Leading voices from across the Middle East and North Africa gathered at a recent regional conference to examine the links between women’s employment, climate change and entrepreneurship, and to chart concrete solutions for the future.

The conference assembled over 100 experts, policymakers, development practitioners, private sector representatives and entrepreneurs to discuss actionable solutions to key priorities for the region: reducing gender disparities, promoting climate resilience and strengthening inclusive economic opportunities.

"This event aims to bridge the gap identified in research that underscores barriers to women’s participation in the green economy and policy that seeks to ameliorate them,” said Dr. Wessam El Beih, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at IDRC.

Titled “Women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa’s green economy transition,” the conference assessed women’s current and potential role in the region’s green economy. The green economy refers to an economic model that promotes environmental and social wellbeing through inclusive sustainable development.

Structural challenges, such as heavy reliance on fossil fuel industries and subsidies on non-renewable energy, continue to slow the shift toward a green economy in the region. While some are being tackled through targeted strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and expand renewable energy, a fair and effective transition will depend on addressing its social dimensions, particularly gender inequality.

Women have been systematically excluded from the green economy, with only 5-7% of clean energy jobs in the region filled by women. According to the International Labour Organization, an inclusive green transition can create 10 million jobs across the region.

“Without women, we are competing with half our potential,” said Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, director, Women’s Employment in the Green, STEM, and Care Economy at UN Women in the Arab States. “The green transition cannot succeed if women are left behind. Engaging women means unlocking growth, innovation and a stronger future for the Arab region.”

Engaging women in the region must not be done in a prescriptive or paternalistic manner. Dina Sherif, executive director of the Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, emphasized that “women, particularly women across the region, are not powerless or victims in need of rescuing by international aid. They are problem-solvers, creators and they are in fact the best placed to develop lasting solutions that meet on-the-ground realities.”

Research may be the key to bridging women’s potential with the region’s future, according to Magued Osman, CEO of Baseera Center and former minister of communications and information technology in Egypt. “Today’s conference was an excellent opportunity to address a number of pressing issues, including the complex relationship between social science research and public policy formulation, which is increasingly complex in today's highly uncertain world,” he added.

However, to achieve a truly inclusive transition, “we have to totally change the way we define, perceive and design for the changes to what we call a just transition to a green economy,” explained Laila Iskander, founding partner of CID Consulting and former minister of environmental affairs and minister of state for urban renewal and informal settlements in Egypt. “Informal workers — who number more than two billion worldwide — often bear the brunt of climate change impacts but seldom get a say in high-level discussions about how the global economy can shift to a cleaner and greener future.”

A white paper will be developed as an outcome of this event, including an analysis of the key barrier to entry for women in the green economy, the role of the private sector in boosting women’s role in the transition, and the potential for research to support change on the ground and in policy. It will also feature a policy briefing and recommendations, with targeted dissemination to policymakers across the region. The release of the white paper is expected for the end of 2025.