Characteristics of the labour market affecting women’s ability to access suitable work opportunities: A case study of displaced women in northern Syria

A vast number of Syrian families have been internally displaced to north Syria as a result of the ongoing conflict, many of them female-led households due to the death or imprisonment of husbands or other male family members. Many of these women, who now bear the responsibility and burden of providing for their families’ basic needs, have been forced into agricultural work, regardless of their experience and expertise. However, yet others, confronted with this new role, have sought to develop their skills to better place them to obtain more suitable work. This study will seek to identify the main labour-market-related factors that impact negatively or positively on women’s ability to gain suitable employment and, in particular, the factors that impact again negatively or positively on their ability to establish their own businesses.