This open access book explores the various dimensions of women's empowerment in public policy
in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region with a particular focus on Qatar comparing the
country to the other Gulf states. Through its rich compilation of empirical qualitative
research the text unpacks the various ways in which women's empowerment materializes in the
GCC context providing insights into public policy perspectives in high-income rentier states
more broadly. The Arab world has long been part of the global dialogue on women's economic and
political empowerment and the GCC has over the past decade situated women's empowerment
amongst their respective national priorities and long-term strategies. In turn the Gulf has
seen gradual implementation of policies aimed at women specifically in looking to attract and
retain them in the labour market and in the public sector more broadly. The collection surveys
and evaluates the progress made in recent decades paying close attention to the cultural and
policy constraints still limiting women's empowerment in the Gulf. With a key linkage to SDG5
this book is a timely text addressing the context and drivers behind policies centering on
women in the Arab region in its analysis of the interplay of international women's empowerment
discourse and regional public policy decisions. It is relevant to researchers and policy makers
focused on women and gender issues in relation to social cultural economic and political
empowerment in the Gulf specifically but also in the Arab world and beyond.
