Women's Entry and Participation in Wage Employment

Case study - Iran

Gender discrimination in wage employment is recognized mostly due to wage differentials as the result of lack of skills or education necessary, as is often the case with women in developing countries. It could also be the result of stereotyping, stemming out of the choice of employers on employing women that might see them suited for certain work types less payable, decreasing women’s opportunity to rise beyond a given position due to the biases of managers and supervisors.

The fact that data collection and dissemination methods in Iran used by several competing organizations are defective, brings difficulties in assessing the problems because they lack a unified scientific basis. Labor market statistics are offered by at least five separate agencies: Iran’s Statistics Center; the Management and Plan Organization; the Ministry of Labor; the Central Bank of Iran; and the House of Labor – with notable differences among them. Disregarding differences between public and private unemployment estimates, and relying on the figures published by Iran’s Statistics Center the jobless numbers remain confusing and questionable because of their inconsistencies. For example, while Iran’s economy has admittedly failed to absorb all the new entrants into the job market during the last four years, the Center’s data show a decline in annual unemployment.

According to the projections of the Third Development Plan for 2000-05, in order to bring the unemployment rate from 15% in 2000 down to 11.5% in 2005 (and thus keep the total jobless number from rising further), a total of 3.8mn jobs (or 760,000 a year on average) had to be created. Now, the figures released by the High Employment Council chaired by the President show the number of jobs created each year during 2000-04 to have been 431,000, 493,000, 690,000, and 700,000 respectively. Citing these figures in his annual state-of-the economy reports to the Majlis, President acknowledged more than once that the 2.3mn jobs created during the first four years of the Plan have fallen considerably short of the Plan’s target. By his counts nearly one fourth of the new job seekers have failed to find gainful employment. Nevertheless, Iran’s Statistic Center shows the unemployment rate for the same four years as 14.3%, 14.2%, 12.8%, and 11.6% respectively – without any explanation. According to these numbers, the jobless rate – instead of increasing by at least 3.5% in the last four years – has actually declined by 2.6% (J. Amouzegar, former member of IMF).

According to National Youth Org, in Iran unemployment is especially high at 34% among the 15-24 year olds who officially constitute 25% of the labor force; the figure points out to 22% for men and 41% for women. The Deputy of Science-Function University of Labor House elaborates on the fact that unemployment is mostly due to lack of functional education in terms of relating to vocational trainings and academic studies to market demands particularly in preparing the youth and women to enter the job market. Unemployment is highest among women of all ages. While women’s participation in the labor force is only slightly more than 13%, their unemployment rate is more than 40%. Unofficial estimates outline that only 15% of female university graduates are able to find suitable work. But the most worrisome aspect of the picture is that some 76% of the unemployed are technically classified as “unskilled” including thousands of high school and college graduates. Statistics show that Iran’s university graduates in humanities and Islamic studies outpace those in social sciences, commerce, and business administration by a factor of 4 to 1. This glaring imbalance between the kind of skills needed for sustained growth and the purely abstract knowledge acquired through a poorly designed academic curriculum lies at the roots of Iran’s “educated” jobless.

Sporadic and largely unsuccessful privatization efforts in the last few years have also aggravated the jobless situation as the new private owners have fired redundant workers. Alarming bankruptcies of an estimated 1,400 inefficient private firms in the textiles and similarly vulnerable industries during the last four years have had their share of the increased unemployment – with resulting frequent “illegal” labor strikes in major cities. There are rising strikes and contestations going on in various cities while the talks between ILO and few members of the House of Labor are taking place to revise the Article No 6 of the Labour Law, that bans freedom of association for workers out of the Mosque driven representation.


ICTs to get women on board - or the source of additional deprivation

The cities are loaded with population, pollution caused by unnecessary city travels. Although packed with new technologies to connect and communicate we are still caught in our habits to physically move around for unnecessary reasons such as bank payments of utilities, posting letters, legal documents, travel arrangements, etc. The flux of poor rural emigrants looking for jobs aggravates the situation as well. Although we are in the era of globalization but villagers still lack basic infrastructure to establish electronic connections with cities. The necessity of digital connections between rural and city centers are as vital as sustaining energy, health care and livelihood for villagers and should be incorporated in development projects with high gender sensitivity in order to make it function.

