An Economist: Women's Economic Participation in Iran is Below the Global Average

Farshad Momeni, a political economy researcher critical of the government, referred to the "severe decline in the participation of women and youth in the economic sphere" as catastrophic, stating, "It is shameful that the economic participation rate of women in Iran is less than one-third of the global average." According to the website 'Jamaran', Momeni noted, "Data from the last four censuses show that over the past 35 years, about two-thirds of the population of working age in the country has had no role in national production." He also mentioned that "all household budget studies since 1995 have shown that women's income is supplementary to men's income in households" and emphasized that "if you do not open the way for women's employment, you will collapse the institution of the family." Previously, the Statistical Center reported that the unemployment rate for women in Iran was 13.7%, which remains higher than the national average and the unemployment rate for men. Furthermore, the Telegram channel 'Emtedad' reported on November 1, citing data from the Statistical Center, that in 2023, out of about 24 million employed people in Iran, only about 4.6 million were women, indicating a 16% share of women in the total employed population. According to this report, traditional and conservative thoughts still define women in non-working and homemaking roles, and these attitudes remain one of the biggest obstacles to their presence in the job market. In this context, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on April 30, 2013, "The most important role a woman can play at any level of knowledge and learning is the role she can play as a mother and as a wife; this is more important than all her other work; this is the work that no one but a woman can do." Farshad Momeni, head of the Institute for the Study of Religion and Economy, criticized economic policies based on shock therapy, privatization, and import liberalization, considering these approaches as obstacles to the productive participation of people, especially women, in Iran's economic destiny. In another part of his speech at Tehran University, addressing academic women, he criticized the obstacles to their productive participation, stating that these limitations are often justified by cultural and value-based arguments. Momeni emphasized that contrary to popular belief, preventing women's employment does not strengthen families but will lead to their collapse. This economist also pointed out the increasing presence of girls in higher education, saying, "Over the past 35 years, in many years, the number of girls entering universities has been almost double that of boys. Is it logical to ignore this enormous human capital and prevent them from entering the job market with empty slogans?" Momeni reminded that the highest unemployment rates in the past 35 years have been among youth, women, and university graduates, emphasizing that "increasing social and economic participation strengthens the country's capacity against crises." This economist, critical of privatization policies in Iran, stated, "Participation reduces uncertainties, increases the ability to manage shock therapy policies, enhances the flexibility of the national system, guarantees social justice, and leads to better distributive outcomes."