Moroccan women’s restricted access to labor market severely hinders economic growth

Women’s restricted access to the Moroccan labor market is costing the country a significant contribution to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a recent report from the Directorate of Financial Studies and Forecasts at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The study, entitled “Gender-based analysis of the contribution of the use of labor to improving the standard of living,” revealed that raising the rate of women’s access to the labor market in the Kingdom could result in a significant increase in GDP growth per capita levels, in addition to enriching the productivity of the Moroccan economy.

The analysis, which took the various components of the Moroccan labor market into account, shows that the persistence of gender disparities in terms of access to employment has a negative impact on the country’s GDP growth, both as a whole and per capita.

As the Moroccan economy continues to attempt to curb the negative effects of the pandemic, women’s “vulnerability” in the labor market is rendering the recovery more challenging.

The study emphasized the need to activate and identify the necessary levers to enhance women’s participation in the economic sector and to make women a central actor in the national growth and recovery strategy.

While highlighting the new development model’s “emphasis on making women’s economic empowerment a national priority in urban and rural areas to accelerate growth,” the study found that the proper implementation of the model’s ambitions can boost Morocco’s productivity and added value on the global market across various sectors.

The new development model, which is nearing a year since its announcement, is aiming for a 45% women occupancy in the national global market by 2035, all while increasing the number of women in senior positions to 35% by the same year, and reducing the wage gap to 5%.

The New Development Model Report includes a project for women’s economic empowerment made up of three components, namely improving women’s access to economic opportunities by granting tax incentives for companies that reach the objectives of equal employment, enhancing women’s capabilities in training and education, and the implementation of anti-sexist and discriminatory practices’ legislations.

The study developed five scenarios that include hypotheses and the expected impact on the GDP per capita, in light of the development model’s ambitions..

The results indicate that “there are real possibilities of a positive transformation for the standard of living in Morocco, where the increase in the activity rate among women could result in an additional increase in the growth of the GDP per capita by 1.7 points during the 2022-2035 period.”

In terms of the cumulative effect of this increase, the study data indicate that it will contribute to “achieving an additional growth average of 2.2 points,” according to what is included in the second scenario.

In the third scenario, which is based on continuous developments in the rate of women’s integration into the labor market, “the GDP per capita is expected to increase by 2.2 percent annually between 2022 and 2035.”

Whereas the fourth scenario indicates an important growth rate of the gross domestic product per capita that may reach 4.6%, which will result in doubling the national added value output for the year 2035.

As for the fifth scenario, it indicates an improvement in the standard of living of the population at a much higher rate in light of the cumulative effect of the increase in women’s activity rates, as the increase may reach 5% annually, and doubling the GDP per capita by about 2.1, which represents an important gain for the level livelihood at the national level, equivalent to an additional 2.8 points to the third scenario’s gains.

So far, Moroccan women’s activity rate “did not stop declining,” said the study, specifying that the lowest level, 19.9%, was recorded in 2020, making the national unemployment rate for women a staggering 16.2%, compared to 10.7% for men.

The study found that the pandemic is not the only factor behind the decrease in Moroccan women’s activity rate, considering that an approximate 22% of Moroccan women have been inactive long before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the study, women face more difficulties in accessing a new job, mainly due to “the burden of social norms that still give priority to the man, considered as the head of the family, and therefore enjoys preferential access to the labor market when job opportunities are available.”

The comprehensive study, issued on the eve of International Women’s Day, was funded by the European Union and saw the contribution of the United Nations Women in Morocco and the French Agency for Development in Morocco NGOs.