With the economy based on oil revenues, where private sector given limited share to act and react, proper policies to expand wage employment is basically on the State’s shoulder which is playing the role of big supplier consequently the big employer for wage employment. For men in salaried jobs and self employment and for wage earning women, more education and information means more income. However, rural and urban women are not as physically mobile as men in fulfilling their motherhood role in addition to traditional impediments which have increased the cost of opportunity of working in public sphere. Information dissemination using new channels of communication will facilitate women access to job market, ultimatly to get women and girls on board in rural as well as urban areas. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as technologies that facilitate communication and the transmission of information by electronic means can cover up for lack of mobility and other traditional restrictions.
Having said that, we should also bear in mind that men and women are affected differently in making use of ICTs. The result is that, in addition to urban/rural digital divide, women are the subject of further deprivation due to the fact that women under repressive rulings and traditional norms are held unaware, uninformed and far from having access to information, new technologies, opportunities and development resources. In rural area the deprivation is even more since patriarchy traditions do not favor women to have access to economic and political opportunities. Urban bias connectivity makes the digital divide even deeper for rural women to get on the track of advancing her conditions. For rural women in developing countries the issue of language and digital literacy is a life time challenge and source of much deprivation. Public access places such as village tea houses in rural areas, mostly frequented by men have deprived women from associations to upgrade their access to information and other resources which in addition to cultural and social behaviour, have deepen the gender gap. The obstacles on the way of establishing women’s associations coupled with lack of awareness of new technologies that have increased life skills of men - have had significant impact in keeping women in deprived areas from sustainable employment. Women and girls unawareness of opportunities available by new technologies are excluded from world market and trade. If this issue is not addressed promptly it will result to ICTs becoming the source of even more deprivation for poor women.



ICT facilitates access to opportunities - webloggers connecting to the world


Iran with 7.18 million students under 18, 8.4 million youngsters wishing to enter universities and 2.8 million children under school age are among the youngest population in need of education (Iran Statistics 2002). According to the Ministry of Science from 1990 to1999, everyday more than 15 holders of master’s degrees, 32 PHD holders, and 547 under graduated have left the country. The Ministry of Health stated out of every 7 students leaving the country to study abroad only one returns. It is obvious that these statistics doesn’t need any explanation to highlight the significance of education in eliminating gender discrimination particularly for studies that would enhance livelihood and provide employment opportunities. Several experts have the opinion that despite the high expenditure, the national education system in Iran has established weak infrastructure. The actual investment in higher education system does not have the capacity for more than 10 percent of the applicants. Such as Islamic Azad University offering 338 fields in 4000 branches in various cities out of which girls are not allowed to apply for nearly 900 schools. The fields which are usually banned for girls are civil engineering, industrial management, technical management, electrical engineering, governmental management, agricultural studies (several fields), fishing technologies, Law in some cities like Qom, animal medical studies, mine exploitation studies, mechanical engineering (several fields), husbandry technologies, irrigation technologies, water and sewage technologies, Industrial safety, polymer engineering, industrial metallurgy, Road and construction technologies, computer hardware, tools production and general car industries. The statistics indicate that there is gender discrimination in stereotyping fields and discrimination in the fields which there are high demands in the labor market. Hence with wide variety of issues and impediments in higher education system in the country it appears that the only wise investment to increase access to information and education would be virtual training since it provides most effective and short way for educating youngsters at all level.
Women and youngsters living under autocratic ruling are more affected with regards to the issues of accessing to ICTs as it plays a large role in the development and dissemination of information and inventive culture. In Iran women and younger generation gradually are finding their ways to connect to the world through internet and personal weblogs. According to the Guardian newspaper the existence of an estimated 75,000 blogs in Farsi turned this language to the fourth most popular language for keeping online journals, while this figure is only 50 for neighboring Iraq. Looking at the fact that due to systematic control over the society this tool is the only window for free speech. Women, youngsters, girls as well as boys anonymously are trying to connect to each other, using critical literature and satire. Through the window opening of weblogs, boys and girls who had no tribunes to voice their contest are speaking up using unprecedented methods.

In virtual educations namely e-learning, e-training or e-education the objective is not transform the traditional education into virtual learning but ultimately it is about recent progress in IT and information networking on local, national, regional and international level particularly internet, and multimedia have introduced new methods of communication technology to planners, designers and training programmers. The new technology has converted completely the teacher, student relationship. Subsequently traditional learning methods are transformed and IC users are faced with massive bulk of information and knowledge. At present majority of developed countries are rescheduling to launch e-learning and virtual classes within their traditional system. Specialized learning is considered opting new methods to provide educational opportunities for everyone, men and women, at all ages and everywhere.


