What Explains Iran’s Low Female Labor Force Participation?: Examining Institutions, Wages, and Sanctions

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 women remain under-represented in Iran’s labor force despite high educational attainment, later marriage, smaller family size, and the country’s economic difficulties. Drawing on household surveys by the Statistical Center of Iran, 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 2017–2020. In examining the structural and institutional factors that explain women’s high unemployment and their tendency to drop out of the labor force following marriage and childbirth, we elucidate the roles 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 Africa.