Gender mainstreaming oil and natural gas in Lebanon: analysing the current, developing and potential impacts of the petroleum sector on women, men, youth and gender relations from a multi-stakeholder group perspective

Abstract

This study is a first of its kind attempt to integrate the questions of gender and youth into the debate on good governance in the extractive industries sector in the Middle East. This intersectional and diversity management-based approach is already being applied to other sectors of society as we reach the end of the climactic year 2021. We see this research as a contribution to the improvement of the living conditions for everyone in our crisis-ridden part of the world. The main message of this study remains relevant in particular when it comes to good governance and policies even under severe conditions of an almost total collapse of the Lebanese political and economic system, as seen by the authors from Byblos Lebanon in October 2021. Gas lines as far as the eye can see in a region rich in petroleum resources has illustrated once again that our real problem in Lebanon is not technical or financial but rather an issue of poor governance. Key issues touched on in this study, such as the need for an intersectional approach to equality in the workplace and social justice in the Lebanese economy, or the necessity to overcome systemic corruption and the prevalent culture of impunity, have only been highlighted by the current crisis. This study not only points out the need to promote gender mainstreaming, youth inclusion, and diversity management, it also underlines the essential role that organized labour and faith-based social justice movements play in the mining and petroleum industries around the world.