Report No. 97778-MA Morocco Mind the Gap Empowering women for a more open, inclusive and prosperous society June 30, 2015 Middle East and North Africa Region Document of the World Bank Abbreviations ALMPs Active Labor Market Policies ANAPEC Agence Nationale de Promotion de l'Emploi et des Compétences CCT Conditional Cash Transfer CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CNEF National Education and Training Charter CNSS Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale CSE Conseil supérieur de l’enseignement ENPVEF Enquête nationale sur la prévalence de la violence à l’égard des femmes EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FDI Foreign Direct Investment FGD Focus Groups Discussions FLFP Female Labor Force Participation rates FLP Female Labor Participation GDP Gross Domestic Product GNI Gross National Income GoM Government of Morocco HCP Haut Commissariat au Plan HDI Human Development Index HDR Human Development Report HOI Human Opportunity Index ILO International Labor Organization ITC Internet and Tele Communication Services LFS Labor Force Survey LMI Lower and Middle Income (counties) MDG Millennium Development Goal MdJL Ministry of Justice and Liberties MENA Middle East and North Africa MHYS Morocco Household and Youth Survey MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises NIHD National Initiative for Human Development OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PNEA National Learning Assessment Program PPP Purchasing Power Parity SME Small and Medium Enterprises TFR Total Fertility Rates UNDP United Nations Development Programme WB World Bank WDI World Development Indicators WDR World Development Report WTO World Trade Organization WVS World Values Survey Vice President: Inger Andersen Country Director: Simon Gray Sector Director: Bernard Funck (Acting) Sector Manager: Bernard Funck Task Team Leader: Daniela Marotta Acknowledgements This report was prepared by a team led by Daniela Marotta. Other contributors who provided key inputs to the various chapters include Paolo Verme, Paul Scott Prettitore, Aphichoke Kotikula and Ernest Sergenti. Abdoulaye Sy, Abdoul Gadiry Barry and Aziz Atamanov provided important analytical inputs. Florencia Paz provided the overall research assistance and data analysis and Monica Vidili provided analysis on the qualitative survey. The team also benefitted greatly from the support and guidance provided in the Morocco country office, from Jean-Pierre Chauffour, Khalid El Massnaoui, Michael Hamaide and Ibtissam Alaoui. The report has benefited immensely from comments and inputs by the peer reviewers Oscar Calvo- Gonzalez and Nadereh Chamlou. The team is very grateful for the exchanges and views provided by partners and stakeholders in Morocco, including constructive comments from government officials. The team would like to thank Bernard Funck (Acting Director for MNSPR), for his overall guidance. Thanks also extended to Muna Abeid Salim for her invaluable assistance in compiling the report. i Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................... I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. VIII CHAPTER 1 SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPM ENT C OUNTRY CONTEXT ............................................................. 1 1.1 Steady progress in terms of poverty reduction and human development indicators… ................ 1 1.2 Women are particularly affected by the lack of socio-economic progress in many areas. ............ 6 1.2.1 Education and health........................................................................................................ 6 1.2.2 Extremely biased allocation of time within the household significantly reduce women ability to..... control their time ...........................................................................................................11 1.3 Subjective wellbeing and women’s perceptions of values in life .............................................11 1.3.1 The role of women in the society: gender stereotypes and beliefs ...........................................13 CHAPTER 2 WOMEN ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION ....................................................................................16 2.1 Female LFP and its evolution.............................................................................................16 2.1.1 A profile of active/inactive women.....................................................................................18 2.2 Which factors are behind declining trends in FLFP? ..............................................................23 2.2.1 The slow pace of economic growth is one of the main reasons behind low FLFP, together with ...... demographic factors. ......................................................................................................24 2.2.2 Intra-household dynamics and agency in decision making as correlates of female labor force........ participation ..................................................................................................................26 2.2.3 Policy implications...........................................................................................................39 2.3 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................43 CHAPTER 3 ECONOMIC GROWTH, STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND G ENDER INEQUALITY IN THE LABOR MARKET .45 3.1 Structural transformation and women in Morocco...............................................................45 3.2 Women in employment ...................................................................................................49 3.2.1 Gender differences in labor market transitions ....................................................................57 3.2.2 Which constraints impede job market opportunities for women? ...........................................58 3.3 Policy recommendations ..................................................................................................67 CHAPTER 4 WOMEN AND THE LAW IN MOROCC O: ACCESS TO EC ONOMIC ASSETS, VOIC E A ND P OLITICAL PARTICIPATION .. ............................................................................................................................70 4.1 Women’s Legal Equality ...................................................................................................70 4.1.1 Legislative Reforms .........................................................................................................71 4.1.2 Continuing Legislative Inequality .......................................................................................72 4.1.3 Social Norms and Legal Equality ........................................................................................73 4.1.4 Women’s agency, legal equality and social norms ................................................................76 4.2 Control of Economic Assets ..............................................................................................76 4.2.1 Access to Bank Accounts, Credit Cards and Loans .................................................................76 4.2.2 Earning and Controlling Income.........................................................................................78 4.2.3 Access to Land ................................................................................................................78 ii 4.2.4 Social Security Benefits ....................................................................................................80 4.2.5 Marital Property .............................................................................................................80 4.3 Family and Personal Life...................................................................................................81 4.3.1 Marriage .......................................................................................................................83 4.3.2 Divorce..........................................................................................................................85 4.3.3 Child Custody and Child Support ........................................................................................86 4.3.4 Family Books ..................................................................................................................86 4.3.5 Maternity Leave..............................................................................................................87 4.3.6 Violence against Women..................................................................................................87 4.3.7 Nationality .....................................................................................................................91 4.3.8 Freedom of Movement.....................................................................................................91 4.3.9 Single mothers ................................................................................................................92 4.4 Voice and Political Participation ........................................................................................93 4.5 Promoting Access to Justice..............................................................................................94 4.6 Policy Implications and Conclusions ...................................................................................96 CHAPTER 5 C ONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................................................99 Expand Economic opportunities ..................................................................................................99 Closing gender gaps in voice and agency .................................................................................... 100 Mainstreaming gender into policies........................................................................................... 101 ANNEX 1 .......................................................................................................................... 103 Education and health .............................................................................................................. 103 Subjective well-being .............................................................................................................. 108 ANNEX 2.1 REGRESSION RESULTS FOR INTRA-HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS AND WOMEN AGENCY AND PARTICIPATION . 111 ANNEX 2.2 THE M OROCCO HOUSEHOLD AND Y OUTH SURV EY (MHYS) DESC RIPTION .................................. 114 ANNEX 3 WOMEN IN EMPLOYMENT .......................................................................................... 115 ANNEX 4.1 QUALITATIVE SURVEY ................................................................................................ 121 ANNEX 4.2 QUESTIONNAIRES FOR F OCUS GROUPS AND STRUC TURED INTERVIEWS ...................................... 124 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 138 iii List of Figures Figure 1.1 Morocco: GDP per Capita, 1960-2012 ........................................................................ 2 Figure 1.2 Evolution of poverty and vulnerability trends .............................................................. 2 Figure 1.3a Primary completion rate (2012) ................................................................................. 3 Figure 1.3b Literacy rates (2012) ................................................................................................ 3 Figure 1.3c Adolescent fertility rate............................................................................................ 3 Figure 1.3d Maternal mortality ratio ........................................................................................... 3 Figure 1.4 Spatial disparities remain a serious concern ................................................................ 5 Figure 1.5 Enrollment among population by gender, age-group and consumption per capita quintiles.. in 2007, % .............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 1.6 Education level by gender and urban/rural .................................................................. 7 Figure 1.7a Legacy of low enrollment rates for primary education................................................... 8 Figure 1.7b Combined with high drop-out rates............................................................................ 8 Figure 1.7c Have led to high illiteracy rates.................................................................................. 8 Figure 1.7d And a large stock of uneducated women..................................................................... 8 Figure 1.8 Extent to which women can access medical services..................................................... 