MENA Women Under Pressure
Research Report No. 1 – August 2026
The first report in the MENA Women Under Pressure research series investigates a central question: why do education, skills and professional experience so often fail to translate into stable opportunities, income and advancement for women across the MENA region?
Drawing on evidence from the MENA Impact Women Under Pressure Survey and the first Strategic Empowerment Programme pilot, the study moves from women’s reported pressures and unmet needs to the testing of an applied response. It introduces the Strategic Empowerment Model, grounded in Kabeer’s relationship between resources, agency and achievements, Freire’s concepts of dialogue, critical reflection and praxis, and Mernissi’s emphasis on women’s voices and lived knowledge. The research reveals the conversion gap between existing potential and real outcomes, while the pilot shows how strategic reflection, mentoring, positioning and implementation support can begin to transform that potential into clearer professional pathways.
What did the survey reveal? What changed during the pilot? And how can women’s existing resources be converted into strategic action and sustainable impact?
