DOHA: The ratio of literate females in Qatar aged 15 to 24 years was higher than that of literate males in the same category during 2006-2013, shows the 2014 Millennium Development Goals report released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.
This ratio reached its highest level in 2006, jumping to 112 percent, due to state policies aimed at spreading education in all regions.
According to statistical data, Qatar is very close to achieving gender equality in primary school enrolment rates, as the ratio of female to male students rose from 95 percent in 2006 to 96 percent in 2013, says the report.
The same thing could apply to the ratio of female to male in secondary education, despite the decline from the level achieved in 2006, but it came close to equality throughout the 2006-2013.
As for higher education, the proportion of female and male in tertiary enrolment reached 187 percent between 2007 and 2012, despite the subsequent decline, the ratio remained later at high levels reaching 175 percent in 2013 and is among the highest globally.
“This can be explained by encouraging female students to obtain a college degree, which allows them to get better job opportunities along with the change in Qatari society’s view of women and their role in economic, social and cultural sphere and the involvement of large numbers of males in the labour market at an early stage as soon as they receive a high school certificate,” said the report.
Despite the rise in ratio of Qatari women in the labour force from 34.7 percent in 2006 to 37.2 percent in 2008, this proportion declined to 33.8 percent in 2013, while the Qatari women’s share in the national labour force remained low compared to the males who account for two-thirds of the Qatari labour force.
The participation of Qatari women in the labour market is expected to rise gradually in the coming years with the large number of Qatari females who will graduate from the Education City, particularly in medicine, media and engineering, as Qatari women started to engage in academic disciplines relevant to those jobs, said the report.
Statistics also show a decline in Qatari women’s share in non-agricultural work, which dropped from 15 percent in 2006 to 12.8 percent in 2013.
The Qatari women’s share in paid employment outside the agricultural sector is expected to rise, in light of the state’s policy that encourages women to participate in paid jobs in different sectors of the economy, and the large number of graduated women in scientific disciplines needed by the labour market, said the report.
The data show a modest percentage of women in the Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections, as only one of the four women who ran in Qatar’s quadrennial municipal elections carried her constituency in 2011, (which constitutes 3.4 percent of the total seats of the council) in a new confirmation of the formidable challenges faced by women’s political empowerment programmes.
“Qatar has achieved remarkable progress in eliminating gender disparities in the area of providing opportunities at all levels of education. However, the participation of Qatari women in the labour market is still low, which requires encouraging women to enter non-traditional professions, such as scientific professions, trades and crafts. Qatari women’s political participation is still low despite the fact that many women reach decision-making and leadership positions, which requires a plan to increase their representation in elected national councils,” concluded the report.
The Peninsula