9 Figure 1.9 HOI and coverage rates for health services related opportunities, 2007..........................10 Figure 1.10 The contribution of circumstances to opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2007.........10 Figure 1.11 Life satisfaction, happiness, financial satisfaction and sense of freedom and control over .... lives in Morocco across gender, 2011 ........................................................................12 Figure 1.12 Importance of different things in life in Morocco across gender, 2011............................13 Figure 1.13 Views on gender related statements across men and women in Morocco, 2011 ..............15 Figure 1.14 Percent of population agreeing with the statement that men should have a priority if......... jobs are scarce in Morocco, 2001 and 2011 ................................................................15 Figure 2.1 Morocco is below the U curve, given the level of income..............................................17 Figure 2.2 Female Labor Force Participation by Five-Year Cohorts (World, MENA, Morocco) ...........18 Figure 2.3a Change in FLFP 2000-2010 Rural ...............................................................................18 Figure 2.3b Change in FLFP 2000-2010 Urban..............................................................................18 Figure 2.4a Morocco is not at a front runner even within the MENA region .....................................19 Figure 2.4b Women LFP in Morocco has not changed in the past two decades .................................19 Figure 2.4c Activity rates in 2011 by rural/urban.........................................................................19 Figure 2.5a Labor Force participation within population aged 15-29 by education category ...............20 Figure 2.5b Labor Force participation within population aged 30-64 by education category ...............20 Figure 2.6 Education increase the likelihood of women joining the labor force ...............................21 Figure 2.7a Unemployment Rates by Education (age 15-29) ..........................................................21 Figure 2.7b Unemployment Rates by Education (age 30-64) ..........................................................21 Figure 2.8 Probability of participation by age cohort and marital status (b) ...................................25 Figure 2.9 Who makes decision about female employment? .......................................................26 Figure 2.10 Women not seeking paid employment because husband or father do not allow (%).........26 Figure 2.11 Agency to spend earned income evolves over stages of live ..........................................30 Figure 2.12 Work Agency and Employment Status of Women........................................................30 Figure 2.13 Correlation between agency to work and other aspects of agency .................................31 Figure 2.14 Scatter plot of public opinion and female labor force participation –selected countries ....32 Figure 2.15 Legal discrimination and female labor force participation–selected countries..................32 Figure 2.16 Percentage of women with full agency in employment by region...................................35 Figure 2.17 Changes in male and female contribution to housework in developed countries..............38 Figure 3.1 Labor Productivity Trends (2000 - 2011).....................................................................46 iv Figure 3.2 Labor Productivity Decomposition: Structural Change did play a role .............................46 Figure 3.3 Structural transformation in Morocco (from 2000 to 2011) led to increased labor productivity ...........................................................................................................47 Figure 3.4 Relative Labor Productivity and Employment Share by Economic Sectors - 2011 ..............48 Figure 3.5 The effects of structural changes did not benefit equally men and women......................49 Figure 3.6 Labor mobility across sectors ...................................................................................57 Figure 3.7 The contribution of circumstances to opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2001.........59 Figure 3.8 The contribution of circumstances to opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2007.........59 Figure 3.9 Kernel density of log of monthly wage earnings ..........................................................60 Figure 4.1 Gender equality in rights is an essential characteristic of democracy, .............................71 Figure 4.2 Social norms, men versus women .............................................................................74 Figure 4.3 Men should have more rights than women to scarce jobs ............................................74 Figure 4.4 Men make better business than women ....................................................................75 Figure 4.5 Gender equality in rights is an essential characteristic of democracy, .............................75 Figure 4.6 Use of bank accounts and bank cards ........................................................................77 Figure 4.7 Use of accounts at formal financial institutions ...........................................................77 Figure 4.8 Attitudes towards women’s control of incomes ..........................................................78 Figure 4.9 Percentage of agricultural holdings headed by women.................................................79 Figure 4.10 Attitudes towards reform of the Moudawanna ...........................................................83 Figure 4.11 Rejection of request for marriage by family members ..................................................84 Figure 4.12 Types of divorce .....................................................................................................86 Figure 4.13 Reported incidence of physical and/or sexual violence, ................................................88 Figure 4.14 Reported rates of violence .......................................................................................89 Figure 4.15 Rates of violence against women, by type and location ................................................90 Figure 4.16 Filing of complaints for violence against women, urban versus rural ..............................90 Figure 4.17 Attitude towards violence against wives in Morocco and selected comparators, 2011 ........ circa .....................................................................................................................91 Figure 4.18 Women’s movement outside of the home, urban versus rural ......................................92 Figure 4.19 Women seeking permission to travel outside of the home, urban versus rural.................92 Figure 4.20 Percentages of women parliamentarians, LMI country comparison................................94 Figure 4.21 Percentages of family law cases issued decisions and enforced (2011) ...........................95 Figure A1.1 Morocco achievements in terms of women health indicators...................................... 103 Figure A1.2 Trends in Literacy rate for Adult and Females ........................................................... 105 Figure A1.3 Trends in gender gaps in enrollments Morocco and comparable countries/groups......... 107 Figure A1.4 Marginal effects and confidence intervals for gender dummy after probit model ............... measuring likelihood of importance in life, 2011 ....................................................... 108 Figure A1.5 Views on gender related statements across men and women by age groups in Morocco,..... 2011 ................................................................................................................... 109 v List of Tables Table 1.1 Key Social Indicators – Morocco in Comparison............................................................ 4 Table 1.2 Average score for students in mathematics and Arabic by grade (2008)........................... 6 Table 1.3 Reasons for not going to see a doctor among sick people in 2007, % ..............................10 Table 1.4 Share of time (%) spent in household chores and child care as a fraction of sleep/non personal time.........................................................................................................11 Table 1.5 % of population agreeing with the different statements in Morocco and other .................. comparators, %......................................................................................................14 Table 2.1 Who makes decision about female employment? .......................................................27 Table 2.2 Reasons for not seeking paid employment (among women not in labor force) (percent) ...27 Table 2.3 Who make decisions about marriage and schooling? ...................................................30 Table 2.4 Percentage of women with full agency in various dimensions .......................................34 Table 2.5 Youth perception and aspiration about housework......................................................35 Table 2.6 Agency in employment and food purchase - married women only (%) ............................38 Table 3.1 Employment Shares – By Economic Sectors, Area, & Education .....................................50 Table 3.2 Employment Status – Rural, No and Primary Education ................................................51 Table 3.3 Employment Status – Urban, No and Primary Education...............................................52 Table 3.4 Employment Status – Urban, Secondary Education......................................................53 Table 3.5 Male dummy coefficients from the OLS regressions explaining log of monthly wage ........60 Table 3.6 Results from Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of gender wage gap in 2007, exponentiated .... results...................................................................................................................61 Table 4.1 Legislative reforms enhancing agency........................................................................72 Table 4.2 Legislation weakening agency...................................................................................73 Table 4.3 Components of Agency ...........................................................................................76 Table A1.1 Health indicators Morocco and comparable countries................................................ 104 Table A1.2 Education indicators Morocco and comparable countries ........................................... 105 Table A1.3 Gender gap in enrollments Morocco and comparable countries .................................. 106 Table A1.4 Marginal effects from probit regression, different specifications ................................. 110 Table A2.1 Logit Regressions results for agency in employment .................................................. 111 Table A2.2 Logit regression results for agency in employment– restricted samples ....................... 112 Table A3.1 Employment (in thousands) – By Economic Sectors & Gender – Age >= 15.................... 115 Table A3.2 Employment Status – Urban, Tertiary Education ....................................................... 116 Table A3.3 Employment Status – Rural, Secondary Education ..................................................... 117 Table A3.4 Occupations and Gender in Various Sectors – Rural, Secondary Ed............................... 117 Table A3.5 Occupations and Gender in Various Sectors – Rural, Tertiary Ed. ................................. 118 Table A3.6 Individual characteristics of salaried workers, 2007 ................................................... 119 Table A3.7 Marginal effects from Probit model explaining participation in wage employment among ... women, 2007....................................................................................................... 120 Table A3.8 Results of OLS regression explaining logarithm of monthly wages across males and ........... females, 2007 ...................................................................................................... 