Conflict hits women hard across the Arab region, threatens to reverse decades of progress

[Press release]

Beirut – Conflict is rapidly eroding women’s safety and security, shrinking their access to jobs, and pushing them to the margins of the economy across the Arab region, according to a new policy brief released today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and UN Women, titled “Conflict and its shockwaves: implications for the security and economic participation of women in the Arab region”.

In conflict-affected settings, the already fragile women’s security conditions are among the first to deteriorate. Heightened insecurity limits mobility, reduces access to services, and signals deeper pressures on governance systems, with long-term consequences for recovery and stability. The brief warns, however, that these impacts extend beyond countries under conflict, with trade disruptions, financial instability, and strains on public services affecting women across the region.

The brief also highlights a critical risk: women are often the first to exit the labour market during crises. Even small declines in labour force participation can lead to measurable setbacks in gender equality, particularly in countries where women’s participation was already below 30%, such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the State of Palestine.

As economic pressures mount, many women are shifting into precarious employment or leaving paid work altogether, undermining household resilience and slowing economic recovery. These pressures are especially pronounced in service and informal sectors, where jobs are more vulnerable to crisis-related shocks.

“Escalating conflict is reversing hard‑won gains in gender equality and threatening recovery prospects across multiple countries,” noted ESCWA Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for Programmes Mehrinaz El Awady. “In our region, where women already carry up to 90% of unpaid care work, conflict risks locking in a cycle of exclusion that becomes harder to reverse over time,” she warned.

The region entered the current crisis as the only region globally where women’s financial inclusion was already deteriorating. Reduced access to financial services limits households’ ability to absorb shocks, making recovery slower, less inclusive, and more fragile. At the same time, disruptions to digital financial infrastructure are further accelerating women’s exclusion from formal financial systems.

“Conflict and instability are compounding structural inequalities that already limit women’s economic participation and security across the Arab region,” said Dr. Moez Doraid, UN Women Regional Director for the Arab States. “Women are often the first to lose income opportunities during crises, while simultaneously carrying increased unpaid care responsibilities and facing reduced access to services and financial systems. Without targeted interventions that take into consideration women’s needs, these setbacks risk having long-term consequences not only for women and girls, but for the resilience and recovery of entire societies.”

The brief recommends urgent and coordinated policy responses to prevent further setbacks, including protecting women’s employment and income during crises, integrating care services into crisis response and recovery frameworks, safeguarding access to financial services and digital infrastructure, and strengthening gender-responsive monitoring and policymaking.