Five years of war and displacement have triggered fundamental shifts in gender roles and responsibilities, both in Syria and in neighboring countries. In Syria before the crisis, women’s economic participation was relatively low at 22 percent in 2010, with some legal barriers but mainly sociocultural norms and practice limiting women’s roles and responsibilities inside and outside the house. As a result of the upheaval, however, Syrian women and men feel that their roles and responsibilities have been reversed: while women increasingly participate in decision-making on income and expenses and assume responsibilities outside the home, men have lost their traditional role as (sole) breadwinner and decision-maker.
Women, Work, & War
Syrian women and the struggle to survive five years of conflict