ABSTRACT
Little more than five female goldsmiths a century suggests a considerable degree of gender prejudice. However, what women are taught in education systems may reinforce gender prejudice. While the major Gulf economies continue to rank relatively poorly on measures of gender prejudice, especially in the areas of economics and politics, their position has improved somewhat in years. The real economic damage now comes not from legally excluding women from the economy, but from informally excluding women. More often than, the obvious hard prejudice goes into hiding and turns into the soft prejudice of telling women that they are 'less than' men. The most obvious sign that gender prejudice continues in economies is the pay gap. The economic damage is made clear by government action in times of crisis. Gender prejudice is long established - and social ideas about the role of women need to change if the economic damage is to be reversed.
