Beyond glass ceiling, Iranian women face iron fence
The Iranian Ministry of Education's decision to impose gender quotas has raised bewilderment and disappointment.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities have moved to introduce gender quotas that shut out women in its exams for those seeking government and public sector jobs. Coupled with reports of high rates of unemployment among women, this has sparked serious doubts about the administration of President Hassan Rouhani’s approach toward increasing women’s presence in society.
The Ministry of Education held its nationwide exam for new job applicants on Sept. 18, with 178,000 people participating. The exact date for the announcement of the results is unclear. But what is clear is that no matter what score female applicants may obtain, they will make up only 10% of those who will be employed.
This disappointing development came to light in the registration guidelines for this year’s exam. Of the 3,703 educational posts up for grabs, it is stated that only 630 will go to women while the other 3,073 posts will go to men. Female applicants in the Iranian capital are perhaps the most exposed to this policy; of the 190 new employees that are to join the Ministry of Education in Tehran, only six are set to be women.
What is happening appears to be the fruits of long-planned labor. In February, the head of the Ministry of Education’s Research and Planning Organization expressed concerns to the semi-official Fars News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that having female teachers educate young boys in elementary schools will lead to the development of “feminine and girlish behavior.” These remarks have been interpreted as having paved the ground for the imposition of gender discrimination in this year’s employment exam.
