Working women transforming the Muslim world

Debate in the West about technology and work often centres on the risks the rise of robots and algorithms will pose to job security. In other parts of the world, though, the same advances are bringing about a cultural and economic revolution.

This is certainly the case in much of the Muslim world. These countries, which account for 20% of the world’s population and 12% of its gross domestic product, are undergoing one of the largest labour market transformations in history, and it is being driven by women.

Just over a decade ago, only 100m women were working in the 30 largest Muslim-majority economies. Today it is 155m. While this is still a small proportion of the overall working-age population, it is an extraordinary shift. And, while investment in education, changing social norms and economic revolution.

This is certainly the case in much of the Muslim world. These countries, which account for 20% of the world’s population and 12% of its gross domestic product, are undergoing one of the largest labour market transformations in history, and it is being driven by women.

Just over a decade ago, only 100m women were working in the 30 largest Muslim-majority economies. Today it is 155m. While this is still a small proportion of the overall working-age population, it is an extraordinary shift. And, while investment in education, changing social norms and economic need have all played a part, the real driving force has been the rise of technology as an enabler of work.

One reason for this is the rise of the female tech entrepreneur. Rather than the stereotypical young man in a hoodie we associate with the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, in the Muslim world you are more likely to encounter a young woman in a headscarf. Their businesses are often built on the disposable income of other working women. Whether online platforms for childcare and safe transport, food or clothing, these digital bazaars are aimed at a new generation of educated, tech-savvy women. It is a lucrative and untapped market: the combined income of working women in the Muslim world is nearly US$1tn.

Not all working Muslim women are turning to large-scale entrepreneurship. A second factor behind their mass migration into the labour force is the gig economy. In advanced economies, it has become synonymous with the rise of the precariat but there are important differences between an Uber driver in London, a Lyft driver in San Francisco, a Careem driver in Jeddah or a Ladyjek driver in Jakarta.

In emerging markets, including those in the Muslim world, micro-entrepreneurs who have never had access to social safety nets are embracing digital gig work as an upgrade in terms of pay, security and the potential for social mobility. For women, in particular, the gig economy is liberating. It provides an unprecedented opportunity to bypass cultural constraints on their time and mobility.

Women are finding new opportunities to share their skills, from driving to cooking to coding. Suddenly they have the kind of level playing field that is missing in a traditional office.

This situation is partly made possible by the choices women make about their education. There are only five countries in the world where women make up a larger proportion than men of students enrolled in science, technology and engineering subjects. Of these, Brunei and Kuwait are Muslim-majority economies.

In another 18 countries, women make up 40% or more of those enrolled in those courses – more than half are Muslim-majority countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Jordan, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia 38% and in Iran 34% of students in those fields are women. The percentage in the United States is only 30% and in the United Kingdom 36%.

As more women enter higher education in the Muslim world, the lack of role models has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It has left them free to choose what they want to study rather than being influenced by stereotypes. Because everything was off-limits for most of their mothers and grandmothers, nothing seems off-limits for them.

Hungry for talent, companies have filled roles from IT to engineering with the best they could find, often from this pipeline of educated women. This has created a digital labour force with the potential to become much more gender-equal than many in the west.

There are barriers when it comes to converting degrees into jobs, and biases around career progression and promotion. As in the West, some women drop out to start families, but many also have support systems that enable them to keep working – extended families where grandparents provide childcare and low-skilled, cheap workers to do the household chores.

An even greater migration of young women into the workplace will occur in coming years. Multinationals and local businesses are waking up to this trend. Governments must do likewise. Helping a generation of digitally savvy future employers, consumers and taxpayers to flourish may well turn out to be the highest return on financial and social investment they could make.

- SAADIA ZAHIDI is a member of the Managing Board and Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society at the World Economic Forum. She is the author of Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World.