E-learning and virtual universities


The thought of using computer and computer networking for education and scientific works goes back to 1960. However the internet as it appears today has been established and expanded as of 1990s. Virtual universities in Iran began their activities since 2000 particularly in the private sector as non profit higher education institutes. Among the universities who initiated the e-learning programmes are Iran Science and Industry University that has just launched a program with 1000 students as well as Shiraz University. In this project all education activities such as registration, unit selections, education packages, contacts with tutors are carried out through the computer system. In some cases the virtual conference and classes with the teachers as well as laboratory classes are scheduled with proper timing agenda.

Government investment in public computer centers as well as credit facilities to purchase PCs will further engage girls and women in virtual learning. Enhancing skills and information is necessary for poor women to compete in getting hold of wage employment. Virtual learning free from time and space limitations will present several advantages for girls students in efficient learning programmes, such as:
The possibility of representation in multimedia spaces accompanied with image, text, animation and etc. which enhance the quality of learning programmes.

It is considered easy access to big volume of global information and knowledge at all places and at all times.

Prompt and on time access to information in short time particularly in big cities where travel expenses are too costly for students and also consumes large share of their functional time.

Reducing other educational costs as it has proven that the substitute of new methods of learning with traditional ones have reduced 40 to 60 percent which mainly is based on unnecessary travel expenses for students as well as teachers.

The basic student oriented approach is also among other advantages of this method controversial to traditional methods that the professor is the central issue.

Enhancing quality, precision, accuracy of educational resources

Elimination of negative effects of non locality of students

Upgrading the scientific level

Avoiding the cost and unnecessary travel of teachers to provinces or rural regions, addressing wider range of students in remote area


Due to scarcity of resources and weak infrastructure for developing higher education opportunities through out the country virtual university can produce positive results in providing training materials. However, at the primary level the use of this method still needs proper programming, but at the higher level with the concentration on language skills this method can bring tremendous results. This has created higher capacity for the education system in its efforts to develop higher education facilities across the country and in various scientific fields which would be impossible then. With virtual library all necessary information are accessible for students in remote areas with least expense. The library is the heart of virtual learning systems which proper attention is needed for their enrichments. The role of traditional teacher in this system should be focused on monitoring and guiding level. To this end computer experts should work along with teachers to provide enabling space and facilities for the students to go through the process of learning.


Tackling the problems

The necessity for set of standards to assess the educational programmes
The issue of credibility and certificates
The issues of rights of conscience of providers of training packages
The necessity of technical equipments and tools
Low speed of the network system
High cost of technology development

There is definite need of high equipped coffee nets in the centre of the provinces to further facilitate the access for the students at the local level.

There are some concerns for lack of communication or relation between the teacher and the student for further advancement of social activity to engage students. This issue should be addressed by occasional class set up and other sessions for question and answer.

Financial issues are also limiting the extent of the inclusiveness for poorer students. The unwillingness of the State to engage the private sector and allow private investments is among the problems to be addressed and worked through.

The inability to provide life skills and other social skills are among the weak points due to the fact that close relationships and physical social presence are absent. To address this problem there has been proper proposals namely “cooperation techniques” which has been raised also for collective studies and cooperation on preparing reports and papers.

The computer networks are on the verge of great expansion on unprecedented scale. For the reason that the information are shared in the electronic environment when transformed which allows other users also to be able to use the information; therefore security is one of the main concerns. This is particularly dangerous in trading system but in education there are other dangers involves such as changing of the contents or collapsing the system of services provided. For instance on the implementation of examinations the process of responding might be interrupted or ruined which needs creative way to avoid them.


E-trading initiative in handicraft artefacts

For the purpose of facilitating income generation activities for petty traders on smaller scale, e-trading and establishment of the center for e-trading as a national project was highlighted. Several consultation firms were established to further facilitate people’s involvement in this new innovative trade sector with technical and financial assistance provided by IDRO (Industrial Development and Renovation Org) and affiliated companies. Preparing e-trade infrastructure for employment creation and liaison with organizations, firms, factories, workshops were among initial steps prepared by the Centre. Publicizing the innovative ways of trading through computer was carried out through media. The website: www.iraneb.com is accessible to make connections, the email: contact@iraneb.com provides additional information for developing cooperation.


Chatting with educated girls in search of jobs

In a survey on educated girls who live in provinces indicated the cultural gap with their families. Jamile Yousefi who studied bookkeeping stated: after my graduation I feel lost since I have to go back to the same old style life with my family and engage with the traditional family involvements where I would loose all my newly made independence.

