Minister of Labor Advisor: Employed Women Earn 77% of Men's Wages

The advisor to the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare stated that employed women receive "77% of men's wages" and are "10 years behind" their male colleagues in this regard. According to ISNA news agency, Hassan Taee made this statement during an international labor market studies workshop on Saturday, September 2, adding that currently, in "no" country are men and women paid the same for equal work. According to this university professor, when there is a "gender gap with equal productivity and different wages between men and women, it indicates gender discrimination." He noted that "studies show that wage discrimination is more prevalent in the private sector than in the public sector." As reported by Fars news agency, Mr. Taee stated that employment in the private sector leads to "lower wages, and this reduction is greater for women." He also mentioned research results indicating that hourly wages for men are "higher" than for women, adding that "as one moves to higher levels, this difference decreases. In a way, the Iranian labor market is facing the phenomenon of sticky floors, where more discrimination between women and men is observed in the lower wage deciles." The Minister's advisor also pointed out that studies have shown that "increasing education levels leads to higher payments for women," adding that women participating in economic activities with higher degrees receive "less discrimination and higher wages." He called for "a long-term work culture" where "the entire workforce commitment is focused on improving work quality." These statements come at a time when the Minister of Interior for Women and Family Affairs reported an increase in the unemployment rate for women over the past 10 years, stating that the unemployment rate for women with higher education is "twice that of men." According to Fahimeh Farahmandpour, while 45% of women in Iran "lack income," the unemployment rate for women with higher education is 23% compared to 11% among men. The issue of women's economic participation and employment has been highlighted as the newspaper Shahrvand reported on July 7 under the headline "Women with 150,000 Toman Salaries," discussing "educated women working for wages below labor law without insurance and contracts." According to this newspaper, "these days, educated girls and women working in private kindergartens, doctors' offices, engineering offices, and various market sectors are more visible than ever; cheap laborers whose desire for independence, poverty, unemployment, etc., have forced them to accept low-paying jobs without contracts and insurance and with different conditions." The Khabar Online website also reported last year based on the results of the 2015 labor force survey that women in Iran are still not in a good employment situation. According to this report, the unemployment rate shows that 11% of the active population in 2015 was unemployed, and the unemployment rate among women was higher than that of men.