120 vi List of Boxes Box 2.1 Demographic, fertility and education play an important role in shaping long-run FLFP ......23 Box 2.2 The effect of marriage on educated women’s Labor Force Participation .........................25 Box 2.3 Agency and economic empowerment start in the household ........................................28 Box 2.4 Women in the Labor Force: roles and perceptions .......................................................36 Box 2.5 Curriculum reform to promote gender equality through education ................................39 Box 2.6 Immobility can mean more than just restricted spatial movement.................................42 Box 3.1 The Demand side: do firms hire women in Morocco’s Manufacturing Sector? .................55 Box 3.2 Salary Gap: the facts and the perception....................................................................62 Box 3.3 Women and micro-finance in Morocco .....................................................................64 Box 3.4 Morocco Labor Code ...............................................................................................66 Box 3.5 Regulations can play an important role in supporting women economic participation. .....68 vii Executive Summary I. Introduction i. Thanks to sound macroeconomic policies and the implementation of a wide range of structural reforms, Morocco saw significant progress in terms economic, social and human development outcomes during the past decade. Women, as men, benefitted from such progress and increased access to services. Gender gaps in access to education narrowed significantly. The girls/boys enrollment ratio for the primary level jumped from around 70 percent in the mid-1990s to 95 percent today. Similarly the gender gap for the secondary and tertiary level narrowed significantly, with the girls/boys ratios in enrollments moving up respectively to 85 percent and 90 percent. Women also benefitted from wider access to health services, as improved health outcomes show: relevant progress was made in terms of reproductive health indicators, with the adolescent fertility falling to 35 births (per 1000 women ages 15-19) in 2012. This is now much lower than the world’s and LMI countries’ averages of 49 and 59 respectively. ii. Considerable reforms have been made to legal frameworks, with the intent to improve women’s economic, social and political development. Undoubtedly, Morocco displays today one of the most liberal and progressive legal frameworks in the MENA regions in terms of gender equality. The Constitution, revised in 2011, provides for equality of Moroccan citizens and obligates public bodies to promote liberty and equality for male and female citizens and to foster participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. The Moudawana (Family Code) was revised in 2004, a process strongly driven by women’s rights organizations, expanding the rights of women in areas such as guardianship, marriage and child custody, and access to divorce. Gender equality is enshrined in a number of key laws, including the (revised) Labor Code (2003) and the Law on Nationality (2008). The introduction of a quota in local elections raised the level of women’s representation in 2009. Morocco formally withdrew its reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2011, which covered issues related to passing of nationality equality of marital rights, and adopted its Optional Protocol in 2012. The result of these changes is that de jure women do enjoy more freedom to travel, access employment and education, and negotiate marriage and divorce. In some cases institutions were established to implement the reforms, such as the Family Solidarity Fund and an enhanced family court system. iii. Despite progress in reducing gender gaps, women in Morocco continue to face significant obstacles to social, economic and political participation. Women’s access to fundamental resources- from education to key economic assets - remains extremely limited. Gender differences in endowments (in time use, education, and access to assets and formal institutions) continue to overlap with limited agency (differences in societal voice and household decision making), resulting in different and unequal economic opportunities. Legal equality continues to be de facto undermined by weak delivery of public sector services and non-implementation of the legislation, specifically when provisions conflict with social norms. iv. Women’s economic participation in Morocco- at 26 percent- is among the lowest in the world, and has not changed since 1990. Gender segregation in employment is pervasive, with women working predominantly in low productivity sectors and low-skills occupations. Women at work are also more likely, on average to be exposed to higher uncertainty, informal employment and lower return to their labor (gender wage gaps can reach up to 77 percent). The persistence of these disparities along gender lines is viii rooted in entrenched gender roles which, when not expressed directly in remaining gender- biased rules or regulations- are often articulated in the unequal enforcement and implementation of the law. v. Women empowerment is paramount to achieve an open and inclusive society and to accelerate growth. Women represent an extremely valuable asset while at the same time remaining an untapped pool of resources - willing to work but unable to find suitable jobs. Finding a way to break the barriers to their active participation in the economy will therefore free the country’s potential to accelerate growth and move up the income ladder. Women’s economic empowerment could have far-reaching positive consequences. Reducing gender disparities in labor force participation, employment, earnings and access to “decent jobs” will improve women’s standing in the household, reduce the risk of domestic violence, and improve intra-household resource allocation and decision making with regard to human capital investments, as the report shows. Active economic participation in turn also contributes to expand women’s agency and choice, increasing their voice and ability to influence society and challenge established norms which limit women’s rights and hinder economic and social development. vi. The report recommends few key areas for ‘strategic interventions’. The recommendations are for the government and other development actors to focus on areas which are not only of greater potential impact but also a pre-requisite for women’s agency and empowerment. These include investment in women’s education (access and quality), the re-examination of certain discriminatory provisions in the country’s legal system (combined with an effort to strengthen implementation of the legislation and delivery of public sector services), and the promotion of cultural norms that value women as equal partners to men. The ultimate objective is to promote women’s empowerment as a means to achieve a more inclusive, open and prosperous society. II. Main Findings (a) Access to resources and economic participation vii. Unequal access to education and resources continue to hinder women’s human development progress. In a country still confronted by significant social challenges, women are particularly affected by the lack of socio-economic progress in many areas. The rural-urban divide in access to education remains wide, with increasing gender gaps at higher levels of education, much wider than in other LMI countries (the gap between urban boys and rural girls in 2012/2013 varies from just 3.5 percentage points at primary level, to 53 percentage points at the lower secondary education level). Much remains to be done on maternal health (Morocco’s maternal mortality rate of 100 deaths per 100 000 live births (2010) remains one of the highest in the MENA region). Access to health services is particularly poor – and highly biased in terms of income - for women in rural areas. Gender gaps remain prominent in terms of access to credit and formal savings (with only 27 percent of women having access to any formal financial institution versus 60 of men). viii. Women’s Economic Empowerment is at early stage, and female economic participation among the lowest in the world. Morocco ranks in the bottom 20 percent of countries in the world in terms of female participation in the labor force, and there has been very little actual progress on women’s economic participation over the past twenty years. Despite being perceived (together with Tunisia) as a reformist country and one of the most liberal in the MENA region, the rate of women’s participation in the labor force is just at the average for the region. Women represent less than a quarter of the active population (only about 24 percent). The activity rate for women in Morocco in 2011 was around 26 percent against ix 75 percent for men, at the same level as in 1990. The urban –rural divide also remains wide: in urban areas only about 19 percent of women join the labor force against 71 percent of men, while in rural areas the rate is respectively 37 percent and 82 percent. Morocco not only lags behind other countries at a similar income level, but it shows a reversed trend in FLFP, with the past decade showing a reduction in activity rates. This trend has been driven mostly by women living in urban areas and it is further accentuated for women around 25 years old (average marriage age) and above. ix. Only 15 percent of women in urban areas are employed, against 62 percent of men, and this gap has remained virtually unchanged in the past ten years. The numbers are slightly higher (but the gap remains wide) for rural areas, where 36 percent of women against 78 percent of men are employed in some kind of occupation. Women have not therefore participated in the benefits of higher growth in the past decades. The rate of unemployment, however, is fairly similar for men and women (at 10.2 percent for women versus 8.4 percent for men in 2011) and has been reducing, although slightly, in the past years (from around 13 percent in 2000). Nevertheless, this trend does not reflect the real creation of employment but rather the increased discouragement of workers that tend to leave the active population after many years without a job or with the prospect of low pay, temporary and/or informal job. This phenomenon seems to affect mostly educated women, predominantly in urban areas. By contrast, participation for women in rural areas appears to be dictated by necessity, with the income effect playing an important role: women work to contribute to the family income but this does not necessarily signify an improvement of their socio- economic status or agency. x. Gender segregation in terms of employment is pervasive, with women mostly working in low productivity sectors. The structural transformation of the economy did not benefit from women’s active contribution and women remain confined to a narrow set of jobs. Women’s type of employment however changes considerably according to their level of education. Uneducated women are heavily concentrated in low productivity sectors, both in rural and urban areas, and low-skills occupations. They are exposed to more uncertainty and lower returns to their labor (with many of them employed as unpaid workers). Their situation has actually worsened in the recent decade, as they are found in the lower-productive sectors of the economy. However, women with secondary or tertiary education- still quite few in number- seem to have benefitted to a great extent from the positive changes brought about by structural transformation (working in the higher productive sectors) and with more secure jobs and higher level occupations. For example, they are more likely than their uneducated counterpart to be employed full time, with social security contributions. Nevertheless, with the possible exception of public jobs (in government services), the distribution of occupations within higher-productive sectors is not equal between men and women, suggesting the presence of glass-ceiling effects. Women also face high barriers to enter entrepreneurship, as demonstrated by the fact that they own only 10 percent of firms. xi. There is a substantial wage gap between men and women, even when controlling for education and professions. Women tend to earn 23 percent less than men without controlling for other factors and 29 percent less if we control for education, age and the place of residence. Observed characteristics, however, can only explain a small part of the gender wage gap. If we consider other “unobserved” characteristics, the gender wage gap increases to 31 percent (mostly driven by higher returns on experience for men). If the selection bias is taken into account, (i.e. if we consider that only a specific profile of women works in salaried jobs) we find that the difference in earnings between men and women can reach 77 percent, with men paid almost double than women for the same job. This difference, derived from a pure discrimination basis, acts as a major drag for women, particularly educated ones, to join the labor force. x It also has economy-wide effects in terms of productivity and growth, as it distorts the market incentives to efficiently allocate skills to their most