Cover photo: A woman smokes a cigarette on a rooftop as explosions from joint US-Israeli strike show on the background in Tehran. March 7, 2026. ©Maryam Rahmanian
Since January 2026, inflation, recession, war, and internet disruptions have unprecedentedly pressured the women’s labour market in Iran—a market that was already earlier affected by gender discrimination, unstable employment, and restrictions on women’s access to stable job opportunities. Reports now indicate a shrinking job market, business closures, and rising job insecurity. The trend has pushed some women into lower-paying jobs while excluding others from the labour market altogether.
Despite having higher education and specialised skills, official statistics show that a significant proportion of employed women remain excluded from managerial positions and senior professional ranks, working predominantly in the service sector. Following the decline in purchasing power in recent months, the service sector has experienced a sharper drop in demand and a deeper recession than other sectors.
In this environment, gender stereotypes and entrenched views regarding women’s work have accelerated women’s exclusion from the labour market, further complicating their return to stable employment.
Inflation, War, and the Shrinking Space for Women in the Labour Market
Existing evidence and reports show that the women’s labour market in Iran has faced a noticeable decline in job opportunities with the intensifying inflation and the consequences of war. The overall structure of employment also implies that women are in a more vulnerable position: their share of the country’s total employment was estimated at only around 15 per cent in 2025.
According to official statistics, around 60 per cent of employed women in Iran work in the service, beauty, and care sectors. This includes jobs such as hairdressing, beauty services, tourism, sales, consultancy, insurance, cleaning, and childcare. A report by Shargh newspaper shows that rising costs and falling purchasing power have removed many of these services from household consumption baskets, consequently driving a significant decline in demand for these types of jobs.
Data from the Statistical Centre of Iran further illustrate the intensity of these pressures. In March 2026, the annual inflation rate reached 53.7%, while point-to-point inflation rose to 73.5%. Under these economic conditions, sectors such as tourism and hospitality have experienced acute recession and, in some cases, a near-complete cessation of activities.
Experts argue that this trend cannot be attributed solely to economic recession, but that the gendered structure of the labour market also plays a decisive role in excluding women from employment. Zahra Karimi, an economist and labour market expert, said in an interview with Shargh newspaper:
“Following the escalation of the crisis, employed women have, in many cases, been among the first groups to lose their jobs, because there is a conventional view that women do not need a job as much as men do; whereas some of them are female heads of households, and many also lack insurance coverage.”
Handicrafts and the Instability of Women’s Livelihoods under Crisis Conditions
Reports show that handicrafts are among the sectors where women comprise a significant portion of the workforce, with much of the labour taking place at home or in informal workshops. Experts in labour and women’s issues argue that such a structure confines women to lower levels of the workforce, leaving them with a disproportionately small share of the economic gains and profits generated through production. Low wages, lack of formal contracts, and exclusion from insurance coverage and labour protections are also reported to be widespread in this sector.
In recent months, war, economic recession, and disruptions in internet access have restricted sales channels for these products, affecting particularly online sales. Analyses indicate that the decline in purchasing power and the downturn in tourism have further intensified this trend, pushing the production and supply chain into recession and instability. These conditions have directly threatened the livelihoods of women active in the handicrafts sector.
Given the significance of needlework in Balochistan, located in southeastern Iran, and the prominent role of Baloch women in the production of the region’s handicrafts, Laebeh Aram, a women’s rights activist in Balochistan, stated in an interview with Zagros 24 that “recent crises have exposed women working in occupations such as needlework and carpet weaving to even greater livelihood insecurity.”
According to her, these jobs are often carried out in the form of home-based work or informal workshops, and many women active in this sector work without a formal contract and without access to insurance, unemployment benefits, or pensions. Aram explains that long working hours, low pay, and the lack of employment protections are part of the everyday reality for many women working in this field—conditions that leave them highly vulnerable to sudden income loss and financial hardship during times of crisis. She describes women who have spent years working in such workshops without receiving a fair share of the profits generated by their labour or having any form of support or security during periods of unemployment.
As an example, Aram recounts the story of a woman who migrated from her village to Tehran years ago to work in carpet-weaving workshops. Following the closure of the workshop, she experienced a complete loss of income, without insurance or any form of financial support. According to Aram, the rising cost of raw materials has also deprived her of the possibility of working independently, while the closure of the workshop has abruptly rendered the years of labour and acquired skills—her only asset in life—effectively useless and unsupported.
Internet Shutdowns and Job Lay-offs Among Women and Queer Individuals
The ongoing total internet shutdown for nearly three months has forced part of the online and home-based business sector—a sector with a significant participation of women, particularly female heads of households—to suspend operations or lose their income entirely. Maryam Khaakrin, the Director General of the Office of Women and Family Affairs of the State Welfare Organisation, has reported extensive disruptions and halts in job opportunities for female heads of households following the war.
A significant portion of female workers operate under temporary, verbal, or uninsured contracts—conditions that increase the likelihood of their removal from the labour market during periods of crisis.
Despite the current crisis, reports also illustrate the precarious nature of women’s job positions in Iran. Based on published data, a significant portion of female workers operate under temporary, verbal, or uninsured contracts—conditions that increase the likelihood of their removal from the labour market during periods of crisis. Interviews conducted with individuals who have lost their jobs provide a more tangible picture of this situation.
