Women-owned businesses (WOBs) in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region could make significant contributions to entrepreneurial activity and countries’ economic growth, but face challenges and barriers. This report examines access to finance in the United Arab Emirates for WOBs; describes government and private measures to promote women’s entrepreneurship; looks at global best practices and makes recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to improve women-owned businesses’ access to financing.

This publication is produced by Musawah with support from UN Women within the framework of the ‘Men and Women for Gender Equality’ regional programme funded by Sweden.

Ending child marriage is fundamental to gender equality, women’s empowerment, and improving maternal and child health worldwide. It is also an important part of safeguarding the stability of communities and the global economy. This background paper provides an overview of the scope, drivers and consequences of child marriage in the Arab region. It also discusses the importance of estimating the cost of child marriage, examines the feasibility of undertaking a costing study in the Arab region, and reviews the availability of data needed to implement such a task, as well as the appropriate framework to consider when approaching costing child marriage in the region.

This year’s regular resources report analyses how UN Women mobilized its core contributions in 2019 to fulfil its normative, coordination, and operational activities mandate, in order to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide. Through the presentation of tangible results, this report presents case studies at the global, regional, and country levels to showcase the impact that regular resources have in the countries where UN Women is present.