Outcome MAR_D_1.1

Morocco's economy is competitive, inclusive, and creates decent jobs, especially for women and youth, through a structural transformation based on sustainable development and resilience, including climate resilience.

This outcome has not been achieved during the reporting year. However, significant progress has been made toward its realization. Evidence of progress is demonstrated through several key initiatives and milestones. Under the care economy sector, the first International Care Economy Conference, organized in 2024 by the Women’s Machinery (Ministry of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family (MSISF)) in partnership with relevant national institutions and with the support of UN Women Morocco, played a pivotal role in positioning the care economy as a priority sector with the potential to generate decent jobs for women and youth. It also highlighted the transformative role of parental leave in challenging social norms that perpetuate the unequal distribution of unpaid care and domestic responsibilities, thereby empowering women economically and strengthening the care economy. The Conference received broad multi-stakeholder support and provided a strategic roadmap for advancing the care economy as a driver of decent employment. Additionally, a study developed under the "Ajyal Egalité" regional programme offered a comprehensive overview of the current state of the care economy, identifying key actors and interventions needed for its development. Building on these insights, UN Women Morocco has supported the MSISF in elaborating a "White Paper," which will serve as a roadmap operationalizing and institutionalising the care economy at the national level, paving the way for sustainable and inclusive development. On the other hand, the formalization and conceptualization of the “GISSR Attamkine Wa Arryada” (GAWA) programme, a key measure of the Government Equality Plan 2023-2026 (PGE III), marked a significant milestone in the economic empowerment of women and the creation of decent jobs. The aim of this programme is to support and strengthen the soft and managerial skills of 36,000 women throughout Morocco, enabling them to develop an entrepreneurial project from the inception phase to the development of a business model and benefit from financing. UN Women Morocco's technical support to the MSISF consisted in developing a formal framework for its implementation at the regional level, based on regional consultations, stakeholders mapping and a major coordination effort. More specifically, a toolbox was developed, comprising a model of regional partnership agreement, an outline of the programme action plan, a model programme procedures manual and a dashboard of programme monitoring and evaluation indicators. The MSISF, the Wilayas and the regional councils are now equipped to deploy the programme in the regions, which will have a concrete impact on increasing the economic participation of women, including marginalized women seeking to realize themselves in an entrepreneurial project. Moreover, under the Flagship Initiative, “Surging Women’s Employment in the Arab States by five percent,” UN Women Morocco, in close collaboration with labour market actors at both the national and local levels, successfully developed four innovative business models in the care economy, green economy, and STEM sectors. These models are expected to create over 70,000 inclusive jobs by 2030, with more than 46,000 opportunities specifically targeted at women. These achievements validate the Theory of Change underlying this outcome. The strategic focus on structural transformation through inclusive and sustainable sectors continues to address systemic barriers to women’s economic empowerment effectively. At this point, no changes to the strategy are necessary. While the full impact of these initiatives will become apparent over time, the progress made so far reflects a strong commitment from labour market actors and stakeholders to engage in transformative changes and invest in emerging sectors like the care economy to improve the lives of Moroccan women and youth. By prioritizing the care economy and leveraging innovative solutions, UN Women Morocco is effectively contributing to laying the foundation for inclusive economic growth that benefits women and marginalized groups. Key lessons learned include the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement and aligning national priorities with global frameworks to ensure scalable and sustainable outcomes. To maintain this momentum, addressing gender inequitable social norms, continued advocacy, capacity building, strategic partnerships, and investment in blended finance mechanisms will be essential.

Morocco's economy is competitive, inclusive, and creates decent jobs, especially for women and youth, through a structural transformation based on sustainable development and resilience, including climate resilience.

Within the joint UNW/ILO programme, the Morocco CO has contextualized two policy support tools to Morocco for national institutions to apply to existing sectoral policies. In accordance to the Ministry of Finance's request to focus on preschool care and education and line with Morocco's strategic priorities, we have focused the fiscal stimulus tool on employment and social protection and the second tool (care) on ECCE. National stakeholders, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Women's Machinery (MSISF) and the Ministry of National and Preschool Education (MENPS) accessed technical support from UN Women Morocco CO provided technical to (i) produce knowledge products, tools, and evidence-based data and (ii) foster knowledge exchange to create synergies and coordinate on care economy. In 2023, the MEF and MENPS contextualized two strategic tools; the first focusing on understanding multidimensional effects of the Covid-19 crisis on gender inequalities and their integration in national recovery plans and public policies, and the second estimating care deficits, investment costs and economic returns related to early childhood care and education, as a niche sector for decent job creation. UN Women provided technical expertise to the institutions, and also launched a study exploring the budgetary space for public investment in the care economy contributing to this result. To promote intersectoral synergies around care economy, main stakeholders from national institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector convened during a national conference on care economy to present the findings of conducted analyses and studies demonstrating how the care economy sector can be a strategic WEE lever. UN Women organized the conference in partnership with the National Women’s Machinery (MSISF). The conference resulted in (i) the Women's Machinery committing to establishing a Care Thematic Group within the National Commission for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (CNESAF) and (ii) the announcement of an international conference to pursue the dialogue on care in May 2024. The public guarantee fund Tamwilcom for women-owned/women-led businesses developed new financial products in 2023, approved by the Minister of Economy, as a result of Morocco CO’s work on sustainable finance. The financial products include: Damane Express: An increase in the guarantee quota from 70% to 80% for projects promoted by women’s businesses (capital or management); Damane Istitmar: An increase in the guarantee quota from 60% to 70% for projects promoted by women companies (equity or management); Co-financing Ilayki: Co-financing of investment projects promoted by women's companies (capital or management) up to 40% of project costs on advantageous terms. Tamwilcom is requesting UN Women financial and technical support to deploy measures to accompany women-led business and to launch awareness-raising campaigns on these new products.