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Paper short abstract:

This study examines how perceptions of limited financial autonomy influence women’s labour market participation in Jordan. It proposes extending the concept of 'reservation conditions' to include perceptions of financial autonomy, highlighting their role in shaping labour market decisions.

Paper long abstract:

Despite rising levels of female education in the MENA region, women’s labour force participation remains among the lowest globally, with Jordan at just 14%. Traditional explanations, such as the concept of the reservation wage, fail to fully capture the complexity of barriers to women’s labour market entry. Whereas recent research highlights reservation conditions—factors such as workplace gender ratios, work hours, and societal norms—as barriers to women’s labour market entry, an overlooked dimension is women’s perceptions of their own financial autonomy within households.

Based on years of fieldwork in Jordan, this study explores how perceptions of limited financial autonomy influence women’s labour market participation. For example, women often express sentiments such as: “Why work if I will not have a say in how my money is spent?” These observations suggest that financial autonomy may form a key part of women’s reservation conditions, deterring labour force entry even in cases where other barriers have been addressed.

This study examines patterns of women’s labour market participation across Jordan, focusing on how persistent gender norms, reflected in financial autonomy, contribute to the country’s low rate of female labour force participation. Using data from the Jordanian Labour Market Panel Survey (2010–2024) and the Demographic and Health Survey, the study analyses how these norms manifest and persist across time, offering insights into structural and normative constraints and their implications for women’s employment decisions.