reportedly fail to be enforced.9 Reports of women facing discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, notably in the workplace, have gained more visibility recently, including on social media in Iran.10 11 Although not limiting the discriminatory legal framework described above, the Government engaged in several actions to address women’s access to employment in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By the order of President Rouhani, the Supreme Administrative Council reportedly decided to allocate 30% of the managerial positions to Iranian women. The Government also established a National Task Force on the Empowerment of Female Heads of Households in the field of development of employment and entrepreneurship and launched the Women's Business Development and Acceleration Center, which is aimed at “strengthening rural women's associations and cooperation” as well as “entrepreneurship development for women”. 12 Out of the 41 million Iranian female population,13 the Government reported that 4,000 are “active female entrepreneurs”.14 According to the Government, women’s economic participation rate “has risen from 12.4% in 2013 to 16.4% in 2018”.15 Other governmental statistics published in 2018 reportedly indicated that female economic participation stood at 15.9%.16 Regardless, such rates remain some of the lowest in the world. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report in 2017, Iran was ranked 140 out of 144 countries assessed.17 Similarly, a World Bank study ranked Iran fourth lowest in its 2019 Women, Business and the Law index.18 Unemployment is more prevalent among women in Iran compared to men. 19 There are no reports that indicate the existence of effective state-sponsored campaigns aimed at helping employers and workers to identify discrimination and promote equality in Iranian workplaces. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not ensured equality of opportunity or eliminated discriminatory laws and practices related to women’s work. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has NOT been implemented. 9 Human Rights Watch <https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/05/25/its-mens-club/discrimination-against-women-irans-job-market> BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35535269 11 AL Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/22/iranians-break-taboos-with-their-own-version-of-metoo ; Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/09/iran-having-its-metoo-moment 12 UPR 2019, National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 13 World Bank, 2019, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.IN?locations=IR 14 UPR 2019, National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 15 UPR 2019, National Report, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 16 Statistical Centre of Iran, Natayej-e-Amar giri-ye- nirou-ye-kaar, Paeiz-e-1396 [Results of the census on workforce, Autumn of 1396], https://bit.ly/330NG8t 17 World Economic Forum, the Global Gender Gap Report 2017. Available from: < https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-globalgender-gap-report-2017 > 18 World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform, May 2019, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/31327/WBL2019.pdf 19 Statistics Center of Iran <https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/1/releases/lfs/LFS_1397.pdf> 10 2

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