Women’s participation in the economy is needed more than ever to promote social development, said Vahideh Negin, women affairs counselor to the minister of cooperatives, labor and welfare.
She pointed to the social barriers to women’s economic participation, which partly stem from ignorance of their capabilities.
According to the latest statistics, there are 37.24 million women (and 37.9 men) in the country; but only 12% of women are employed. Even if we consider “unofficial jobs” the figure doesn’t exceed 20/%.
There are various forms of gender discrimination including in economic, educational and political opportunities. In economic discrimination there is disparity in salary of women and men doing the same job and on same level of productivity; also gender preferences in the hiring process.
Discrimination in education on the basis of gender denies equal opportunities for girls and boys in educational facilities. Discrimination against women in politics shows their insignificant role in political decision-making. Thus there are three main indexes to evaluate gender discrimination in the country, Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper reported.
In recent years the number of women admitted in the country’s universities has increased; but is it possible to say gender discrimination has been eliminated totally? The latest survey conducted by the World Economic Forum on 136 countries including Iran, indicates positive developments in Iran: discrimination in education has reduced by 93%, in the economic field by 60% but in the political arena by just 21%, compared to 2006; however, the country’s ranking fell from 108 in 2006 to 130 in 2013, indicating that greater effort is needed to improve the status of women.
