An Interior Ministry Official: Women's Unemployment Has Increased in the Last 10 Years

On Tuesday, August 1, the advisor to the Minister of Interior for Women's Affairs and Family reported an increase in the unemployment rate of women over the past decade, stating that the unemployment rate for educated women is 'twice' that of men. According to ISNA news agency, Fahimeh Farahmandpour announced that 45% of Iranian women are 'without income', adding that 'the unemployment rate for women with higher education is 23%, while it is 11% among men.' She declared that this gap in Iran is 'decreasing', yet stated that 'the unemployment rate for women is twice that of men.' Meanwhile, the advisor also reported a 'decrease' in the economic participation rate of women, noting that 'the economic participation rate of women in 2013 was 12.4%. Meanwhile, employment in the informal sector, at 25%, poses both opportunities and challenges for women.' The issue of women's economic participation and employment has been highlighted in light of a report by the Shahrvand newspaper on June 27, titled 'Women with 150,000 Toman Salaries', which discussed 'educated women working for wages below the labor law without insurance and contracts.' It stated, 'These days, educated girls and women working in private kindergartens, doctors' offices, engineering offices, and various market sectors are more visible than ever; they are cheap labor forced to accept low-paid jobs without contracts and insurance due to the desire for independence, poverty, unemployment, and other pressures.' The newspaper published interviews with working women who, without insurance, earn between 150,000 to 300,000 Tomans, which is significantly below the minimum wage of nearly 930,000 Tomans set for 2017, adding that 'the issue of salaries significantly lower than the rates set by the Supreme Labor Council is not limited to one or two cities or a specific province, although it is more prevalent in deprived provinces.' According to Shahrvand, Hesam Nikpour, the research deputy of the Institute for Social Security Research, stated that 'previously, 80% of uninsured workers were women,' adding, 'Currently, there are about 10 million workers in the country who must voluntarily insure themselves, as there is no mandatory insurance. The number of insured individuals in Iran is about 15 million, considering the population of 21.5 million workers in Iran, about 6.5 million workers are uninsured. These 6.5 million are not salaried workers, and at least 80% of them are women.' According to ISNA, Ms. Farahmandpour, in another part of her speech, criticized women's activities 'mostly at low levels of decision-making and policymaking' and stated that the distribution of women in the service sector is 51.6%, agriculture 22.4%, and industry 25%. She pointed out that in Gilan province, 60% of women are directly active in agriculture, yet their participation rate in financial transactions is less than 15%. The Ministry of Interior official further noted that the number of female heads of households is twice that of men, stating, 'The ratio of single-headed households is 85%, while this figure for men is only 15%.' Fahimeh Farahmandpour also indicated that over 80% of female heads of households are over 50 years old and added that more services should be provided to them. She reported that 45% of women in Iran are without income, 18% are income-generating, and the ratio of all female heads of households to all households is 12.1%. The advisor to the Minister of Interior for Women's Affairs and Family also mentioned that using the resistant economy plan could create opportunities for the career advancement of these women and empower them. The Khabar Online website reported last year based on the results of the 2015 Labor Force Survey that Iranian women are also not in a good position regarding employment. According to this report, the unemployment rate indicates that 11% of the active population in 2015 was unemployed, and the unemployment rate among women was higher than that of men. This report also noted an increase in the number of self-sufficient women or heads of households, warning of the exponential increase in this statistic due to rapid social changes such as the rising divorce rate, increased permanent singleness among women, higher male mortality rates, and women's independence for living. Khabar Online also wrote about the employment status of women in Iran compared to other countries, stating that according to the 2013 Human Development Report by the United Nations, in terms of gender ratio in economic participation, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, and Iran have the worst conditions globally.