A Large Proportion of Employed Women Are in Low-Income Categories

The Open Data Iran database is an innovation project aimed at collecting data related to Iran in one place and presenting it in easily accessible formats. Radio Farda, in collaboration with this entity, publishes a series of articles. The economic participation rate is one of the most telling indicators of labor market conditions. According to the definition by the Statistical Center of Iran, the economic participation rate is defined as: 'the ratio of the active population, which includes employed and unemployed individuals, to the total population of working age.' In simpler terms, this rate shows how many individuals of working age are present in the labor market. Based on official labor market information in Iran published in the report 'Results of the Labor Force Survey' by the Statistical Center in 2015, the overall economic participation rate, which includes both employed and unemployed women and men, was 38 percent. However, the economic participation rate for women is significantly lower than that of men and below the overall economic participation rate. In 2015, the economic participation rate for women was reported at 13.3 percent, while for men it was 63.2 percent. This inequality becomes more pronounced when examined at the provincial level, as the participation rates for women vary significantly across provinces and also show considerable differences between urban and rural areas. Therefore, analyzing the economic participation status of women by province and by urban and rural regions provides a clearer picture of women's presence in Iran's labor market. If we compare the economic participation rates of women's employment across 31 provinces based on the available information in the Statistical Center's report, we find that North Khorasan province has the highest participation rate at 21 percent, while the lowest rate is reported for Markazi province at 8 percent. This means that the highest rate is two and a half times greater than the lowest rate. As shown in Chart 1, the economic participation rate of women in 16 provinces is higher than the national rate of 13.3 percent, while in 15 other provinces, it is lower than the national average. The issue of women's economic participation becomes more meaningful when we see that among the five provinces with relatively higher rates, except for Mazandaran, the participation rate of women in rural areas is higher than in urban areas. Additionally, as indicated in the next chart, in the five provinces with the lowest economic participation rates among women, the participation rate of women in rural areas is also lower than in urban regions of those provinces. Although this situation does not prevail in all provinces, it can be concluded that in most provinces where the economic participation rate of women is relatively higher, the participation rate of women in rural areas has been a determining factor. Chart 4 clarifies this issue further. As is evident, nationwide, the participation rate of women in rural areas is higher than in urban areas and above the national average. Chart 5 compares the share of employment in agriculture, industry, and services among women in the five provinces with the highest economic participation rates. As seen, in the provinces of North Khorasan and Ardabil, the share of agriculture is significantly higher than the other two sectors. In Gilan province, agriculture is the second-largest sector for women's employment, and its share is much greater than that of industry. In Yazd, the situation is entirely different, as agriculture does not hold a significant share, and in Mazandaran, the shares of agriculture and industry are nearly equal. Chart 6 also compares the share of employment in agriculture, industry, and services among women in the five provinces with the lowest economic participation rates. As observed, the agriculture sector has a lower share in all five provinces compared to the industry and services sectors in women's employment. In other words, the low level of employment in agriculture is reflected in the low economic participation rates of women in these provinces. The higher economic participation rates of women in rural areas of provinces where agriculture holds a significant share in women's employment indicate that a considerable number of employed women are engaged in low-income jobs. As shown in Chart 7, 97.6 percent of agricultural workers are laborers (either skilled or unskilled). In contrast, 26.5 percent of individuals employed in the industry are laborers, and this ratio is 9.3 percent for those in the services sector. Laborers earn lower incomes compared to other professions such as technicians or specialists. Therefore, it can be concluded that a significant portion of employed women are among the laborers in the agricultural sector. Based on what has been observed and summarized, it can be said that not only is the economic participation rate of women lower than the national average and that of men, but also in a significant proportion of provinces where agriculture plays a larger role in job creation, the participation rate of women is higher. This is an issue that explains the higher economic participation rates of women in rural areas compared to urban areas. Importantly, a considerable portion of these women present in the labor market are engaged in low-income jobs such as labor in the agricultural sector. This report has been written using data from the Open Data Iran database.