productive use. xii. Traditional explanations for Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) long-run trends account only partially for Morocco’s observed outcomes. While the drop in fertility rates and the increased education of the female labor force (which are highly correlated with each other) appear significant in determining upward trends in participation (acting as a “pull” factor), other factors that should have contributed to an increase in participation- such as economic factors- do not appear to be significant. A potential explanation for the relative stagnation of FLFP is to be found in the (slow) pace of structural transformation of the economy and the lack of expansion in sectors that have proven to be critical for expanding female employment (like manufacturing and services). A second influential factor is “culture” or social norms, which, along with a lack of child-care support facilities, could explain the finding that women seem to exit the labor force around the age of marriage. xiii. Demographic factors and social norms also affect women’s decisions to join the labor force. The ‘marital-status gap’ in labor force participation (i.e., the relative difference in labor force participation between married and never-married women) is close to 70 percent in Morocco. That same statistic is a mere 9 percent for Moroccan women in the US and 14 percent in France. Thus, although women wish to fully participate in the economic sphere and manage family duties and a job, marital status seems to alter women’s opportunities. Irrespective of marital status, women in Morocco spend considerably more time on household chores and child care than men. Furthermore, married women spend almost twice as much time on these duties as unmarried women. These trends are broadly true in the rest of the world, but not to such an extent. Our analysis confirms that marriage has a major role in urban areas in keeping FLP rates low. The probability of participation for married women in urban areas is below 10 percent as compared to a probability for unmarried women of close to 40 percent. (b) The role of agency in employment xiv. Agency has a role, often a strong one, in contributing to women’s human development and economic opportunities, and opening opportunities for greater participation in social and political life. The World Bank’s World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (WDR 2012) and its regional companion “Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa” (2013) define agency as ‘an individual’s (or group’s) ability to make effective choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes’. Overlapping with access to fundamental resources (from education to key economic assets or formal institutions), the legal framework of the country and the societal norms, agency contributes to shape economic, social and political outcomes. The interaction of all these dimensions has therefore a great importance in promoting development. xv. In Morocco, having full agency in employment (defined as the ability of women alone to decide by themselves whether to work or not) contributes to women’s actual employment. On average, about 18 percent of women with full agency are in fact employed, compared to only four percent employment rate among women with partial or no agency. A woman empowered to decide on her employment is 18 percent more likely to be in the labor force and 14 percent more likely to work outside the home. The effect of agency (or empowerment) is so large in magnitude that it can offset negative factors commonly found in the female labor supply literature such as caretaking duties and earning potentials. Conversely, paid employment combined with the ability to generate income for themselves, also boost Moroccan women’s xi agency. Further analysis reveals an encouraging trend. Once women overcome the hurdle of entering the labor market and earn their own income, they retain- in many cases (83 percent) - control over their own money. xvi. Women are not free to decide by themselves if they would like to work or not: for the vast majority of them it is their family that makes the decision. Intra household decision making is crucial to analyze female labor force participation in Morocco. Few women make decisions on labor issues by themselves. Data from the 2010 Morocco Household and Youth Survey shows that only about one-third of Moroccan women aged 15 to 49 make decisions about employment by themselves. Other family members, particularly husbands and fathers, influence women’s decisions to work. Family opinions also inhibit women from seeking employment opportunities outside the home: 19 percent of women who are not employed and were not looking for paid employment reported that the reason for not seeking employment was that their husbands or fathers did not allow them. xvii. Agency constraints in different spheres of life tend to overlap. Agency tends to be exercised differently in different spheres of life – a woman may have agency in the labor market but not in her household for instance, or vice versa. But where these agency-related constraints connect and overlap, they may heighten girls’ and women’s experience of deprivation. In Morocco, agency in several dimensions appears to be highly correlated. Women who are empowered to choose their own employment usually also display agency in decisions related to education, marriage and how to spend their income. Conversely, women who do not have agency in one of these domains usually experience overlapping constraints. (c) Legal framework and social norms and their effect on agency xviii. Despite important reforms, gaps remain in the legal framework, negatively impacting economic, social and political development for women. Most gaps are related to family and personal matters. These include women’s access to inheritance, marriage to non-Muslims, and unequal grounds between men and women in obtaining divorce and passing citizenship to children. There is no comprehensive legislation covering domestic violence. In addition to gaps in the legal framework, limited implementation of legislation is problematic for women, caused by a combination of weak institutional capacity and selective enforcement of legislation by public officials influenced by social norms. In particular, social norms restrict women’s exercise of newly acquired rights when they conflict with societal norms, further limiting economic, social and political participation. xix. Non-implementation of legislation and weak delivery of public sector services continue to adversely affect women’s agency. A number of new public sector bodies and agencies have been established to support legislative reforms and the delivery of new services that should directly benefit women. These include the establishment of more specialized family courts and the Family Solidarity Fund, which provides alimony and child support payments directly to divorced women. However such bodies, as well as more established ones, continue to struggle with insufficient capacity resulting in weak delivery of services, especially in areas outside of urban centers. The data necessary to assess delivery of services appears mostly lacking. Where women’s rights have been extended, powers are not always exercised. For example, reforms to the Family Code eliminated the need for a male guardian to sign a marriage contract on behalf of a woman, yet in 2007 and 2010 only in 21 percent of marriages did women contract the marriage themselves. Other legal provisions are implemented in ways more detrimental to women. In 2010, 99 percent of requests for certification of underage marriage made to courts involved girls under age xii eighteen, a percentage that has not changed since 2007. The vast majority of these requests – roughly 87 percent in 2007 and 92 percent in 2010 – were accepted. The total number of female minors married increased from 38,331 in 2007 to 44,134 in 2010. xx. Social norms also act to restrict women from exercising the choices legally available to them in terms of accessing economic assets, reaching equality with men in family and personal matters, and participating more fully in politics and society. Social norms often restrict agency beyond the boundaries set by legislative frameworks. The norms are enforced by a combination of pressure from society and family, and through self-enforcement by women not wishing to court controversy by their actions. These norms partly explain low labor force and political participation by women, and disparities in control of economic assets. In Morocco, social attitudes towards the role or women vary considerably between men and women over certain topics. Men tend to agree that men should have priority over women when jobs are scarce, and that men make better business and political leaders, whereas women tend to disagree with such statements, especially in terms of men making better leaders. There tends to be more agreement between women and men in regards to the importance of higher education for women, and in disapproving of women as single parents. The World Values Survey (2007) also demonstrates the women are twice as likely as men (60 percent for women versus 30 percent of men) to agree that equality between men and women is an essential part of democracy. While only a small majority of men (55 percent) believe that violence against women is never justifiable, more than three quarters of women (77 percent) do so. xxi. The combination of gaps in applicable legal frameworks and restrictive social norms, together with low labor force participation, result in reduced agency for women. Conversely, reduced agency contributes to a limited and unequal access to economic opportunities. Comprehensive data to effectively measure women’s agency remains lacking, especially in regards to women’s control over economic assets and access to justice. But available data suggests that women’s agency is restricted. In terms of political participation, women’s representation in elected bodies has increased to 17 percent in the House of Representatives, and remained low at only 2 percent in the House of Councilors. These participation levels are both below global averages of 22 percent for lower houses and 19 percent for upper houses of parliament. The percentage of female ministers has fallen and risen in the last several years, and women have increased participation in local government due to the introduction of quotas. Obstacles to controlling economic assets remain considerable: in 2011 only 26 percent of women had an account in a formal financial institute versus 52 percent for men, and only 5 percent of women were using such accounts for business purposes, compared to 23 percent of men. This in turn severely limits women ability to open a business and to gain economic independence. III. Main conclusions and recommendations xxii. Much has been done but much remains to be done to improve women’s access to economic opportunities and individual empowerment. Women’s empowerment, and in particular economic empowerment, is paramount to achieve an open and inclusive society and to accelerate growth. These twin goals can therefore benefit from any progress and achievement in reducing gender disparities. In this context, the status of women’s agency is key to understand the emergence of unequal development outcomes based on differing capacities of men and women to exercise choices related to economic, social and political life. The policy conclusions stemming from the analysis presented in this report are along two xiii main priorities: (i) increase women’s economic opportunities, by removing constraints to their participation in the formal labor market and nurturing entrepreneurship; and (ii) closing gender gaps in voice and agency, by fostering women’s participation in politics and protecting their rights – at home, and in the society at large. Expand Economic opportunities xxiii. Women can actively contribute to Morocco’s economic growth only if the remaining barriers that still prevent women from working in high productivity sectors- or accessing “decent” jobs- are removed. Young and exporting firms – in the manufacturing sector alone- hire five times more women than non-exporting firms. The potential of services sectors is even greater. Women can contribute to firms’ growth if given the chance to work in the firms and occupy also high-skills positions (including as entrepreneurs). In turn, the growth in young and open industries can contribute to women progress on many other aspects 1 . The government is therefore invited to focus on reforms that support structural transformation of the economy, encourage private sector investment and stimulate