Women Workforce Participation in Qatar: Oil, Culture and Demographic Trends

Abstract

Gender inequality in the economic sphere and workforce is global trend. It is necessary to therefore, avoid essentialist and reductionist approach when explaining women and economic participation when it comes to the Middle East, without disregarding the contextual realities. In the case of Gulf countries, the female workforce participation rates remain specifically low despite the rise in higher education. A huge gap and paradox exists between male and female citizens of these countries, whereby the former is better educated but are less active in the job market. There is a lack of studies explaining these trends with relation to the concept of gender inequality in the region. Many scholars and previous studies have focused too narrowly on the rentier state model to explain this imbalance in the economic participation between the two genders. This chapter critically analyzes the rentier theory in the Gulf context to highlight certain inaccurate/insufficient assumptions about the current trends in Qatar’s workforce in relation to women, culture and oil.