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Adolescents in Jordan: economic empowerment and social protection

Briefing/policy papers

Written by Nicola Jones

Hero image description: Adolescent girl in Jordan. Photo: Natalie Bertrams/GAGE Image credit:Adolescent girl in Jordan. Photo: Natalie Bertrams/GAGE

Adolescents need tailored support to develop the aspirations and skills they need to become the ‘generation capable of creativity and innovation with high productivity’ envisioned by Jordan’s new National Youth Strategy.

GAGE research suggests that adolescents in Jordan, especially Syrian refugees, remain vulnerable to exploitative child labour and rarely benefit from programming for economic empowerment.

Refugee adolescents in Jordan have limited occupational aspirations largely due to restrictive work permit regulations, and in the case of girls, restrictive gender norms and limited opportunities mean Jordan has one of the lowest rates of female labour force participation globally.

Elizabeth Presler-Marshall, Nicola Jones, Sarah Baird with Agnieszka Malachowska