growth to facilitate women shift away from agriculture and other low productivity sectors and occupations. To be more specific, to improve women’s access to economic opportunities is essential on one hand to expand the scale and type of job opportunities – for instance in some of the most productive sectors of the economy (such as ICT or financial services) -and on the other hand to break down the legal and social barriers that simultaneously discourage employers from hiring female candidates, and women who want to work from accepting available jobs. The government can also act to remove all the barriers- such as limited access to finance and specific legal impediments- that are currently hindering women active participation in the economy. Making it easier for women to create and grow their own businesses will boost innovation, growth and employment in the country. This is an especially important for women given the challenges they face obtaining formal sector employment. xxiv. Removing regulatory barriers and easing the access to credit for female entrepreneurs is key to create more jobs. Access to credit is a key obstacle to business startup and expansion. Anecdotal evidence from women business owners shows their belief of being more likely to be discriminated against merely on the basis of gender. Although bankers argue that their credit policies are gender neutral, Moroccan businesswomen claim that their male counterparts receive more favorable treatment, for example, lower collateral for the same loan amount and no requirement for a spousal guarantee, whereas a woman needs her husband’s guarantee. Morocco scores 3 out of 10 in the index of financial inclusion (where 10 is the highest level of inclusion) and women do seem to have less access to loan and credit in general and from formal institutions in particular. Improving access to credit for female entrepreneurs will increase women chances to work but also to create jobs for other female workers. xxv. Further reforms of the Labor code could be designed taking into account specific obstacles to women economic participation. A comprehensive new labor law went into effect in Morocco in 2004, offering greater protection for women in the labor market. While this reform has much improved women’s working conditions, it may- in certain cases- constrain their opportunities by raising disproportionally the costs for firms that hire women. Restrictions on women’s working hours and types of jobs, for instance, 1 In East Asia, growth in the manufacturing sector—particularly in textile and food services industries—has increased women’s wage work and improved female and child health and education outcomes. xiv make it more difficult for firms to add extra shifts. Mandatory leave and rest days as well as time allowances for breast-feeding and childcare requirements incur additional costs when financed by firms. Evidence from other countries shows that firms respond to these mandates by substituting men for women workers– with the effect of reducing women’s welfare by limiting their opportunities and de facto impeding greater gender equality in the labor market. Moreover, the Labor Code applies only to a minor portion of the workforce, the formal one, excluding many occupations that are almost a prerogative of women- and that are mostly informal- like domestic workers, family members working in a family business, workers in traditional artisan or handicraft sectors. Gender-sensitive policies are therefore needed to extend social protection to those in the informal sector, to mitigate their vulnerability. While movement toward formalization is the longer-term objective of a comprehensive jobs strategy (which include creating more formal jobs and regulating informal jobs), extending state protection (social and legal) to the informal workforce might be a short-term intervention to support an increase in productivity of informal enterprises and therefore a higher income for women in the informal workforce. xxvi. Government action to level the playing field across the lifecycle would strengthen women’s opportunities and ultimately socio-economic outcomes. Gender biases can start very early in life and design trajectories of inequality that become increasingly difficult and costly to resolve. This report shows how overlapping constraints for women in Morocco tend to heighten women’s experience of deprivation. After residence (urban/rural) and welfare status (being in different quintiles based on expenditure per capita), gender is the most important factors in explaining inequality in education related opportunities. Low education quality—resulting from poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and absentee teachers— contributes to poor educational outcomes, such as high repetition and drop-out rates and low achievement levels and, in turn contribute to the skills shortages and mismatches. While this is an issue common to both men and women, it becomes more prevalent for women give the high barriers they have to circumvent to move up to higher education levels. Given such gender-specific impediments to schooling, supply and/or demand side actions might be needed. On the supply side, it is important to increase the accessibility and suitability of schools for girls. Given girls’ greater mobility restrictions, it is essential to multiply efforts to build local schools, particularly in remote rural areas. On the demand side, cash transfers to poor families can help offset fees and hidden costs and counter normative pressures on girls’ early marriage and school drop-out. Strengthening the education system by focusing more on the quality of the curricula (in addition to enrollment ratios) is also key to encourage women economic participation. This would help also the shift in social norms for the future generations and promote gender equality. Closing gender gaps in voice and agency xxvii. The GoM has taken considerable steps in closing gender equality gaps in law, but action is needed to ensure consistency throughout legislative frameworks. While commitments to gender equality have been made in high level legislation, such as the Constitution, disparities between the rights of men and women exist in other pieces of primary legislation covering family and nationality issues, such as division of marital property, access to divorce, inheritance and passing nationality to spouses. Beyond the issue of equality, other areas of legislation could be reformed to enhance women’s agency. These areas include addressing different forms of violence against women, and domestic violence in particular, and offering protections to particularly vulnerable women, such as domestic workers and single mothers. xv xxviii. The GoM can take a number of steps to increase women’s control over economic assets. Women entrepreneurs face significant difficulties relative to men. Foremost among these is access to credit, especially since personal laws limit women’s ownership of family assets. These differences are rooted in failures of markets and institutions and in their interactions with household responses. For example, accessing credit often requires collateral, preferably land or immobile assets. Women are thus at a disadvantage because they have lower or less secure access to land and are disproportionately employed in the service sector where capitalization is lower and output is often intangible. These forces may be further reinforced by gender- based preferences in the households that can lead to unequal resource allocations (of land, for example) to male and female members. Policies need to focus on these underlying determinants of differential access—leveling the institutional playing field by strengthening women’s ownership rights, correcting biases in service delivery institutions, and improving the functioning of credit markets. Increasing women’s participation in the labor force can in turn increase women’s control of economic assets such as wages, pensions and other employment-related benefits. Control of their salaries can increase women’s agency both within, and outside of, the family, especially since attitudes towards women controlling their salaries are mostly positive. xxix. Steps can also be taken to equalize distribution of economic assets related to marriage and employment. Very few married couples are signing contracts, separate from the marriage contract, which establishes frameworks for the management of economic assets during marriage. Only 609 of these contracts were concluded in 2011, accounting for less than 1 percent of marriages. Such contracts can enhance women’s access to assets during marriage and upon divorce, the latter of which is important given that otherwise division of assets is based on formal ownership, which is heavily tilted towards men. Initiating these contracts could be supported by development of a model contract that equalizes rights between husbands and wives. Family Code provisions obligating men only to provide financial maintenance to families could be altered to align responsibility with the ability of each spouse to contribute. Salary benefits for family maintenance through the social security framework (CNSS) should be made equally available for men and women with children, in line with legislative changes making both equally responsible for the household. xxx. Further equalizing rights related to marriage and divorce will aid in closing gender gaps. To close remaining gender gaps, it is important to: (i) provide women with the right to unilateral divorce on the same grounds as men, so women do not have to rely in its inclusion in the marriage contract when doing such requires consent of a fiancé; (ii) provide equal rights to men and women in entering marriage with non-Muslim partners. Equalizing rights to pass nationality to spouses should be equalized would avoid forcing women to pass nationality to spouses though complicated bureaucratic procedures. Providing family books (livret de famille) to women on the same grounds as men would allow them to undertake administrative functions related to their families. Mainstreaming gender into policies xxxi. Mainstreaming gender into policy action is key to achieve gender equality and women empowerment. Morocco has not approached so far gender equality and women empowerment in a systematic way. While many policies, programs and initiatives that address various gender issues have been developed in the country, the efforts remain disintegrated and therefore not effective. This means that there is scope for a tremendous improvement in women conditions in the country. This time represents a xvi window of opportunity, given the recent stepping up from the government in terms of reforms for women rights and to advance democracy in general. xvii Chapter 1 Social and Human development country context Women in Morocco continue to face obstacles in social, economic and political participation. These obstacles are a result of discriminatory legislative frameworks, social norms that restrict legal rights, and limited economic participation. All these factors, collectively, reduce women’s agency, or ‘the ability to make effective choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes’. Conversely, women’s ability to influence their own lives plays also a crucial role in building human development and economic opportunities, and opening opportunities for greater participation in social and political life. Agency closely interrelates with two other dimensions: resources (defined broadly as access – but also future claims- to both material and human and social resources) and achievements (or well-being outcomes). This chapter will present the progress thus far and the remaining important challenges for women in Morocco to benefit from available resources, defined more broadly as “opportunities”. The latter include primarily equal access to crucial services (such as education and health) or endowments (as the use of their own time) but also freedom and/or ability to benefit from them, overcoming stereotypes and gender- biased norms. The next chapters will focus on economic empowerment and employment outcomes (Chapters 2 and 3) and on the remaining legislative and/or social discrimination that continue to restrict women agency (Chapter 4). Chapter 5 will conclude by presenting some key areas of strategic intervention for the government and other development actors which are not only of greater potential impact but also a pre-requisite for women’s agency and empowerment. 