Factors Affecting the Level of Female Employment in Iran

Regarding the employment status of women and leading them to the labor market may create many changes in the structure of culture, norms and values of family and community. Womenʹs employment and developing their capability and skills is very important in economic, social and political development. However, there are still many biological and personal barriers, cultural barriers, and economic, social and political barriers in the employment of women in society. This paper examines the effect of the most important factors affecting womenʹs employment in Iran during the period of 1981-2011, using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL). The results show an inverse relationship between womenʹs employment rates and women’s secondary education level and the rate of population growth. Also the relationship between womenʹs employment rate and GDP increasing and higher education is shown to be positive.