Blog 3: Women’s Cooperatives and Changing Gender Roles in Morocco

One part of my identity that I had not thought much about before traveling to Morocco was how being male has influenced what I expect to see in workplaces and leadership positions. Gender roles are the expectations a society places on men and women regarding their responsibilities at home, at work, and in the community. During this trip, I became more aware that these expectations are not the same everywhere and that they can change over time.

Before visiting Morocco, I assumed that women would have a limited role in business because of the country’s traditional culture. During our visits to cooperatives, farms, and other organizations, however, I saw women contributing to production, agriculture, and community development. Their work was not just providing additional help. In many cases, it created income for families and supported the surrounding community. Seeing this caused me to question some of the assumptions I had formed before the trip.

Women’s cooperatives are especially interesting because they can give women access to income, training, and business opportunities. This is important in rural areas, where regular employment may be harder to find. At the same time, being part of a cooperative does not eliminate every obstacle. Women may still be responsible for most household duties while also trying to earn an income. They can also face difficulty obtaining financing, property, transportation, or access to larger markets.

According to the World Bank, cultural expectations and gender stereotypes continue to affect the employment opportunities available to Moroccan women, even though women have gained greater access to education (World Bank, 2019). The OECD also reports that women’s participation in Morocco’s formal workforce could be improved through better childcare support, increased financial inclusion, reduced discrimination, and efforts to address gender stereotypes (OECD, 2024). This shows that education and job training are important, but they may not be enough by themselves.

My main reaction from the trip is that gender roles in Morocco are more complicated than I expected. Traditional expectations are still present, but women are also running businesses, producing goods, supporting their families, and contributing to their communities. Both realities can exist at the same time. It would be inaccurate to describe Moroccan women only as restricted, just as it would be inaccurate to assume that all barriers have disappeared.

Overall, visiting Morocco made me examine my own perspective more closely. I learned that it is easy to judge another culture based on a few ideas or images without understanding how people actually live. The women we encountered showed how economic opportunity can gradually change gender roles while allowing communities to maintain parts of their cultural traditions. This experience reminded me that real cultural understanding begins with observing, listening, and being willing to reconsider what I previously believed.

References

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). OECD economic surveys: Morocco 2024. https://doi.org/10.1787/80777ea7-en

World Bank. (2019). Morocco: Women economic empowerment study. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/861491551113547855/pdf/134846-WP-PUBLIC-march-2-WB-Women-Study-EN.pdf