Azerbaijan

UNDP (2013) states Azerbaijan has a GII value of 0.323, with 61.6 % of female participates in the labour market compared to 68.5% of male. And, the level of inequality between men and women is very similar at Gini coefficient of 31% and 30.8% respectively (World Bank, 2010). The data reflects a quite optimistic situation in gender equality. But, just over half of the male population (59%) thinks gender equality has already been mostly achieved, along with 45% disagreement from women (Severina, 2012).

According to Severina (2012), refer to Figure 1, only a few female were involving in public sphere in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis generally thinks that men make better business executives than women do on the whole. Moreover, 58% agree that men should have more right to a job if job opportunity is insufficient. This reveals that the Azerbaijani population is not generally disinclined to have women in important positions, yet men are still more represented in the labor market.

Figure 1: Attitudes about gender roles (%)

The gender gap in economic activity

“There is a difference between men and women in terms of occupation. There are male jobs which are difficult. Women cannot work there. There are some jobs assigned to women such as the educational and health sector”.

Empirical data gives credence to the popular stereotype about the inferiority of female labour. Disproportionate concentration of women in the so-called female sectors, such as education and healthcare, causes a vicious cycle of low pay and unattractiveness for men, resulting in still higher feminization (UNDP, 2007).

The unemployment rate

During economic transition, the study reveals that women with tertiary educations, who make up 47 % of all working women, are favoured by it. 33.1% of women with specialized secondary educations can also find jobs (UNDP, 2007).

“There are more needy women than men. During economic transition women are first to become unemployed.

Unemployment breeds poverty. Women’s choice is more limited than men’s. Under the present conditions, it is not women that select jobs but jobs select women.”

However, the unemployment of women with completed secondary and primary education is much higher than that of men with the same educated level, which is mainly affected by the traditional thinking.

“An unemployed man cannot take care of his family and is ashamed of his situation in front his wife and children.”

Figure 2: Tasks you were taugh when you were a child or teenager (%)

A corresponding disparity in employment mode

Severina (2012) also summarized that nearly 70% of the Azerbaijani population considers taking care of the home and cooking for family is the main responsibility of a woman. Furthermore, 57% agree to the statement that being a housewife is just as satisfied as being employed.

Expressed by a local male respondent, “in many cultures house-related obligations are normally disregarded as work. They are treated as non-paid work and are not reflected in the work history.”

When asked about what tasks they were taught when they were children or teenagers, nearly all Azerbaijanis women (96%) referred to the routine household chores such as cooking and cleaning, compared with only 32% of men. In contrast, women who are taught with the skills to fix home appliances are 53% less than that of male.

Corresponding disparity in employment wages

Illustrated by the graph below, an obvious gender gap in wages is shown by inter-sector salary differences. There is a strange pyramid, resulting in lower position of women as stewardess. At the same time, the education as well as the health and social work sector has only70% equivalent as men’s.

Azerbaijani women (daughter and widow) enjoy fair right on property inheritance, since there are certain legislations for protecting the right of women. But when the inherent matter is related to family circumstances, especially after marriage, supervision is difficult to be carried out, the implementation of those laws is mostly unknown. This would become an obstacle for female to get the credibility in formal financial institutions, and for long term, it stings the chance for them to start their own business or investment in the nation.

To conclude, the findings show that the population’s attitudes towards gender equality are a bit ambiguous. Gender roles, division of labor and participation of men and women in domestic and public life are influenced by people’s traditional attitudes.

Figure 3: The Female remuneration as percentage of male remuneration by sector

(Sourece: State Statistic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijian)

The relation with the economic

According to UNDP (2007), the generation born after the beginning of “perestroika” (a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980s) and formed at the end of the 1990's agreed a high level of education is necessary for girls. It provides them with possibility to the growth in significance of specialization and professionalism in market economic conditions and the gender awareness.

This means the higher the educational level, the more chance for Azerbaijani women to find a job. This implies the importance of education for tackling with the conservative thinking

Reference:

Severina (2012). Gender attitudes in Azerbaijan. Retrieved November 14, 2013 from http://crrc-caucasus.blogspot.hk/2012/06/gender-attitudes-in-azerbaijan-in.html

UNDP (2007). Azerbaijan human development report. Retrieved November 8, 2013 from http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Azerbaijan/AzerbaijanNHDR2007.pdf

UNDP (2013) ‘Human Development Report 2013’, 21 September, accessed at http://hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/AZE.pdf.

Gender Inequality and

Economic Growth

Azerbaijan