Moroccan women’s activity rate recorded its lowest level since 1999, last year 2020, in light of the repercussions of the Covid-19 pendamic, official data says.
According to the gender focused report, attached to the 2022 Finance Bill, the activity rate of Moroccan women during last year declined to 19.9 percent, compared to 21.5 percent in 2019.
The activity rate of men recorded, also, a slight decline by less than one percent during the same period, reaching 70.4 percent, compared to 71 percent in 2019.
With regard to the female unemployment rate, which remains higher than that of men, it increased last year by 2.7 percentage points, to reach 16.2 percent in 2020 compared to 13.5 percent in 2019.
The data issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance hints that the support measures taken by the public authorities within the framework of the Economic Vigilance Committee to preserve employment are gender biased.
During the pandemic, the ministry granted a sum of MAD 2,000 monthly to employees working in businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and registered in the National Guarantee Fund Social.
Only 25 percent of women financially responsible of their households have benefited from this grant, as business owners tend to not register women employees in the National Social Security Fund.
The pandemic exacerbated the vulnerability of women’s access to the labor market indeed but the social norms harden Moroccan women’s financial struggle, says the new issued report.
Moroccan women face more difficulties in accessing new employment due to the burden of social norms that still give priority to men as the head of families, who should enjoy preferential access to the labor market when employment opportunities are limited.
The increase in per capita GDP could reach 1.9 percent in the Kingdom if Morocco succeeded in raising women’s activity by 5.9 percent on average in the period of 2025-2035.
The new government, Akhannouch’s cabinet, promised, in its finance Bill, of prioritizing gender equality in the economic and social fields, which will lead to increasing the participation rate of women to 30% in the upcoming years.
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