UN Women in Jordan
UN Women Jordan Country Office’s work is carried out in support of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's Triple Modernization Agenda (the Political System Modernization, the Economic Modernization Vision and its Engendered Strategy, and the Public Sector Reform), the National Strategy for Women in Jordan (2020-2025), the second Jordanian National Action Plan for the Implementation of Security Council 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2022-2025), and the Jordan Response Plan for the Syria Crisis and is grounded in the principles and targets contained in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Beijing Platform for Action.
Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in Jordan (UNSDCF 2023-2028), UN Women JCO implements its triple mandate by working with the government of Jordan to strengthen national systems and to develop laws and policies to advance gender equality and women's empowerment; by working with the Government of Jordan, civil society and the private sector to support the implementation of international and national commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment; and by strengthening coordination of the UN System and Development Partners in support of gender equality in Jordan.
Operational in Jordan for nearly four decades, the JCO has consolidated its expertise, partnerships, and investments into three key signature portfolios:
- Gender responsive Governance through strengthening the capacities of the national gender machinery, supporting gender mainstreaming across government stakeholders, advancing women’s leadership and political participation at the national and local levels, supporting gender responsive planning and budgeting, advancing gender responsive security sector reform, and building the capacity of women and women civil society organization to engage in governance process and to promote peace and social cohesion.
- Women’s Economic Empowerment through supporting policy and legal reforms to advance women’s labor force participation, transforming social norms to address unpaid care work and promote women’s economic participation, evidence-based advocacy for investing in care services, supporting private sector’s further uptake and implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPS), and supporting gender lens investing approaches. This portfolio is also closely linked with the Resilience portfolio which focuses on women refugee and the most vulnerable Jordanian women.
- Strengthening women’s Resilience and Protection through dedicated multisectoral support to Syrian refugee women and vulnerable Jordanian women in refugee camps and host-communities including support in accessing sustainable livelihoods, and through strengthening survivor-centered, multisectoral essential services for women survivors of gender-based violence with a particular focus on support for evidence based policy reform, capacity building for the security sector, and improved access to safe shelter, psycho-social and mental health support, and legal aid in vulnerable parts of the country.
In all of UN Women’s work in Jordan, we partner with the Government of Jordan, and work with civil society and the private sector in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Our strategies in all areas include the engagement of national stakeholders in regional and global normative forums; contributing to evidenced-based, nationally-led legislative reform and the development of national knowledge products and tools on the gains and challenges to gender equality and women’s empowerment; supporting women’s access to skills, networks, and services and fostering platforms for their enhanced voice and leadership; supporting the development of innovative financing mechanisms and tools – including gender responsive budgeting – to advance gender equality commitments; and advancing nationally and community owned change around attitudes and behaviors which are at the root of gender-based inequalities.
In fostering nationally-owned knowledge and evidence based advocacy, UN Women works closely with government entities, universities, and research institutions. Key examples of such work are the General Framework for Gender Equality in Jordan (2022) developed by UN Women and the Economic and Social Council of Jordan in close consultation with the national women’s machinery, the national statistical office and key ministries, and the Understanding Masculinities: International Men and Gender Equality Survey – Jordan (2023) developed in partnership with the University of Jordan Center for Strategic Studies and the Information and Research Center at the King Hussein Foundation.
UN Women’s on-going work in Jordan is made possible through the generous partnership and support of our Development Partners, including: the Agence Francaise de Développement, Australia, the BHP Foundation, Canada/Global Affairs, Cyprus, the European Union, Finland, France/AFD, Iceland, Italy/AICS, Norway, Spain/AECID, Sweden/SIDA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.