If I could get a job my problems would be solved but due to the fact that I don’t have proper guarantor I feel there is a wide gap between me and the society that I live. That is why I think I should try to forget about work and independence and live just indifferently.

Touran Ahmadi explained her unemployment: before entering the university I would only think about marriage. But now after my university studies my perception of life is very different which has raised some concern among my family. They keep asking questions and pushing me further away from their suggested ways of life.

Yasaman Vahedi holding bachelor’s degree in maternity said: I just started not very satisfactory job but still this has improved my situation in comparison to my peers. I have changed a lot after my university studies but the society that I live in has remained in their old thinking and expectations.

Roya Yahyavi, engineer said: after graduation and returning home I feel as I have entered to a stranger’s home as I have been away four years which has changed my basic thinking. There are identity crises after this shift of life style and what my close family and friends are expecting from me.


Free Association

Forming associations and culture building is as important as academic studies to enter the job market. The proper labor context will not be established unless there are proper labor relationships which translate into free, informed and independent representation of laborers through their unions and group associations. There is the issue of independent labour market institutions comprising of labour union or employer associations. The pre-requisite for a dynamic labour market is the establishment of independent associations. Among them non-governmental women organisations in labour unions hold the key roles to generate job opportunities for women. These establishments will identify the obstacles and working out problems. They have significant role in reducing transaction costs and assist the government in policy making and job programming.

In addition emphasising on high economic growth in development projects are essential to generate sustainable employment which requires proper investment. Efficient judiciary system to secure asset holdings and international friendly atmosphere to absorb foreign investment is essential.


The Head of the Information Firms Association announced the establishment of trade union for ‘electronic users’ in 6 provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Esfahan, Fars, Yazd and Khorassan. Establishment of trade system for IT users include various sectors such as firms, shops, consultants which also involves the Central Council, in the presence of the Head of the organization.





IT to reach the villages


The government has possession of the country's oil export which is allocated via political processes in which the urban population has a greater voice. Evidence of this can be found most directly in the favoring of urban over rural in allocation of rationed goods and other government resources. For compensating on lack of allocated resources establishing ICT centres should be priviledged in the new development projects.

Women’s share in agricultural labor is stated to be at 40 percent in Iran. This figure does not take into account their activities at the household level, including vegetable gardening, flower production, etc., which supplement the family income. In fact, some informal statistics refer to women’s share in cultivation to the extent of 70 percent in rice, 90 percent in summer crops and vegetables, 50 percent in cotton and oil crops, and 30 percent in fruit harvesting. Other rural women’s activities that are economically important include handicraft production and carpet weaving. Women account for 70 percent of the nation’s handicraft production, and about 88 percent of embroidery and carpet production in the country.

Actually, the economic importance of rural women can be seen in the fact that agricultural products and rural handicrafts constitute 62 percent of the total non-oil exports of Iran. Still lack of proper associations, access to financial resources and unawareness of their rights has pushed craft women into low cost labor. In fact the wide spread poverty in rural area where women are most hit have shredded women’s bargaining to improve their income.

As for the IT expansion the first comprehensive information and communication technology Centre was inaugurated in Gharn abad village which was planned in line with ICT development policies in rural area. The consultant of the project stated that the aim is to provide market opportunity for villagers to develop marking and sell their product using electronic banking facilities. The plans for 2000 villages to be equipped with ICT are in the way that was proposed and programmed following the participation of Iran in World Summit of Internet Society.

The Telephone Company of Tehran Province is planning to establish ICT in rural areas which was announced through a public Tender Notice published in newspaper to implement the project of developing ICT and requesting the sample project to be implemented in the target location first by the applicants prior to their participation in the tender.




Government’s issues of concerns


With the bulk of the national economy in the state’s hands, and with the bulk of public sector investments earmarked for large capital-intensive projects in such heavy industries as oil, petrochemicals, iron and steel, base metals, and military hardware, even a respectable 5.4% annual GDP growth has failed to accommodate new job seekers. Directly resulting from this investment bias has been the low labor intensity of growth. Still other factors such as substantial state subsidies on energy and other productive factors, negative or low interest rates offered by state banks to favored clients, and certain other rent-based amenities have induced the private sector to substitute capital for labor. In fact the high transaction costs have promoted economic firms to limit their activities within the family circles. In the year 1994, apart from agriculture sector, in the whole country out of 2.158.786 small scale firms (18.7 percent were industrial firms), nearly 2 million firms employed 1 to 5 workers. The family firms decrease the risks of new employees, use cheap family labor specially women, and find solutions for other general restriction factors within the trustable family circles.

