The ILO in Jordan conducted a two-day gender awareness workshop for staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and the directorates of the Irbid and Mafraq governorates. The workshop aimed to enhance women’s participation in the Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) in Jordan, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW).

The workshop also addressed issues relating to gender in the national labour law and in international law, disability inclusion, harassment at work, and safe working environments.

The opening remarks by the ILO stressed the importance of engaging women in EIIP activities and ensuring decent working conditions for all workers in agricultural activities and in the project’s agricultural sites.

The participants were actively engaged in the workshop that adopted a participatory approach and produced action plans to increase women’s participation in the project.

Director of Irbid Agriculture Directorate Abdel Hazef Abu Orabi assured that the Ministry in partnership with the ILO will continue collaborative work to ensure decent working conditions for women in agriculture sites and attract more women to work in the project.

Director of the Jerash Agriculture Directorate Fayez Khawaldeh thanked the ILO for designing the project with a focus on the inclusion of women and those with disabilities. He said the workshop provided a good opportunity to promote women’s economic participation in unconventional jobs as well as an opportunity to challenge traditional norms.

ILO Communications, Community Development and Monitoring Officer Farah Al Azab thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and the directorates for their active participation in the project and emphasized the importance of raising awareness on more inclusive working activities and environments that will ensure giving opportunity for all.

As a result for the workshop, the two directorates will start working on action plans that will support increased inclusion of women in project activities. The ILO will support the directorates in finalizing the action plans and implementing the activities on the ground.

The EIIP project was launched in Jordan in 2016 in response to the Syrian crisis to provide support to the Jordanian Government in facing challenges relating to the influx of refugees. It focuses on increasing short term employment through improving infrastructure and the environment, and on providing youth with skills that will assist them in securing longer-term job opportunities. Project beneficiaries include Jordanian and Syrian women and men, including persons with disabilities.

The project’s inclusion of women currently stands at 30 per cent, up from 10 per cent in 2016, with plans to increase the rate of women’s participation further in the future.