The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has released a report, indicating that the number of households run by women has been growing significantly over the last decade. From 21 million Iranian households, currently 3 million are run by women. In 1385 (2006), 9% of households were run by women while in 1395 (2016) this figure had grown to 13%. Half of these are women living alone. The Ministry categorizes these women as either single or divorced. Due to the traditional the traditional Iranian society, such a way of life is new for many families. However, factors such as increased rates of employment among women, easier access to technology and higher levels of education among women have reduced the dependence of women on men.
The number of women living alone has also increased by a factor of 2.3 over the last ten years. The Statistical Center of Iran has reported that 41% of governmental workers are women. From 4 million university students, 45% are girls. In spite of this, women are still responsible for a smaller portion of the economy; the participation rate (the active portion of an economy’s labor force) among Iranian women is 13.6% while for men the figure is 62%.
Unemployment rates among women who run the households is 8% which is 5% lower than the national average. About one third of women running a household are covered by social security. The divorce rate in Iran is 25%, yet some unofficial figures claim that the rate is as high as 40% in some large cities such as Tehran.