1.1 Steady progress in terms of poverty reduction and human development indicators… Thanks to a wide range of macroeconomic, social and labor market reforms, Morocco experienced steady economic growth and significant poverty reduction in the past decade. Building on the historical set of economic and social reforms that deeply changed the institutional and economic framework of the country, 2 Morocco saw a steady increase in GDP growth which averaged 4.9 percent over 2001-2011, much higher than the average rate of the 1990s (2.8 percent). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita almost doubled over the same period to reach the equivalent of US$3,000 in 2012. The higher pace of growth contributed to the almost complete eradication of extreme poverty (its rate dropping from 2 to 0.28 percent over the period) and allowed for a dent in relative poverty (whose rate declined from 15.3 to 6.2 percent) and population vulnerability (rate decreasing from 22.8 to 13.3 percent). 2 Macroeconomic policies included regulatory and institutional improvements to attract FDI, price liberalizations, privatization process, better competition laws, a better framework for SME development and a progressive opening of the economy to global trade with the country joining the WTO and signing several bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with some important economies like US, EU and several Mediterranean countries. Stabilization policies aimed at controlling inflation, reducing the debt/GDP ratio and reaching a competitive real exchange rate were also central to the government agenda and a large program of infrastructure development accompanied these reforms with the aim of closing the gap between urban and rural areas. On the social and microeconomic side, the country has also been rather active with the launching of several national development programs such as the fund for the fight against droughts and desertification, the fight against analphabetism, the work of the foundation Mohamed V for solidarity, and the National Initiative for Human Development (NIHD). More recently, the government of Morocco has also been reforming labor market institutions and Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) with the adoption of a new labor code, new rules for tripartite agreements and the launching of various programs such as the Idmaj (insertion contracts), Taehil (training and re-training) and Moukawalati (promotion of self-employment and small enterprises) programs. (Verme 2013) 1 Figure 1.1 Morocco: GDP per Capita, 1960-2012 Figure 1.2 Evolution of poverty and vulnerability trends (In Constant 2005 US$) 3000 25 2500 20 2000 15 1500 10 1000 5 500 0 0 Vulnerability Poverty Extereme Poverty 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2000 2011 Source: World development Indicators, World Source: HCP and WB Bank The steady progress in poverty reduction has been mirrored in the achievements in terms of social and human development indicators. The improvement in the economic conditions led also to visible progress in terms of education and health outcomes. Life expectancy increased from 68.5 years in 2000 to 74.9 years in 2011 (Table 1.1), well above the average of 64 for LMI, with women’s expectancy on average 2 years higher than men’s. Infant mortality rates have declined from 42 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 26.8 in 2012, and the maternal mortality ratio has dropped from 170 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 100 in 2011 Figure 1.3d). The country also saw a remarkable expansion in access to schooling, thanks to the implementation of the 1999 National Education and Training Charter (CNEF). 3 Efforts to increase the availability of educational services have led to expanded participation in education at all levels. From 1990/91 to 2012/13, national net enrollment rates increased from 52.4 percent to 98.2 percent for primary education, from 17.5 percent to 56.7 percent in lower secondary education and from 6.1 percent to 32.4 percent in upper secondary education. 3 Morocco government spends today more than 25 percent its total government outlays on education. 2 Figure 1.3a Primary completion rate (2012) Figure 1.3b Literacy rates (2012) 95 120 100 90 80 85 60 40 80 20 0 75 Morocco Lower middle income Middle East & North Africa (developing only) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) Figure 1.3c Adolescent fertility rate Figure 1.3d Maternal mortality ratio (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) 80 600 60 400 40 200 20 0 0 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Morocco Morocco Lower middle income Lower middle income Middle East & North Africa (developing only) Middle East & North Africa (developing only) Source: WDI Women benefitted from greater access to education and improved health indicators. Gender gaps in access to education narrowed significantly over the past two decades. The girls/boys enrollment ratio for the primary level jumped from around 70 percent in the mid-1990s to 95 percent. Similarly the gender gap for the secondary and tertiary level narrowed with the girls/boys ratios in enrollments moving respectively from 75 percent to 85 percent and from 70 percent to almost 90 percent. Women also benefitted from wider access to health services, as improved health outcomes show: relevant progress was made in terms of reproductive health indicators, with the adolescent fertility hovering around 35 births (per 1000 women ages 15-19) in 2012 (Figure 1.3c). This is now much lower than the world’s and LMI countries’ averages of 49 and 59 respectively. Correspondingly, the contraceptive prevalence rate of 63 percent is higher than what is observed in comparable countries. Women’s knowledge of sexual transmission of HIV and mother- to-child transmission has increased remarkably between 2004 and 2011, by 64 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Most of this increase in women’s knowledge has occurred among women from poorer households as compared to women from richer households, thus leading to a sharp reduction in inequality 3 by 93 percent and 77 percent for knowledge of sexual transmission and mother-to-child transmission of HIV, respectively 4 . Table 1.1 Key Social Indicators – Morocco in Comparison Country Life Expectancy at Birth Infant Mortality Rate Maternal Mortality Ratio (years) (per 1,000 live births) (modeled estimate, per 2011 2012 100,000 live births) 2010 Algeria 70.8 17.2 97 Egypt 70.7 17.9 66 Jordan 73.6 16.4 63 Kuwait 74.3 9.5 14 Lebanon 79.6 8.0 25 Morocco 74.9 26.8 100 Oman 76.3 10.0 32 Saudi Arabia 75.3 7.4 24 Tunisia 74.8 13.8 56 Source: Morocco CPS (2014). …. but significant challenges remain Despite the recent progress made, Morocco remains confronted with important social and economic challenges. While considerably reduced with respect to a decade earlier, economic vulnerability (represented by poor and vulnerable households) continues to be widespread. A quarter of the population- around 8 million people- remains either in absolute poverty or under constant threat of falling back into poverty. Morocco’s Gini coefficient of 0.41 reflects stubbornly high level of inequality in incomes and access to services. Spatial disparities in poverty are also still a serious concern: the rural-urban divide shows that 70 percent of poverty in Morocco is still rural and lagging behind in socio-economic achievements. In 2011, seven out of Morocco’s sixteen regions suffered poverty rates higher than the national rate Figure 1.4, three of which depicted poverty rates at least 40 percent higher than the national rate. 4 Source: UNICEF 4 Figure 1.4 Spatial disparities remain a serious concern Source: Morocco CPS Human development outcomes remain below expectations, and behind other LMI countries. Morocco still ranks 130th of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Program’s 2013 Human Development Index 5 . The long-term progress in human development outcomes has been slower than other countries in the region and comparable countries in terms of levels of human development. Its relative position worsens when discounted for inequality, meaning that gender and income definitely play a role in determining access to basic services such as education or health. Constraints to wider access to education and increasing completion rates continue to hinder further improvements. At the current pace, the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) universal primary school completion target is unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Learning achievements are also uneven within the country. The first National Learning Assessment Program (PNEA), carried out jointly in 2008 by the CSE and the Ministry of Education (MEN), points to considerable differences between urban and rural areas and between public and private schools (Table 1.2). 5 The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. As in the 2011 HDR a long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy. Access to knowledge is measured by: i) mean years of schooling for the adult population, which is the average number of years of education received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older; and ii) expected years of schooling for children of school-entrance age, which is the total number of years of schooling a child of school-entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrollment rates stay the same throughout the child's life. Standard of living is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita expressed in constant 2005 international dollars converted using purchasing power parity (PPP) rates. 5 Table 1.2 Average score for students in mathematics and Arabic by grade (2008) 1.2 Women are particularly affected by the lack of socio-economic progress in many areas. 1.2.1 Education and health Access to education Despite some progress in reducing the gender gap in access to education, significant gender gaps remain and appear more pronounced after controlling for households’ welfare. Figure 1.5 shows enrollment rates among males and females of different age groups across expenditure per capita quintiles. Two findings are important: (i) enrollment rates are closely associated with welfare status, with higher rates among children from wealthier households; (ii) the gender gap widens at the bottom of the distribution with female children having particular low enrollment rates. For instance, male and female enrollment among children aged 7-13 from the fifth richest quintile is close to 100 percent. In contrast, enrollment among children aged 7-13 from the bottom poorest quintile is about 86 percent for males and 72 percent for females. The gender gap among children from the poorest households is hence much higher: 14 percentage points versus 8 percentage points for the whole income distribution and virtually zero percent for the richest quintile. 6 Figure 1.5 Enrollment among population by gender, age-group and consumption per capita quintiles in 2007, % a) male b) female 100 100 90 90 80 80 70 70 60 60 % % 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 0 I II III IV V I II III IV V expenditure per capita quintiles expenditure per capita quintiles female 7-13 age female 14-18 age female 19-23 age male 7-13 age male 14-18 age male 19-23 age Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: Quintiles are based on consumption per capita. The urban-rural divide in access to education remains wide, with increasing gender gaps for higher level of educations . Overall, lack of access to education has been particularly pervasive in rural areas, leading to a wide gap between rural and urban education attainments. Within the rural/urban divide, the gender gap remains quite relevant. In fact, while the gap between urban boys and rural girls at the primary education level narrowed to just 3.5 percentage points by 2012/13, the gap at higher levels of the education system remains large, with 53 percentage points still separating urban boys and rural girls at the lower secondary education level in 2012/13. Girls living in rural areas remain particularly vulnerable in terms of access to schooling. Figure 1.6 Education level by gender and urban/rural rural 34 39 25 2 male urban 14 29 45 12 rural 65 24 10 1 female urban 33 23 34 9 no education primary secondary tertiary Source: LFS (2011) Significant gender gaps in primary completion rates have led to a high stock of illiterate women. The gender gap in primary completion rates (Figure 1.3a) remains much wider in Morocco than in other LMI countries. A legacy of low enrollment rates and high dropout rates has led to a large stock of uneducated women. Female adult (44 percent) and youth literacy (72 percent) remain exceptionally low when compared 7 to male adult (69 percent) and youth literacy (87 percent). This means that more than 5 and a half million women today in Morocco are completely illiterate, most of them living in rural areas (where 65 percent of women report having no education at all versus 34 percent of men- see Figure 1.6) with great consequences for their chances to actively participate in the economy or to advance towards better jobs. Figure 1.7a Legacy of low enrollment rates for primary Figure 1.7b Combined with high drop-out rates education (female drop-out rates primary education) 100 50 80 40 60 drop_f 30 40 20 20 10 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 year 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 a_net_pri_f a_net_pri_m year Source: WDI Source: WDI Figure 1.7c Have led to high illiteracy rates Figure 1.7d And a large stock of uneducated women (and men) (millions) 6 5.525 Illiteracy Rate - Total 32.9 5 4 3 2.526 Illiteracy Rate - Male 23.9 2 1 Illiteracy Rate - Female 42.4 0 no education primary secondary tertiary 0 10 20 30 40 50 male female Source: LFS (2011) Source: LFS (2011) Access to health services Great disparities remain in access to health services between rural and urban areas and across welfare statuses. Despite significant improvement in terms of health care access, the lack of qualified/skilled health staff combined with high rates of absenteeism (in Morocco, 27 percent of health staff are absent most of the time) contribute to inadequate provision to public services, with great consequences in terms of health outcomes of women. For instance, although much higher than in the past 3 decades, the percentage of births attended by skilled health staff remains lower than the LMI country 8 averages: 63 percent versus 74 percent. 