In 2005, Freedom House noted that Oman's women had “made steady progress” over the preceding decade, with women constituting a majority of university students level “despite gender-discriminatory practices in the enrollment process” and making up an “estimated one-third of all civil servants.” In 2012, Bertelsmann Stiftung described the status of women in Oman as follows: “Oman has been successful in enhancing the status of women, who – at least in theory – have the same opportunities as men in public and private jobs. Oman’s government has a deliberate policy of inclusiveness regarding all segments of the population. In reality, however, women...still face high barriers to participation in formal economic activities.”