One of my sources, Mahtab*, a 48-year-old woman, recounted how losing her job became closely intertwined with a broader livelihood crisis and the erosion of stability in her life. Having worked as an administrative employee at a well-known social media platform, she stated that during the second week of the war, she and a number of her colleagues were informed that their positions would be terminated: “I am 48 years old, and unemployment at this age means misery. I am a tenant, and since January, my depression has severely relapsed. The war and unemployment, the worries over insurance, medical care, and rent, have transformed me from a social activist into a passive being.”
She says that after years of working in Tehran, rising costs forced her to leave her residence, and—concurrently with the cessation of income—she faced the issue of insurance: “I have to pay 9 million a month to my former workplace so they keep submitting my insurance, and I don’t know where to get it from.”
However, for certain groups, the experience of job loss extends beyond economic pressure and is intertwined with broader forms of exclusion and marginalisation. These experiences rarely appear in official reports, yet the narratives of queer individuals reveal additional dimensions of job insecurity and exclusion from the labour market.
Deniz*, a 27-year-old non-binary wildlife activist from Darab, a city in Fars Province in southwestern Iran, who has been living alone in Tehran for the past five years, shared their experience of exclusion from the labour market following the internet shutdown. Having worked for a wildlife-related website with activities such as preparing reports, conducting interviews, and taking photographs, Deniz explained: “After the internet shutdown, the website suffered such severe damage that it never recovered.”
Alongside the disruption caused by the shutdown, their gender identity and appearance also influenced the process through which Deniz was pushed out of work.
They further noted that, alongside the disruption caused by the shutdown, their gender identity and appearance also influenced the process through which Deniz was pushed out of work.
Deniz further explained that during the workforce lay-offs, women—particularly those who did not observe the mandatory hijab—were more frequently sidelined from the workplace than others. They emphasised that the process of losing their job was not solely the result of the crisis caused by the internet shutdown. Having been placed on the redundancy list shortly after being arrested in January 2026, Deniz recalled: “When my workplace found out about my arrest, they put me at the top of the list for redundancy.”
Deniz also spoke about the difficulties of re-entering the labour market, describing repeated experiences of rejection in job interviews: “They told me that I met all the requirements, but that my appearance and look were not acceptable to them.”
Reflecting on their current circumstances, they stated: “The most important thing that has been lost is truly the opportunity to live… Right now, we are not living; we are merely surviving.”
Meanwhile, the statements of Shiva*, a 27-year-old resident of Qods City west of Tehran, a trans woman and senior content creation specialist, further shed light on other dimensions of this situation and the context where exclusion from the labour market is not confined to economic conditions alone but is also tied to the types of contracts and professional status.
In her interview, she says that following the war and internet disruptions, she has lost her job for the second time: “All those who were sidelined earlier were women.” She points to the dependence of her job on the internet and says, “When there is no internet, nobody needs content and promotional campaigns either.”
Shiva also highlights the more structural barriers she has faced as a trans woman. She explains that, despite having received identity documents corresponding to her gender around three years ago, the experience of being rejected during the recruitment process remains familiar to her: “It has happened many times that everything was going well with the employment process, but once they realised that the contract had to be issued under a male name and that my documents did not align with my identity, they changed their minds.”
She adds that such experiences have, at various times, pushed her towards working with start-ups that often lack formal contracts and, in some cases, have failed to pay her wages fully or on time.
She further points out the economic consequences of this situation and says that losing her job has also disrupted her access to basic services: “I wanted to use the company’s supplementary insurance for my dental treatment, but now I no longer have it, and my dental problems still persist.”
Shiva concludes: “I feel like we are losing the days of our youth, and time is something that once lost, nothing can be done about it.”
The Enduring Crisis Affecting Women’s Lives
Under such circumstances, the realities reflected in personal narratives are also evident in expert analyses. In her analysis of workforce lay-offs and women’s employment, sociologist Simin Kazemi emphasises that the most marginalised groups of the workforce are often the first to be removed in periods of redundancy. In this process, gender stereotypes frequently render women’s employment less essential, placing them at the forefront of workforce reductions.
According to Kazemi, unemployment for women does not merely entail a job loss; it can also push them into more precarious positions within economic and social hierarchies. This may range from intensified poverty and greater difficulty in meeting basic needs to reduced economic independence and increased dependency on family relationships. Under such conditions, re-entering the labour market also becomes significantly more challenging for many women.
The exclusion that begins in the labour market gradually extends into multiple dimensions of the lives of women and queer individuals, ultimately entrenching conditions in which inequality and restriction become embedded in everyday experience.
* The interviewed individuals appear in this article with pseudonyms to protect their personal safety.
The article was originally published in Persian on Zagros 24 on May 12, 2026.
Ghazale Motamed
Ghazale Motamed is an Iranian activist and journalist focused on women’s rights and is recognised as one of the leading voices behind Iran’s #MeToo movement. She is also an award-winning costume and set designer for cinema and theatre, with credits across more than 50 films, plays, and television productions in Iran.
