Unemployment Rate Among Iranian Women Higher Than Men: Details Inside

There is a huge gender gap in the Iranian labor market as unemployment among women is higher than that of men. Iran’s leading economic daily, Donyaye Eqtesad, has published data that points out the glaring gender disparity in the Iranian labor market.

Despite Iranian women’s significant contributions to the nation’s economy, the report suggested that women’s unemployment rates have been increasing. According to the latest data from the Iran Statistical Center regarding labor market developments in 2023, the Iranian women’s workforce participation rate has reached 14.6 per cent.

Unemployment rate among Iranian women increasing

It is important to note that out of more than 32 million women of working age, more than 27.5 million women are not part of the Iranian labor market. 

The United Nations Human Development Report for 2020 and 2021 ranked the Islamic Republic of Iran at no. 115 out of 191 countries in terms of gender inequality. 

Earlier this year, the unemployment rate for men with higher education was 9.2%, while the rate for women with higher education remained around 20.9%. According to the Statistical Center, men’s unemployment rate stood at 8.5%, while the rate for unemployment for women was around 15.7%.

Iran is one of the seven countries that have not signed a 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. 

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Iranian women activists have repeatedly said that Iranian women are enduring domestic violence, sexual violence and high unemployment.

The Iranian authorities have extensively violated women’s economic and social rights. The Iranian regime has created and enforced numerous discriminatory laws that limit women’s participation in the Iranian labor market.

Iranian law also considers the husband the head of the household. Hence, a husband has the right to prevent his wife from working in the Iranian labor market. No one can take any action against the husband. 

According to Human Rights Watch, some companies in Iran ask husbands and fiancés to provide written consent for women to be allowed to work with them.