By Dr. Shamsosadat Zahedi, Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, Iran

Academic Citation: Shamsosadat Zahedi, "Women's Participation in Society in Iran," Kravis Leadership Institute Leadership Review, Winter 2003.

About the Author: Dr. Zahedi is Professor of Management at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, Iran. Recently, she has been a visiting scholar at the School of Politics and Economics at Claremont Graduate University. She has published broadly in the area of Management, including Systems Analysis and Design, Global Management, and Industrial Relations.

Introduction: Women’s Status in Society

One criterion of a country’s level of development is the status of women. A consensus is developing the world over that, for optimal development, a society must utilize all its human resources—and women constitute half of that human potential. In most countries there is at least lip service to the value of women’s participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. There is increasing recognition that desirable development for any nation should be multifaceted, balanced and sustainable, and that both men and women should be able to contribute to that goal. Measures of quality of life in a society are gaining increasing use alongside measures of economic activity such as GNP or GDP. The contributions of all of a nation’s citizens depend upon the opportunities to have physical and mental health, education and training, acceptance of human rights, and active participation in the country’s affairs—irrespective of gender, ethnic background, race, and religion.

In Iran in recent years there has been intense interest, expressed by increasing numbers of people through speeches and publications, in the effective utilization of the assets of every member of society. Unfortunately the dominant belief, based on an unjust assessment of the biological differences between men and women, has resulted in a very low rate of women’s participation in managerial positions throughout Iranian society.

The Status of Women in the Iranian Constitution

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new Iranian governmental system was explicitly based on Islamic ideology. In the Quran’s teaching, men and women are created from the same spirit and complement each other. Whenever the Quran uses the term “mankind,” it refers to human beings, both men and women. Regarding human nature, the Quran recognizes no differences between men and women. Moreover, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledges women’s important role in the victory of the Islamic Revolution and notes women’s undeniable active participation in all the aspects of the Great Jihad.

Article XXI of the Constitution contains five clauses concerning women’s rights. The government commits itself to:

1. Create appropriate opportunities for the growth of women and the support of their identities;
2. Support mothers, especially during pregnancy and while children are young; and protect orphans;
3. Establish special courts for the support of family life;
4. Protect divorced women and elderly women who lack an extended family support network;
5. Establish and defend mothers’ guardianship of their children.

In addition the 8th Clause of Article III defends Iranian citizens’ participation in political, economic, social and cultural activities without prejudice against women. Lastly, Article XX provides for equal legal protection of both men and women and states that both men and women benefit from the exercise of human, political, economic and cultural rights, with due compliance to Islamic regulations.

The New Constitution’s Effects on Women’s Welfare

Measurable improvements have accrued since the success of the Islamic Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution. In some areas, Iran has surpassed other nations with respect to women's progress (Women in Statistics, page 3):

1. Women’s life expectancy has increased to 70.3 years;
2. Women’s literacy has increased to 79%;
3. Attendance at elementary school is now at 94.3% for all girls;
4. For young women age 14 to 17, school attendance has reached 65.3%;
5. Nationwide, young women’s acceptance by examination at universities is up to 61.7% of entering students;
6. Women now comprise 37.8% of the workforce in the public sector;
7. Poverty in Iran, overall, has declined from 31% to 18% due primarily to improvement in hygiene and education;
8. The number of NGO’s run by women has risen to 248 (as of 2001)and these numbers continue to rise;
9. A gender-adjusted index of human development has risen from “low” to “medium” due to women’s increased literacy and education.

Education of Iranian Women

Iranian women have had access to university education for nearly 70 years. In 1996 out of a total of 19,324,104 students, 9,071,752 or 46.9% were female (Housing Census, 1996). For the 2001-2002 academic year, 61.7% of students entering university were female (Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, quoted in Iran Newspaper, 2001). These numbers show that the old taboo against women students has been erased and that women’s competence is recognized.