6 The maternal mortality rate of 100 deaths per 100 000 live births (2010) remains also one of the highest in the MENA region (Figure 1.3d). A qualitative survey run in 20107 shows how the majority of women, regardless of their location, find that medical services are not easily available (56 percent of urban residents and 63 percent of rural residents). Women who live in urban areas are more than twice as likely as rural residents to find medical services easily available (38 percent of urban residents and 18 percent of rural residents). Conversely, women living in rural areas are more than three times as likely as urban residents to find medical services completely lacking (19 percent of rural residents and 6 percent of urban residents). These responses reflect how remote rural areas, which account for 40-45 percent of the population, continue to lag behind urban areas in terms of access to infrastructure and social services. While 70 percent of Morocco’s primary health facilities are located in rural areas, they are staffed with only a third of the available primary care physicians . Figure 1.8 Extent to which women can access medical services rural 18 63 19 urban 38 56 6 total 29 59 12 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% easily available not easily available completely lacking Source: IFES (2010) Data from the National Survey of Living Standards of 2007 8 confirm this finding showing how, on average, about one in four people who were sick in 2007- about 23 percent- did not go to a doctor. In rural areas, this is the case for one in three people. While there is no much difference across gender for this indicator, the difference is substantial across residence and welfare status. Among the rural population, 32 percent of the sick people did not see a doctor compared to 18 percent in urban areas and 38 percent of sick population from the bottom poorest quintile did not see a doctor compared to 15 percent from the top wealthiest quintile. As shown in Table 1.3, the most important reason for not seeing a doctor was lack of money (50 percent of sick people). 9 For residents of rural areas payment for health services and distance are more important indicators than for urban residents. For the poorest, not surprisingly, inability to pay for health services is the key reason for not accessing a doctor. 6 Morocco has the lowest number in LMI countries of midwives and nurses per every 1000 people, numbers of births attended by skilled health staff and percentage of pregnant women receiving prenatal care. 7 The survey was run by Moroccan survey firm LMS-CSA and was nationally representative. Interviews were conducted face-to-face with the population over 18 years of age. There is an oversample of women (2000) in order to have a large enough sample across ages, education levels, urban/rural residents, and other demographic segments so that robust comparison can be made amongst them. The smaller sample of men (500) was used to allow gender disaggregation of the data. 8 The National Survey of Living Standards is used to see accessibility of health services among women and men from different location and from households with different welfare status. 9 29 percent did not go to see a doctor because they were just temporarily sick. 6 percent of sick individuals did not go to a doctor because it was too far for them to get there 9 Table 1.3 Reasons for not going to see a doctor among sick people in 2007, % gender residence welfare status total male female urban rural bottom II III IV top Hard to pay 50 52 49 47 54 62 64 58 42 24 remoteness of the place 6 5 6 1 11 7 4 5 6 6 high cost of transport 1 0 2 0 3 3 1 0 2 1 difficulty of access 1 1 1 0 2 1 2 1 0 1 lack of physician 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 lack of services 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 temporary illness 29 30 29 37 21 17 19 24 38 50 poor quality 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 2 other causes 10 10 10 12 8 7 7 12 9 15 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: Quintiles are based on consumption per capita. Only those individuals who were sick in 2007 Place of residence and welfare status are two main factors associated with inequality of opportunity in access to health services associated with childbearing. Access to health services related to childbearing is very unequal. Figure 1.9 shows the coverage and human opportunity index (HOI) for two opportunities. The first measures if the mother visited at least once a doctor, midwife or nurse while pregnant. The second measures if a birth was assisted by a doctor, nurse or trained midwife. Coverage for both opportunities is far from universal on average. In particular, 77 percent of mothers of children aged 5 or below visited doctors, nurses or other qualified personal during pregnancy and only 70 percent of births was assisted by qualified medical staff. Besides relatively low coverage, there is a substantial difference between coverage and HOI which indicates inequality of opportunity across different circumstances such as household’s social-economic characteristics, region and location of residence. Decomposing the inequality of opportunity index allows disentangling the relative contribution of each circumstance to inequality. Location (living in rural or urban areas) and the welfare status of household account for more than 50 percent of inequality in each opportunity. This is consistent with the previous finding that individuals from wealthier households residing in urban areas have higher likelihood of seeing a doctor when sick. In the case of services associated to childbearing, poor women in rural areas are the most disadvantaged group. Figure 1.9 HOI and coverage rates for health services Figure 1.10 The contribution of circumstances to related opportunities, 2007 opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2007 90% 100 HOI Coverage 90 80% 29 80 36 70% 70 60% 60 50% 50 40% 40 30 30% 20 20% 10 25 17 10% 0 Any prenatal care Assisted birth 0% Any prenatal care Assisted birth Gender Wealth Family Char Education head Region Location type Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, MNA HOI report (forthcoming). 10 Note: Circumstances include: quintiles based on consumption per capita, gender, age of hh, number of household members between 0-15 age, presence of elderly, being single parent household, hh education, region, rural or urban locality. Sample is kids between 0 and 5 years – 3002 observations. 1.2.2 Extremely biased allocation of time within the household significantly reduce women ability to control their time Women also face significant constraints in terms of use of their time. Young women in Morocco on average do far more housework than men. In fact, employed women spend much more time in household chores than non-employed men as shown in Table 1.4. Such patterns, also seen in the wealthier developed countries, appear to be the result- as shown in Chapters 2 and 4 10 - of a strict gender identity rather than resulting from women’s comparative advantage in home production. Women presently do more work inside the home and less work outside as compared to men. Interestingly, the "how would you like it to be" scenario is not much different across men and women. Further, while men are open to women working more outside of the house, they also want them to continue their housework routines. Women also reveal that they would like to engage in more of home production than men do, while simultaneously aspiring to work outside of the home. These responses reveal strong gender norms related to the labor market participation on both men’s and women’s side (Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 will analyze this aspect more in detail). Table 1.4 Share of time (%) spent in household chores and child care as a fraction of sleep/non personal time Source: Verme (2012) . Women age ranges from 15 to 19 years old 1.3 Subjective wellbeing and women’s perceptions of values in life While women’s perception of their satisfaction in life does not differ substantially from men’s, women believe they have less freedom and less control over their lives than men. The World Values survey is used to compare subjective wellbeing between men and women. Figure 1.11, based on the WVS for Morocco for 2011, shows a negligible and statistically insignificant difference in all dimensions of comparisons between men and women (satisfaction with their life and financial situation, and happiness) except sense of freedom and control over life. While the difference in percentage of men and women believing they have freedom of choice and control to decide for their life is not considerable (47 percent for women versus 54 percent for men), there is quite a gap in the perception of how empowered (measured as a scale from 6 to 10) women feel to choose and decide for themselves. Countries often used as examples 10 And as argued in the literature [see Akerlof and Kranton (2000)] 11 of successful inclusive growth policies (such as Malaysia), show no gap in perception between genders, and men and women equally 11 believe they have the freedom to choose and control over their lives. Figure 1.11 Life satisfaction, happiness, financial satisfaction and sense of freedom and control over lives in Morocco across gender, 2011 90% 79% Male Female 78% 80% 70% % of population 60% 54% 47% 47% 50% 43% 41% 40% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Satisfied with life Feel happy **Have freedom and control Satisfied with financial over life situation of household Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation 12. Women allocate less importance than men to work and politics, expressions of active participation in the economic and social life. This finding holds if we control for individual characteristics. As shown in Figure 1.12, family, religion and work are the three most important things for the population in Morocco. Politics is the least important. In terms of gender differences, work, politics and leisure are more important for men than women. Significant gender differences in the likelihood of importance in life of things other than family or religion remain statistically significant if we control for individual characteristics such as age, education, employment status, and number of children (Figure A1.4 in the annex). Women seem therefore to allocate less importance than men to work, and politics, expressions of active participation in the economic and social life, and leisure, which is consistent with the common views in the region and with the observed outcome in terms of low active participation of women to the economic and social life of the country. 11 In equal percentages 12 Note: Do now know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. * Difference between proportions is different from zero at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. Satisfied with life are those on the scale from 6 to 10 on life satisfaction ladder. Happy are those who feel very and rather happy. Those who are on the scale from 6 to 10 on freedom and control over life ladder are considered as having control over live. Those who are on the scale from 6 to 10 on financial satisfaction ladder are considered as having satisfaction with financial situation of the household. 