Women Entrepreneurs in Jordan

The growing interest in studying and researching women’s entrepreneurship in Jordan is welcomed as the Kingdom continues to grapple with one of the lowest rates in the world for women’s entrepreneurship, and one of the highest rates for unemployment. To better understand the opportunities, challenges, and prospects for women entrepreneurs in Jordan, this chapter covers the past, present, and future of women entrepreneurs in Jordan. This is achieved by first presenting a contextual overview of Jordan and a historical overview of the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom. Secondly, a discussion of the current and maturing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how it relates to women entrepreneurs operating in the Kingdom, is presented. Third, and finally, the chapter offers a set of potential prospects for the future of women entrepreneurs in Jordan. In doing so, the chapter highlights that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jordan began with a “gender neutral” approach assuming that men and women entrepreneurs shared the same barriers, challenges, and opportunities. However, as it developed, there was a growing awareness of the lack of engagement from women entrepreneurs, which led to an awareness of gendered barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and business growth. Strategies and remedies have been activated to address this, but this could be too little, too late.