Employment figures, however, which show how society utilizes its educated young people, are disappointing. In 1996 only 7.9% of all Iranian females over the age of 10 years were employed outside the home, and this imbalance is particularly distressing among the educated elite. The 1996 Census shows that 1,013,848 male university graduates were employed but only 38,879 female university graduates, or 38.3%. In the public sector that hires 87% of the employed women at present, out of 142,539 managers and lawmakers only 34,339 or 24% were women.

The Civil Service Act established promotion guidelines that are supposed to be applied irrespective of gender for employees in ministries and governmental agencies. But these rules are not applied consistently. According to the Statistical Figures and Information Technology Office of the State Management and Planning Organization, in 1999 14,184 male and 4,403 female managers worked in the public sector and were entitled to promotion according to the Civil Service Act. In the figures published by this office, however, of the 45,295 men and women experts and managers of grade 11 or above who were eligible to rise to intermediate and high level managerial posts, only 16.6% or 7,559 were women (Governmental Employees’ Statistics, 1999).

Women’s Increased Participation in Political Life

Especially notable among the improvements in women’s status is the growing interest among women in contributing actively to politics. Women are increasingly declaring their candidacy for city councils and Parliament.

Table 1. Declared Female Candidates and Number Elected to Parliament

The increase since the Islamic Revolution is striking. (The decline in the last election is generally accepted as due to normal fluctuations in voting.) Besides their seats in Parliament, women have been elected to Parliamentary Commissions and Committees, government Commissions, and a Committee for Women. Increasing acceptance of women’s participation is also shown in their appointments as advisors to the President, Deputy Ministers, advisors to Ministers, as well as Head of the Center for Women’s Participation, Vice President for Environmental Protection, and Chancellor of the University of Alzahra (a women’s university). The National Report (2000, pg. 60) determined that in all of the provinces, women attained a majority of seats on almost all of the city councils, and in the provincial centers, they were a majority in all but three provinces. In 109 cities, 114 women received either the largest or second-largest number of votes cast—striking evidence of society’s acceptance of women’s abilities and a clear indication of a sea change in attitudes in the rural areas in the provinces.

Iran Compared to Other Countries

The increase in the number of women winning elections and gaining appointments is gratifying. Compared to other countries, however, Iran still has a long way to go. One index of women’s status is the United Nations’ Gender Empowerment Measure. This scale refers to women’s access to power, and its constituent factors are:

1. Women’s percentage of seats in Parliament;
2. The percentage of women managers country-wide;
3. The percentage of employed women professionals;
4. Women’s per capita share of gross national income.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union reported that Swedish women held 45.3% of seats in Parliament ranking first among nations. In six countries women hold over a third of the seats in Parliament (Denmark 38.0%, Finland 36.5%, Norway 36.4%, Costa Rica 35.1%, Iceland 34.9%, Netherlands 34.0%). In more than 38 countries women hold over 20% of all seats in Parliament. In this report 180 countries are classified by descending order of the percentage of women in the lower or single House, and Iran is in the 108th percentile, in which women hold only 4.1% of the seats in Parliament. (Women in National Parliaments, Sept. 20, 2002, pg. 4)

The following table shows the number of managers in the Iranian public sector compared to selected Muslim and non-Muslim countries in 1998.

Table 2. Percentage of Women in Managerial Positions in Muslim and non-Muslim Countries

Selected Muslim Countries	Selected Non-Muslim Countries
Iran 3.5	Japan 8.9
Turkey 10.1	China 11.6
Egypt 11.5	England 32.9
Tajikistan 23.3	America 42.7
Morocco 25.6	Italy 53.8

U.N. Development Office, Report on Human Resource Development, 1998.

This U.N. report ranks Iran 97th among 102 countries on percentage of women in managerial positions. Official teachings and the cultural atmosphere, the legal and economic systems, expectations of gender roles and relations between the sexes, companies’ recruitment and promotion policies, and the history of the division of labor—all contribute to Iran’s low ranking.

Although, before the revolution, the Shah of Iran widely publicized the modernization of the country under his government, few women held high-level managerial positions—and those who did were usually related to members of the royal family. Iranian women’s share in public sector management remained constant at around 2.8% from 1966 to 1996. Even today, only a very optimistic estimate sets the share at around 5%.

