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Goddess Amani

On the threshold of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Women’s Commission and 20 years since the World Conference on Women in Beijing, although women have achieved remarkable achievements in the path towards gender equality at a global level, there are still major challenges facing the women’s movement for achieving gender equality. Therefore, the chosen theme for International Women’s Day, March 8, 2016, is “Pledge for Parity”. Today, more than ever in human society, gender equality has been pushed from the margins to the center of global discussions in political, economic, and social spheres, and respect for women’s human rights is seen as a key factor in achieving economic development, peace, and addressing social injustices. The fact that gender equality is synonymous with progress for all of society is supported by statistical evidence.

In 2015, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women convened to review the progress of 168 countries in implementing the specific measures outlined in the Beijing Conference of 1995 to address gender inequality and improve conditions for women, who make up half of the world’s population, in 12 areas of concern for women and girls.

In this study, although promising findings have been found in the area of changing discriminatory laws in many countries, special attention to the rights of girls, closing the gender gap in primary education can be observed, but long-standing challenges still remain for the majority of women in the world. Violence against women as the cause and effect of gender inequality, violation of women’s human rights, barriers and obstacles to women’s political and economic participation, and discriminatory laws in many countries that label women as second-class citizens, still exist and hinder economic development.

Sustainable economic development cannot be achieved without gender equality and women play a key role in this matter. Additionally, the economic empowerment of women is a prominent indicator of gender equality.

According to the global economic forecast, if women’s economic participation continues at its current rate, it will take 81 years for gender equality in the workplace to be achieved. This shocking reality has prompted the global community to develop effective and forward-thinking strategies to challenge the gender gap in economic opportunities and capabilities by 2030, and create societies with better resources and respect for women’s economic rights.

Our bank, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasizes the need for a “quantum leap” in the field of women’s economic empowerment and the underutilization of women’s potential in driving economic progress in different countries.

If we imagine a world where women have control over their own lives and their children’s, economic independence will be the foundation for the survival of such a world.

In the current global situation, only 50% of women are employed and present in the job market. This is in contrast to the 77% presence of men in the job market. The portion of women who are employed also receive, on average, 24% less pay than men who perform the same job and have similar educational and skill qualifications.

Women who are working outside of their homes, especially in the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, are mostly present in the informal sector of the job market. This means that these women do not benefit from the labor laws of these countries (even though they are weak and limited), and are deprived of social services, insurance, and job opportunities for advancement. In most cases, they do not even receive minimum wages. However, in developed industrialized countries in the West, immigrants, especially immigrant women, are also in similar situations.

It seems that there are two major trends for women’s economic empowerment that are being focused on.

Women who are present in the informal sector of the economy should have access to the formal sector, which provides legal support and job security and creates opportunities for the fertility of women’s talents and abilities. This requires structural changes and political will from those in power to empower half of the human workforce, women.

While 75% of employed women in the world work in the informal sector, a statistical comparison and gender gap in different regions of the world reveals an inequality.

In the group of North African countries, 55% of women compared to 32% of men and in the Middle East, 27% of men are not provided with job security, compared to 42% of women.

Alongside the vast number of women working in the informal economic sector, 62% of women in the world work for their families and are deprived of rights and benefits, and are exposed to economic damage and job insecurity.

This section of women are mostly deprived of economic independence and naturally do not have economic capabilities. Additionally, 75% of unpaid work in the world is done by women. Unpaid work produces “consumption value” in economic terms, while work in the labor market has “exchange value” and contributes to gross domestic product, bringing economic capabilities with it.

Although women make up half of the world’s population, they only account for 37% of the global gross domestic product in terms of their participation in the workforce.

A comprehensive look at economic, political, social indicators and gender gap shows that: if the high school education rate for girls increases by 1%, the per capita income will increase by 3%. If the cost of childcare decreases by 50% and these institutions can benefit from government support, the employment rate of young women in the labor market will increase by 10.6%.

On the other hand, 90% of countries in the world have at least one law in their set of laws that restricts women’s access to job opportunities and economic facilities.

According to a comprehensive study published in 2015, if women have equal participation in the economy as men, 28 trillion or 26% will be added to the world’s gross domestic product in 2025. This figure, 28 trillion, is equivalent to the total gross domestic product of the United States and China. At the heart of this staggering statistic lies the hidden truth that the economic empowerment of women not only benefits women and families, but also contributes to remarkable achievements in the economic progress of society.

Some of the inhibiting factors in the field of women’s economic empowerment include discriminatory laws, lack of equal rights for women in the constitution, low levels of political participation among women who believe in gender equality, violence against women, and challenges in the areas of women’s health, education, and opportunities for growth and development in all fields of study. Other factors that can be mentioned include women’s access to technology and the underutilization of financial resources in society.

If the gender gap in economic participation is closed, women’s income in the world will increase by up to 76%, which is equivalent to 17 trillion dollars. (Action Aid – 2015).

One of the other inhibiting factors in the field of women’s economic empowerment is the unpaid work of women in the household, which only produces consumption value. In the world, women on average do 2.5 times more unpaid and domestic work than men. This in itself is one of the inhibiting factors in women’s access to job opportunities, benefiting from social facilities, and progress in their careers.

