BEIRUT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Childcare responsibilities limit Lebanese women's chances of pursuing a career, leaving the female labor force participation rate in Lebanon at less than 28 percent, said a UN report issued on Thursday.
A study done by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) found that women in Lebanon undertake 94 percent of childcare responsibilities, which makes their participation in the labor force around a third of the male rate only.
The study aimed at introducing various types of flexible work arrangements in the Lebanese labor law with findings presented at an event held in the Lebanese parliament.
Inaya Ezzeddine, chair of Lebanon's Women and Children Parliamentary Committee, said that "introducing flexibility in the labor law would create a balance between labor market requirements and protecting workers' rights."
ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti stressed "the need to amend the labor law to include flexible work arrangements so women could balance their careers and domestic responsibilities according to their needs, and shed light on the law's role in advancing economic growth."
Iman Khazaal, head of the Labor Department at the Lebanese Ministry of Labor, who was representing Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram, gave an overview of the law proposals drafted by the ministry to mend the current laws, stressing that her ministry supports the moves to bring about positive changes.