The frustration of Iranian women with these results is intensely felt. The talents and creativity of half of the population are not considered worthy of being exercised for the progress of Iran. Every day the country is losing the emotional depth and variety of women managers which has been found elsewhere to bring freshness and new energy to organizations.

To summarize, women have demonstrated their ability by passing the university entrance examinations and graduating from universities. They have also proven their strong interest in participating fully in and contributing to society by repeatedly running for election. Still, women face enormous barriers and discrimination in spite of legal guarantees in the Constitution. Many questions naturally come up at this point, among them:

1. Why is the Constitution not upheld?
2. Why are there so few women elected representatives despite women having had the vote for many years?
3. Why are women “outsiders” in politics? Where is their access to the inner circles of political power?
4. Despite women's interest in political and managerial positions, why are there still only a few “token” women?
5. Why, when women in Iran have earned their place in political life through their active role in the Revolution and in public demonstrations, are they not included in appointments to key leadership positions?
6. Why are women expected to implement men’s decisions but are not allowed to hold decision-making positions?
7. Why are women hired for positions of technical expertise but have to wait much longer than men for promotion to management? (1)
8. Even in other Islamic countries (e.g., Turkey, Morocco, Egypt), women have more access to the highest levels of the executive suite; why do women in Iran not have similar access?

It is recognized that gender is a source of discrimination worldwide. “Gender is omnipresent and pervasive, and yet its impact is all but denied by most political scientists. Feminist theory has as its task seeing gender at work when it is most often overlooked.” (Whitaker, pg. 4) In Iran, gender is one of the determining factors in hiring and promotion, even if it is not acknowledged (2) by men. This situation is not desirable for a country whose Constitution guarantees equality.

Female managers face two major challenges in Iran:

1. To succeed in their obligation to their work;
2. To change the existing culture so that women who follow them will not be forced to experience the same difficulties (Thompson, pg. 16).

Suggestions

Women’s participation cannot be expected to increase only by the struggle and work of individual women. Society has a vested interest in fully including women, and needs to commit resources, time and thought to improving this situation. The following suggestions are proposed:

1. The first step in reforming stereotypical views toward women is to change women’s own perspective, their attitudes towards themselves. Women must be aware of their potential and to let their natural talents flourish, with self-confidence and self-respect. They must continue to gain knowledge, especially of the tools of science and management. They must break their silence and become proactive.

   Possibilities:
   a) Starting a program for each woman in Iran to write about her life's goals and her life's accomplishments. A University or women’s organization (e.g., Alzahra University or the Center for Women's Participation) might sponsor this website. With the authors' permission, they could post the best of these essays for Iranian womn, and update the site regularly with new essays.

   b) Starting a contest open to both males and females for essays on how an Iranian woman has inspired them. Advertising for both the program and the contest in newspapers, schools and town halls around the country. Asking a well-known and respected Iranian woman to let her photograph be printed in newspaper announcements or on posters describing this program.

2. Establishing a data or talent bank for qualified women. Keeping a record of their education, research, experience, training, and other appropriate information showing their abilities. Having this information in one place will help officials be aware of the number of highly qualified women available for employment in managerial positions.

   Possibility:
   a) Alzahra University might host this database. In addition, some companies in Iran welcome talented women employees. These companies might sponsor a program to encourage women to send their resumes or C.V.'s to the University to be posted on the website, and offer small prizes for participation – a book, educational materials for a classroom, and so forth.

3. Joining the Convention for Non-Discrimination Against Women passed in 1979 by the U.N. General Assembly. Iran has not yet ratified this Convention. Opponents of Iran use this fact to portray a discriminatory image of the Islamic system to the international community. The Islamic Republic of Iran can make religious principles apply to the exceptional cases requiring them and still sign the Convention. (Kar, 286).

