The relationship of women employment and economic growth in Middle East countries

The Middle East is a geography that the intersection of three continents, the birthplace of three great divine religions, the cradle of civilizations, the world energy base and dominated by the Muslim population. Apart from the natural resource exporting countries and Israel, there is no country in the region that is in the group of high-income countries. The fact that fossil resources will be depleted in time is a great risk for the countries of the region. Although almost half of the population of the countries is made up of women, it is a contradiction that women take very little place in business life in the countries of the region, but it creates an opportunity for increasing women's employment. The study aimed to demonstrate that by increasing female employment, which is still very low in the countries of the region, the growth rate can be increased and sustainability will be strengthened in the long run. In this context, the effect of female employment on economic growth in 13 Middle East countries in the period 2000-2021 was tested with panel data analysis. The neoclassical growth model was used in the analysis. Purchasing Power Parity and Gross Domestic Product Per Capita as dependent variables of the model, Famele Employment/Total Employment, Male Employment/Total Employment, Gross Capital Stock/GDP, Trade Openness Ratio data as independent variables were used. In order to determine the contribution of female employment to production, total employment is included in the model separately as male and female employment. As a result of the tests, it was determined that female employment made a positive contribution to growth. From this point of view, it has been concluded that if women take more roles in economic life, they can accelerate the development of the countries in the region and increase sustainability in the long run.