Statistical Account of Gender Discrimination; Women's Unemployment Twice That of Men

The latest report from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that unemployment among women has doubled compared to men. The website 'Didban Iran' reported, citing the latest official statistics, that unemployed female graduates account for an average of 68.8% of the total unemployed in the country. An analysis of the data from the Statistical Center indicates that the share of educated unemployed individuals in the summer of this year was about 42.8% of the total unemployed in the country. According to the statistics, unemployed male graduates accounted for 30.5%, while unemployed female graduates had a higher share of 66.3%. It is worth noting that independent experts view the official statistics published by the Islamic Republic with skepticism. This skepticism arises from the regime's history of altering statistical bases or indicators to control figures, which has led to discrepancies in the statistics published by various institutions. Nevertheless, the announced statistics indicate that the share of unemployed female graduates is twice that of unemployed male graduates among the total unemployed in the country. The website 'Khabar Online' also reported in July that the labor force participation rate of women in Iran is less than a quarter of that in developed economies and less than half that of Turkish women, with estimates showing that the unemployment rate for women in Iran is 70% higher than that of men. However, the state-run newspaper Iran claimed in a report published on July 13 that there has been an unprecedented decrease in the unemployment rate for women during Raisi's administration, stating that 85% of the active female population is employed. This newspaper claimed that the growth of female employment in the industrial sector has outpaced that of men. Ibrahim Raisi had promised to create one million jobs annually during the 2021 elections, and along with his cabinet ministers, he has repeatedly claimed to have achieved this based on the announced statistics. Observers, however, believe that the statistical improvement in employment is due to a portion of the active population exiting the labor market rather than job creation.