Labor Watch - Dr. Khaif Alkhawaldeh, Jordanian Minister of Public Sector Development announced that his ministry was preparing a project aiming to empower women in the public sector, disclosing that this would be achieved through studying the reality, analyzing inputs, designing and carrying out leadership building programs targeting boosting women chances to assume key Government positions.
In the details, Alkhawaldeh stated in a press release that the main pillars of this project would be to attract qualified women to work in the public sector, build their abilities, provide them with skills and encourage their participation in policy drawing and decision making.
Alkhawaldeh declared that his ministry, through this project, sought to make use of the recently introduced amendments to the Civil Service Act by virtue of which family allowance would be given to the wife whose husband is handicapped, the wife who support her children, and the divorced wife.
On women benefits in the public sector, Alkhawaldeh explained that the Civil Service Act allows working women a fully paid three months maternity leave, she is entitled to a two years unpaid leave after maternity leave, in addition to a one feeding hour everyday for nine months.
Alkhawaldeh pointed that the Code of Behavior Rules and Public Service Ethics regulates work relations to ensure respect and protection for working women; and ends all forms of discrimination in all issues related to work.
Alkhawaldeh emphasized that women empowerment project in the public sector was one of the projects of human resources development in the plan of his ministry.
Alkhawaldeh pointed that women empowerment was one of the Government’s priorities during 2015, and that the Government intended to increase employment of qualified women in Government institutions, adding that a major goal of this project was to increase the percentage of working women in the public sector with special focus on the part of empowering them to become leaders.