Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar lag in female employment

     A report by Gallup shows that only 22 per cent of women work in Saudi Arabia the number of hours that they desire. The average for the entire Middle East is 40 per cent and for the world 43 per cent,  Kuwait contrast with its Arab neighbors in the region with 88 per cent of  women employed and 89 per cent of men.
   While in most countries of the world women are not employed for the number of hours they would wish compared to men this is not true in all countries. In Ireland women are 15 percentage more likely than men to work the number of hours that they want.
   The top ten countries where women work the number of hours they want are a mixed bag. Along with Kuwait are Singapore and Belgium plus several Scandinavian countries including Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Malta, Estonia, Israel, and Slovakia round out the ten.
   Gallup began polling on this issue in 2009. The 2011 poll interviewed adults in 144 countries. Self-employed females were not included. One wonders if in the Gulf States only citizens were surveyed. In many Gulf countries foreign female domestic workers are employed. The poll surveyed 187,000 adults.
     Saudi Arabia had the largest gap between men and women. Women in Saudi Arabia were 23 per cent less likely to be employed the number of hours they desired compared to men. In the U.S. by contrast the gap was 9 per cent. Other countries where the gap was greatest were Bolivia, Honduras, Bahrain, and Oman. For more see this article and also here

The Decline and Fall of Ireland the Celtic TIger

 Ireland is a continuing casualty of the world financial crisis that began during 2008 and is still impacting many parts of the world. In Ireland the government underwrote the six major banks to prevent their collapse. As a result just 4.5 million people were saddled with a debt of 5.5 billion U.S.
     Bank liabilities were 309 per cent of GDP making it necessary for the EU and IMF to provide a rescue package of 109 billion. Only a couple of years before, Ireland was touted as an economic miracle, the Celtic Tiger. With low interest rates, rising property values, and lots of credit Ireland was supposed to show how unregulated markets led to wondrous results.
   But it was all a magic bubble that eventually burst. The liabilities of banks were so huge their failure would bring down the economy according to most analysts. The government stepped in to prop them up. Now the debt is being paid for not by the banks whose reckless behavior caused the situation but the Irish people. The are paying in higher taxes, smaller pensions, and reduced spending for social security, education, and health.
 The EU and IMF loans are offered only on condition that austerity measures are introduced including severe cuts to public spending.
     In 2011 the ruling party was crushed due to the sour public mood. Once again the Irish are emigrating to other countries in search of work and a decent living. There is no end in sight as yet as the austerity measures impact negatively on the economy and unemployment increases. For more see this article. I have also appended a half hour documentary video on the Irish economy..