“To overcome the challenges and obstacles to women’s economic empowerment, political will and cooperation from the private sector and civil society institutions are necessary. Without the freedoms outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the foundations of democracy, civil society cannot fulfill its role. Without political will and determination to utilize women’s potential for progress, development, and societal advancement, replacing discriminatory laws with supportive laws for gender equality and implementing policies for the economic participation of women, the private sector will not be responsive and will not be committed to aligning with civil society. The role of civil society and its organizations, including labor unions, research institutions, women’s economic rights watchdog organizations, and women’s movement institutions, is crucial. Additionally, the role of men, especially young men, is crucial in making change and achieving a “quantum leap.” Respecting women’s human rights, including economic rights, and governments’ commitments to international laws outlined in the Beijing Action Plan, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Although women’s empowerment has made slow and positive progress in the world over the past 20 years, in Iran it has faced obstacles and challenges that can be evaluated as contradictory to the overall global trend. According to the World Economic Forum’s report on gender inequality in 2015, Iran ranks 137th, a decrease of 7 places from 2013. Iran has also been evaluated as one of the most unequal countries in terms of political empowerment. Only 3% of seats in parliament are held by women, and even those women who are present in parliament do not have individual independence and political will to address gender discrimination and inequalities. They also lack the necessary values and principles of political empowerment.

This is while in the midst of the election season in Iran, those in power have always welcomed women’s participation in politics to gain their votes. However, once they secure their position, they forget their promises. Gender engineering policies and gender segregation in limiting certain job opportunities for women, job restrictions for women, and gender segregation in professions will only deepen the gender gap in the economy and unequal distribution of power.

These policies are a reflection of the prevailing attitude towards gender in the workforce in society, which do not align with the economic empowerment of women and recognizing the talents of half of Iran’s population, sustainable economic development, and improving the economic situation of society.

In societies where the role of women is limited to their role in the family and the economic role of women is only related to managing the family’s finances, international indicators cannot serve as a warning.

Tasnim News Agency, on November 29, 2015, writes about Iran’s ranking of 137 in terms of gender inequality: “The gender gap index is based on Western criteria and as a result, Islamic countries, which have their own specific definitions for the roles of men and women, are mostly ranked low in the world rankings.”

Or in the article “Examining the Role of Women in the Development of Family and Society Economy” on the Sun website dated 28 May 2011, in the “Role of Women in the Economy” section, it is mentioned that “household budget management, management of family assets based on individual and family preferences, may determine the way of preparing food, optimal use of facilities and household items…” are the only topics discussed.

This reductionist view of women’s role in the economy is reflected in the policies of those in power in various places in Iran. This is while such a view is challenged in some societies where the majority are Muslim, and women have relatively equal and supportive laws in political, economic, and social fields for the prosperity of society.

Iranian Students News Agency, ISNA, writes on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in an interview with Parvin Hedayati, “Employment is one of the indicators for addressing poverty. Societies with high production have increased employment and different classes, including women, are saved from poverty.” She continues, “By examining statistical indicators in different countries, we realize that the active women in Iran in the economic field are on average 12 to 16 percent; therefore, about 83 percent of the Iranian female population are considered economically inactive and attention needs to be paid to this situation.” Parvin Hedayati, who is the advisor to the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Affairs for Women’s Affairs, states that “approximately 40 million people of the population over 10 years old in the country are economically inactive and 87 percent of this population are women, a significant portion of which, 64 percent, are housewives.” Mehrkhaneh.

Dr. Vahideh Neghin tells the Mehrkhaneh reporter in an interview that “according to the results of the labor force survey at the end of 1393, the unemployment rate in the country was announced to be 5.10%. This is while at the same time, the unemployment rate for women was over 20%, twice the rate for men… The highest rate of economic participation for women is in the age group of 25 to 29 years.”

What is received from official statistics in Iran indicates a deep gap between the economic participation of women and men. This, along with the concentration of women’s employment in limited sectors of the economy, primarily the service sector, speaks to the lack of political will and necessary planning for the empowerment and effectiveness of women in the Iranian economy. The gap in women’s employment between the service sector and agriculture is 37 percent, and between the service sector and industry is 26 percent.

While the world strives to hold governments accountable for implementing gender-sensitive policies and closing the gender gap in the economy, by empowering women as effective citizens and leaders in national production, until the time when the male-dominated government in Iran recognizes women as equal citizens with rights and human dignity, until society is free from systems that hinder women’s participation in the workforce due to social, cultural, and religious barriers, the trends observed in Iranian society, such as increasing age of marriage, higher unemployment rates for women compared to men, gender discrimination and inequalities, underutilization of women’s managerial and leadership capacities, on one hand, and increasing age of marriage, rise in single-mother households, decrease in age of female-headed households, addiction among women, rise in celibacy, and gender engineering policies in the field of women’s employment, particularly for single women, policies that encourage having more children and lack of presence in public spaces and employment, the Iranian economy will not be able to fully benefit from the female workforce

Considering such a role for women in society and limiting their creativity, talents, resilience, and role as creators to the private space of the family, is a mental construct that has been used throughout history. Another world is possible and I can already hear its footsteps.

Sources.

UN Women – ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.

“UN Women Thematic Brief on Economic Empowerment: A comprehensive guide to promoting women’s economic empowerment. Available at http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2013/12/un%20women_ee-thematic-brief_us-web%20pdf.ashx?v=3&d=20141013T121456.”

The advancement of women’s equality can contribute $12 trillion to global economic growth.

This text is a link to an article on the McKinsey website titled “How Advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth.”

زنان در نیروی کار

Women in the Workforce

 

“Women in the Economy”

 

The link provided leads to the website of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and specifically to the page about their work on economic empowerment.