   Possibility:
   a) In some countries, for a long time there have been meetings of a students' version of the United Nations: several students are appointed to represent each country. They do research on their country and then they "represent" that country in a meeting of their own "General Assembly," just as in the United Nations. Iranian women might use this model to organize debates, as in a students' version of the U.N., about religious principles and the ways in which they are applicable and adaptable to modern society. They could also think about removing the obstacles to increased women's participation in society.

4. The government might establish quotas to redress long-standing inequity, so as to open educational facilities, scholarships, political establishments, parties’ candidates’ positions, parliamentary seats, and high managerial positions.

   Possibility:
   a) Following the example of Norway, where the government recently announced that it will require Norway's 650 public companies to appoint women to at least 40% of all board positions by 2005, the government might establish a goal of Iranian women filling 10% of upper managerial positions by 2005. (Ivey: Women in Management, Vol. 12, No. 3, Oct-Nov 2002, pg. 3.)

5. Government bureaus, NGO's, universities and women's groups might offer management and leadership training programs for women and follow up with refresher courses.

   Possibility:
   a) Courses might be taught by volunteers including university professors, successful managers, and masters and doctoral students in management programs.

6. Recognizing women’s dual roles, as mothers and workers, in Iran’s development. For these reasons society must give special attention to providing the services needed by women in order to lessen their load of family-related obligations and enable them to better contribute to their managerial tasks.

   Possibilities:
   a) Establishing town committees where women meet and identify their needs for this support and determine what exactly each town and province can provide or offer.

   b) Government officials might respond to these needs by providing facilities for these meetings.

7. Many inequalities and much discrimination have come from religion in all societies. The original purpose of a religion, when interwoven with later beliefs and changing social, economic, and cultural values, can be distorted. (UNESCO, 7). Currently the interpretations of Islamic rules might cause difficulties for women. The original Islamic rules must be separated from the theological opinions of clergymen. (Katoozian, 7.) If this fundamental issue can be resolved, many lesser issues will be straightened out naturally.

   Prominent religious figures now talk about the equality of men and women, but there are still some clerics who do not realize the importance of women’s roles and make discriminatory remarks about women’s status in an Islamic country. They try to enforce their prejudiced views. The authorities have the duty to make these individuals aware of reality and halt their incorrect interpretation of religion and ideology.

   Possibility:
   a) Identifying well-known clerics who genuinely support women's needs and recognizing those clerics who understand and encourage women to participate more fully in society.

8. Establishing more open and egalitarian recruitment, hiring and promotion practices so that qualified applicants are evaluated without regard to gender.

   Possibility:
   a) Publishing, in national newspapers, the names of companies that have enlightened recruitment, hiring and promotional practices for women, thus raising public awareness of the value of women's abilities.

9. Reforming the culture’s unrealistic image of women. Noticing the obvious contradiction between permitting only family roles for women who also possess social, political and leadership strengths. When the necessity for change is seen, people’s attitudes and perspectives will adapt, resulting in a change in behavior. Ruling bodies and high-ranking authorities can accelerate the rate of these changes by, in addition to their speeches on behalf of women, acting to promote women's participation in society.

   Possibility:
   a) Asking those Iranian men who are greatly respected in their communities if they would permit their names and photographs to be used to support a campaign to help men better understand women's capabilities.

Conclusion

For many decades all around the world women have struggled to gain their rights and redress political, cultural, economic and social inequalities. These struggles take form in ways consonant with each nation’s history and culture. It is natural for each country to have a distinct approach to women’s status, and the course of progress will be different in different cultures. Iranian women are aware of their rights and show great insight into their status. They are aware of gender-based discrimination worldwide and are working to gain their rights in ways appropriate to their situation. They reach for greater freedom using actions compatible with their environment and ideological framework. The women of Iran are pressing to bring society closer to the promised equality in the Constitution.

The author wishes to acknowledge the administrative and editorial assistance of Edie Young, Faculty Support, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University.

Sources

(2) Gender invisibility involves the lack of ability to perceive the reality that policies have different impacts on men and women (Women's Role in Development, 15).