non-refugees 4% 10% Refugees 86%

Demographic Characteristics of Refugees The distribution of the 86 percent of those who considered themselves as refugees, shows almost an equal distribution of refugees in relation to their gender. Male Female 49.4 50.6

Demographic Characteristics of Refugees ..cont The number of women is slightly higher than men in certain age groups

Demographic Characteristics of Refugees ..cont • Four in five refugees in Jordan are Syrians • 77% have arrived to Jordan in the last 1 to 5 years (prior to 2016). • More than 68% of the refugees, do not have health insurance • 15% of refugees are illiterate, most of them are females. • 65% have less than high school education with no gender differentials. • Refugees work in retail, wholesale, restaurants, construction where little education is required and where most can be employed without a work permit due to lower costs on business owners and liability.

Labor Migration

Economic Status of Jordan's Population by Nationality & Sex 83 79 74 67 Jordanian Migrant 33 26 20 17 Male Female Male Female Economically Inactive Economically Active

Employment Status of Jordan's Population by Nationality & Sex Among males, there is very little difference in the percentage of employed Jordanians & migrants. For females, there is a higher percentage of employed migrants compared to employed Jordanians. 90 87 Jordanian 76 64 Migrant 36 24 13 10 Male Female Male Female Employed Unemployed

Labor Migration with Work Permits by Nationality • Three in four migrants labor permit holders are men (75%), the majority are Egyptian (67%). • Female labor permit holders accounted for 24 percent, the bulk came from Bangladesh (49%).

Labor Migration with Work Permits by Type of Work • Male migrants are mostly employed at agriculture, construction, and manufacturing services • Females dominated household domestic work • However, a large number of domestic workers may be undocumented - either because they entered illegally, have overstayed or have failed to inform the Immigration Directorate about change of employers - means that this is a sector where the estimates are unlikely to be inaccurate. • Household employment or domestic work is a major source of employment for both documented and undocumented female migrant workers.

A Glance at the Impact of Syrians in the Jordanian labor Market..cont • Syrians comprise only 12% of the total number of migrant workers holding work permits (15% males of total males holding work permits, and 3% females of total females holding work permits • Estimates of informal Syrian workers range between 42,000 and 150,000 (World Bank), and 160,000 to 200,000 (Jordan ’ s Ministry of Labor, 2015). • Syrians allegedly working without permits were said to be in the construction, retail and wholesale stores, restaurants, services and agriculture sectors.

A Glance at the Impact of Syrians in the Jordanian Labor Market..cont Challenges resulted from the presence of Syrians in the Jordanian labor market were the following: 1. Unlike other migrant workers, Syrians have their families with them and are unable to work under some of the conditions feasible for migrant workers who come to Jordan alone (like Egyptian). 2. Social tensions have emerged as the increased labor supply appears to have suppressed wages.

A Glance at the Impact of Syrians in the Jordanian Labor Market.. cont Despite these challenges, new opportunities have emerged. 1. Whereas migrant workers send the bulk of their wages back home as remittances, Syrian wages are spent inside Jordan. 2. Recruitment costs can be dramatically reduced because Syrians are already in the country. 3. Despite generally low levels of education, many Syrians have strong entrepreneurial skills as well as skills in trades. 4. Syrians living in camps are available to work, including in nearby manufacturing zones.

Conclusion • This working paper show that women are present in all migratory flows, however a closer inspection of each channel of entry reveals very different proportions of men and women. • Whilst women have formed an increasing proportion of all labour migration, some sectors are heavily female dominated and with fewer social and economic rights attached like the domestic and household sector. • Family-related migration (formation and reunion), although the dominant category of settlement, is also highly feminized has hardly received any attention.

Conclusion.. cont • The evidence presented in this paper suggests not only that the proportion of women in all migration flows is increasing, but that their modes of entry are increasingly complex and diversified. • This paper highlights the available statistical data on migration for a better understanding of gendered migrations and policy making; to understand the changing nature of contemporary gendered migrations.

Women count. It ’ s time to count them and count them in. Katja Iversen, President / CEO Women Deliver Thank you for listening Mrs. Manal Sweidan Head of Gender Statistics Division Department of Statistics, Jordan Email: manal@dos.gov.jo; manal.sweidan@hotmail.com