Breaking Barriers By Gary Seidman

Women entrepreneurs are changing the dynamics of the Arab workplace In the Arab world, women are increasingly stepping into entrepreneurial roles, asserting their influence on business and technology, and leading a quiet revolution that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. The trend marks a departure from traditional roles and gender expectations, and it could hold profound implications for the region’s development and progression toward more inclusive societies. While the Arab world has historically seen limited female participation in the labor market, the growing presence of women in business start-ups follows a global pattern that is accelerating innovation and diversifying prosperity. It is not an instantaneous or easy transition. Addressing barriers to equality frequently means challenging social norms and confronting entrenched interests. In the Middle East and North Africa, labor force participation for women is still a meager 19 percent compared with the global average of nearly 50 percent. But across the region, opportunities are expanding, and women-like the three we profile below-are challenging patriarchal attitudes. Brewing opportunities in Yemen Arzaq Al-najjar is trying to modernize the coffee business in one of the poorest, most war-torn, and ancient coffee producing regions on Earth. From a third-floor office overlooking Yemen’s capital of Sana'a, Al-najjar, 34, runs Mocha Valley, a coffee-production and business consultancy that specializes in research, training, and development assistance for entrepreneurs, investors, coffee traders, farmers, and partners along the coffee value chain. The company takes its name from the Red Sea port of Mocha at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula—once the world’s crossroads for coffee—which in turn lent its name to the popular drink. Nearly 600 years ago coffee beans procured from Ethiopia were first roasted, brewed, and sipped in Yemen’s Sufi shrines. During the 16th century, ships laden with beans carried coffee from the port of Mocha to destinations throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and a century or so later to Europe. By the early 20th century, coffee had become a global commodity, and by 2021, coffee exports topped $36 billion.