Iran Among Countries with ‘Least Employment Opportunities’ for Women

The United Nations has classified Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a number of Middle Eastern countries among those offering the least employment opportunities to women, which is why unemployment rates for women in these countries are extremely high.

A report from the International Labour Organization, affiliated with the United Nations, ahead of “International Women’s Day” on March 8, shows that the unemployment rate for women in Middle Eastern countries is twice as high as unemployment rates among men.

According to the organization, most women in the Middle East are employed at the lowest wages and in the most low-level professions from a professional standpoint.

Emanuela Pozzan, an expert at the UN, stated: In the Middle East, there is still little motivation to hire women for various positions.

According to Ms. Pozzan, the jobs offered to women are not very attractive because the compensation they receive is low.

Overall, statistics show that globally, half of women are employed; in the Middle East this figure drops to 19 percent of women, and in South Asia to 28 percent of them.

A recent ranking of 144 countries worldwide prepared by the United Nations shows that countries providing the least employment opportunities and economic participation for women are Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran.

In these few countries, the wage gap between women and men employed in the same position is at least 65 percent; meaning that women’s salaries and benefits for the same work men perform are at least 65 percent lower.

The United Nations says that globally, women’s compensation is generally lower than men’s, but nowhere is this gap as pronounced as it is in the Middle East.

The UN’s findings also show that the employment situation and salaries and benefits for women in developed countries are considerably better than in developing countries.

Source: Radio Farda