Moroccan women are still facing big challenges when it comes to finding work, keeping it, and being part of the formal economy, according to the regional report from UN Women and ESCWA (the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) published Wednesday.
Even though more women now have access to bank accounts and financial services, the report shows that this hasn’t translated into better job opportunities.
In 2023, the unemployment rate for Moroccan women aged 15 and over hit 17.2%. That’s lower than the regional average of 19.5% but still among the highest in the Arab world.
Young women had it even tougher: 44.4% of those aged 15 to 24 were unemployed. This puts Morocco among the top countries in the region for youth unemployment, only slightly better than Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Libya.
More than half of young Moroccan women (53.9%) weren’t in school, training, or work last year. That’s one of the highest rates in the Arab region, following Sudan and Yemen.
Even for women who do work, most are stuck in unstable and low-paying jobs. The report says nearly 65% of working Moroccan women are in the informal sector; jobs that usually don’t come with health insurance, job security, or retirement benefits.
On the financial side, 32.7% of Moroccan women had a bank or mobile money account as of 2021. That’s a decent improvement compared to neighbors like Tunisia and Algeria, but far behind countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The findings come from the first edition of a new report titled “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, A gender snapshot of the Arab region 2024.”
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