Due to rigid and unadaptable labour market and insecurity of investment (compared with other unproductive economical activities), incoordination of supply and demand for work force have become chronicle. This is significantly harmful for job seekers with higher education, women and youth. Therefore society is faced with serious threat by unpredictable reactions of these groups.

Moreover, the increased unemployment caused by the l980s population bulge has, in turn, been exacerbated by an enormous labor surplus in rural areas, as well as the unprecedented influx of more than 2.5mn refugees and workers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and other neighboring countries. These poor, desperate, and often unregistered workers have effectively chased native unskilled laborers out of the strained job market by demanding lower wages, and willing to work in less pleasant or more hazardous occupations.

Government plans to alleviate poverty are devised without a thorough understanding of income distribution and, more specifically, of the characteristics of the targeted beneficiaries - the poor - of such plans. Data derived from family budget surveys collected by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) during the years 1985-1997 as this period covers a period with diversified socio-economic and political conditions. The relatively frequent shifting of policy during this time period provides a unique opportunity to assess the impact of government led economic reform on poverty.

One of the important projects aiming at creating job opportunities was The Flash Project addressing the creation of 300.000 job opportunities where only 38% reached the target program. According to implementing parties of the Project, the targeted jobs were unsteady and temporary. The fact is that providing financial resources interlink directly or indirectly with oil price beyond the control of national economic policy makers bringing uncertainty to the situation. The economic infrastructure is ailing due to constant interference by the state laws and institutions. Employment creation programs are only responding when it is implemented in a healthy environment.

There is Iran’s Small Industries Organization that has commissioned feasibility studies for 700 investment projects in small-scale industries and sold them to applicants against the payment of Rls100,000 ($12.5). The Organization reported in December 2001 that 4,000 requests had been received for these feasibility studies.

The micro-credit schemes designed to offer credit to entrepreneurs to start small scale profitable activities, such as carpet weaving or retail trading. However, the greatest methodological challenge for the micro-credit programmes in today's Iran is the definition of a target population. That the current schemes focus on low-skilled lenders, are to be criticized due to the high education levels of the Iranian unemployed particularly to cover, for example, small IT and internet initiatives.

It is at these points, then, that government intervention may prove most fruitful. However the above analysis, especially the quantitative gap between jobs needed and jobs created, underline that unemployment will not disappear from the Iranian economy for some time to come.



Recommendations to promote wage employment for women:


1- Investment in new technologies and ICTs for unemployed educated women
2- Creating public café nets in provinces to promote the use of ICTs
3- Additional cost of employment for the welfare of female workers to be covered by the government.
4- Create employment agencies to initiate employment for women
5- specialized agencies for women
6- dispensation on insurance and tax for employers to generate additional employment opportunities for women
7- priorities to grant low cost employment creation facilities to employers to recruit female workers
8- professional trainings and capacity buildings for women groups as well as improvement of educational system in line with revised and adapted educational planning in new fields in line with market demand
9- monitoring economic activities for further promotion of women's participation
10- developing job creativity in domestic spheres e.g. support for small domestic industries and agricultural processing industries for women, supplementary to enhancing the marketing, tax exemption for handicraft export, and promoting various associations and organisations among women workers
11- support for women entrepreneurship, empowering women, promoting marketing of their products
12- establishing young graduated women cooperatives through out the country
13- revision on rules and regulations for women's employment and social/cultural support to promote employment





Nasrin Azadeh - January 5, 2005
Wage employment in Iran




References:
- Bazaar or Non-Bazaar, assessing institutional impediments of economic system of Iran, Mohsen Ranani, 1997, (winner of the book of the year)
- Jamshid Amouzegar, Economist, former member of IMF, 2004
- Economic Systems, Dr Abdollah Jassbi,1986
- Reports on ICTs – Journal of Communication and Networking, No 13, www.tcwmagazine.com
- Various articles and interviews on ICTs – IT website
- Hashemi, Seyyed Ali, Assesing employment and unemployment in Iran and studying the characteristics from poverty perspective, MPO, 1996
- Pajouyan, Jamshid, 2000, poverty and income distribution in Iran, MPO,
- Iran Statistic Centre, 2001, employment characteristics and household unemployment Polls
- Subsidies target plans, initial report , second edition, Sept 2000, MPO