Unravelling the Puzzle of Low Female Labor Force Participation in Iran

That women’s labor force participation in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been consistently low is well known, but explanations vary as to the principal causes. Moreover, many studies examine the female economically active population in aggregate, without sociodemographic distinctions. The puzzle is why – despite high educational attainment, rising age of marriage, smaller family size, and the country’s economic difficulties – women remain under-represented in the labor force. Drawing on household surveys, we put the spotlight on the waged and salaried employment patterns of urban married women, who dominate the female labor force, and we compare patterns in two time periods – the economic growth period of 2005-2007 and the economic crisis period of 2018-2020. In examining the structural and institutional factors that explain both their high levels of unemployment and their tendency to drop out of the labor force following marriage and childbirth, we highlight the role of sanctions, economic cycles, declining government recruitment, discriminatory laws, and gendered wage gaps. We also highlight similarities and differences between Iran and other countries in the Middle East and North African region.