The Paradox between Women’s Educational Attainment and Social Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Modernization theory predicts a strong correlation between increased access to education and positive changes in women’s social status and eventual social mobility. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, women’s increased access to education deviates from the expectations of the modernization perspective. While the MENA region is going through a modernization process, improvements in women’s social status still lags due to limited opportunities in the job market and their exclusion in the political arena.