Women in economic development : a strategy for support to the sector in the West Bank and Gaza -- phase one consultancy report

This report assesses the activities of 22 Palestinian women"s groups, including cooperatives, charitable societies, and grassroots organizations. A major finding is that the economic projects are operating in nearly total isolation from the commercial and industrial sectors of the society and have little linkage with the business support institutions beginning to develop in the West Bank and Gaza. The central focus of these projects is small-scale industry, with some emphasis on commerce. While some are considered relief projects, designed to provide income for women whose husbands have died or been imprisoned, others aim to develop viable businesses. Project leaders are women from within the organizations with little business expertise, and no attempts have been made to take advantage of the skills of female entrepreneurs in the society at large. Support from governmental agencies generally consists of equipment and machinery, and does not satisfy the broad training needs of program managers and their workers. However, the women"s movement is clearly committed to long-run involvement in increasing women"s participation in the West Bank and Gaza, and experiences over the past few years have led to a rethinking of the expertise required to promote it. A program which focuses on women"s production and commerce at the smaller range of enterprise scales could have considerable impact.