12 Figure 1.12 Importance of different things in life in Morocco across gender, 2011 religion is important **work is important Female ***politics is important Male ***leisure is important friends are important family is important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation Note: Do now know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. * Difference between proportions is different from zero at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. 1.3.1 The role of women in the society: gender stereotypes and beliefs Public views on gender roles in the society are far from equalitarian in the region. In the MENA region, social norms generally place high value on women’s role within the home and family and her investments in family life. Morocco is very much illustrative of these norms, which reflect elements of a patriarchal society in which women and men are partners in a marriage but with separate roles. The expression of such views are revealed in the fact that over 60 percent of the population believes that when jobs are scarce, men should have the priority, reflecting the idea that men are the primary income earner (“breadwinner”) of the family and that the vast majority (71 percent) believes that a working mother would have a negative effect on her children (this view is shared by only 21 percent of the population in a comparable country such as Malaysia). Interestingly, only 22 percent of the population seems to believe that university education is more important for boys than girls, pointing to a renewed role for education regardless of the roles attached to the gender of the person. 13 Table 1.5 % of population agreeing with the different statements in Morocco and other comparators, % Algeria Jordan Malaysia Morocco Tunisia Turkey If jobs are scarce, men should have a priority 60% 81% 57% 62% 73% 60% Women earning more than men causes a problem 41% 51% 25% 48% 44% 48% Having job for women best way to be independent 47% 53% 70% 57% 55% 62% Child suffers with working mother 79% 89% 21% 71% 79% 68% Men better political leaders than women 75% 82% 70% 70% 76% 70% University education is more important for boy than girl 39% 29% 43% 22% 25% 33% Men better business executives than women 63% 71% 58% 65% 64% 67% Being housewife is fulfilling as working for pay 70% 83% 49% 68% 83% 72% Source: WVS wave 6. Note: Do now know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. Survey dates are: Algeria 2014, Jordan 2014, Malaysia 2011, Morocco 2011, Tunisia 2013, Turkey 2011. Agreed population includes those who strongly agree and just agree. Women have more egalitarian gender-related views in Morocco than men. Figure 1.13 shows percentage of population across men and women who agree with different gender related statements. As can be clearly seen, men have a stronger view of gender roles compared to women. While this is not surprising, it is indeed an encouraging sign that women do not share the same view. As comparison, women in Jordan -another country in the region and an upper middle income country- are subject to much more conservative views of their own role. Despite being often quoted as one of the countries in the region that have achieved the most in terms of educational and human development indicators, Jordan shows comparable percentages for men and women (respectively 84 and 78 percent) agreeing to the statement that jobs should go to men where they are scarce. In this sense, Morocco is much closer to countries like Malaysia, where there is a clear gap in views from men and women regarding women’s role in the society. Gender related views of society are changing over time and become more egalitarian especially in terms of the labor market. Figure 1.14 shows how the agreement with the statement that “men should have a priority if jobs are scarce” changed during 2001 and 2011 years. There was a substantial drop in the shares of population-both among men and women- agreeing with such statement. This is consistent with more egalitarian views on gender roles among the youngest cohorts of population regardless of their gender (Figure A1.5a&b in the Annex). Hence, for instance, while 63 percent of women aged 55-64 believe men should have a priority if jobs are scarce, only 35 percent among young women aged 18-24 do so (Figure A1.5b). Similar tendency holds for men, with 71 percent of men aged 55-64 believing that higher women’s earnings would cause a problem compared to 56 percent of men aged 18-24 (Figure A1.5a). These trends are indeed encouraging and show how gender-related views of the society and related social norms are not sticky but, on the contrary, tend to evolve with the socio-economic development of the country of which young men and women are a manifestation. 14 Figure 1.13 Views on gender related statements across men and women in Morocco, 2011 ***men bettter business executives than women population agreed with the statement ***university educaiton is more important for boy than girl ***men better political leaders than women ***child suffers with working mother ***having job for women best way to be independent ***women earning more than women causes a problem ***If jobs are scarce, men should have a priority Female 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Male Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation Note: Do not know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. * Difference between proportions is different from zero at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent Figure 1.14 Percent of population agreeing with the statement that men should have a priority if jobs are scarce in Morocco, 2001 and 2011 Agreed with the statement "Jobs are scarce men should have priority" 100% 80% population 60% 40% 20% 0% 2001 2011 2001 2011 men women Source: WVS waves 4 and 6, author’s calculation Note: Do now know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. 15 Chapter 2 Women Economic Participation Women Economic Empowerment is at early stage, and female economic participation among the lowest in the world Morocco ranks in the bottom 20 percent of countries in the world in terms of female participation in the labor force. Very little actual progress on women’s economic participation took place over the past twenty years. Morocco is perceived (together with Tunisia) as one of the most liberal and reformist countries in the MENA region. Undoubtedly, the government has made considerable strides over the last decade in closing equality gaps in law, particularly with reforms related to personal and family life: as a result Morocco displays today one of the most liberal and progressive legal frameworks in the MENA region in this sense ( despite remaining important shortcomings). However, when it comes to the rate of women participation in the labor force, it is far from being a front runner, even for a region like MENA which displays the lowest female activity rate in the world. Despite being half of the population, women in Morocco represent less than a quarter of the active population (only about 24 percent). Their activity rate in 2011 was around 26 percent against 75 percent for men, at the same level as in 1990. The urban –rural divide remains also wide: in urban areas only about 19 percent of women join the labor force against 71 percent of men, while in rural areas the rate is respectively 37 percent and 82 percent. A key question the analysis presented in this chapter attempts to answer is why Morocco’s female participation in the workforce is so low. There are multiple potential explanations involved, encompassing issues such as gender norms, the legal framework and the structure of the economy. Each factor could influence the incentives, preferences, opportunities, and abilities of women to participate in the economic life. This chapter will try to identify the correlates of women’s decision (or their ability to decide) to participate in the labor market. These factors are linked to individual characteristics, for instance age or education/skills, but also socio-demographic factors, such as the type and composition of the households women live in, or life events such as marriage or maternity. They also include, as mentioned above, gender-related social norms and women’s ability to make and enforce decisions related to their employment: specifically, the role of women’s agency in employment and how this translates into actual economic participation. 2.1 Female LFP and its evolution Morocco lags behind countries at the same level of economic development in terms of female LFP. The prevalent hypothesis in literature about the long-term relationship between economic development and FLFP is the U-shaped hypothesis. 13 This broadly states that during the early stages of economic development FLFP declines due to the initial structural changes in the economy- and the transition from an agricultural to an industrialized society- while it increases in later stages when countries mature into modern economies, fertility rates decline and female education rates increase. The U- hypothesis seems to hold14 empirically in most of the literature (using cross country analysis). More recently, this assumption has been tested for a pool of countries including the MENA region 15 , confirming the observed patterns in FLFP across the globe and the relation with countries’ income levels (as a proxy for their economic development). In the context of long run trends of FLFP Morocco appears to be consistently at the bottom of the U curve 13 Boserup, 1970, Durand, 1975; Goldin, 1995, Psacharopoulos and Tzannatos, 1989 14 As it did for the previous example in literature, Goldin (1994), with respect to which this analysis considers more countries and more recent data for 1990, 2000 and 2010. 15 A recent paper from Verme (2014), WPS 6927, reconsiders the U-shape hypothesis cross-country using more recent data and includes all MENA countries, with a particular focus on Morocco. 16 in the past three decades (ranging from the 1990s to 2010), without any hint of moving to the upward part of the curve (Figure 2.1). More importantly, compared to other world countries at the same level of GDP per capita, Morocco shows a lower female participation rate. This means that the country continue to lag behind relatively to other countries at the same level of economic development. Figure 2.1 Morocco is below the U curve, given the level of income Source: Verme (2014) Moreover, in the past decade, Female Labor Force participation in Morocco has been actually declining. This is true for all age cohorts but particularly for women above 25 year of age. Further analysis 16 shows how Morocco not only fails to fully conform to global trends but it shows a reversed trend in FLFP, with the past decade showing a reduction in activity rates (Figure 2.2). This is at odds with world trends in terms of the relationship between income level of the country and rates of women’s economic participation. It is however more in line with observed trends in the MENA region. The decline is particularly sharp for women over 25 years of age but it covers all age cohorts. This pattern is specific to women, with men not displaying any sharp decline in activity around that age (following more standard participation patterns across age cohorts). In the case of women, the observed pattern has been driven mostly by urban areas. Rural areas on the other hand show an increase in FLFP in the past decade, with higher participation for women above 30 years of age (Figure 2.3). 16 Verme (2014), taking into account the longitudinal information and endogeneity of the data 17 Figure 2.2 Female Labor Force Participation by Five-Year Cohorts (World, MENA, Morocco) Source: ILO-EAPEP database (Female LFP) and World Bank, World Development Indicators (GDP per capita). Figure 2.3a Change in FLFP 2000-2010 Rural Figure 2.3b Change in FLFP 2000-2010 Urban Source: LFS (2011) Source: LFS (2011) 2.1.1 A profile of active/inactive women Despite being half of the population 17 women represent only about quarter of the active population. The activity rate for women in Morocco in 2011 was around 26 percent against 75 percent for men, at the same level as in 1990 (Figure 2.4b). The urban –rural divide remains also wide, even though generally tilted positively towards rural areas: in urban areas only about 19 percent of women join the labor force against 71 percent of men, while in rural areas the rate is respectively 37 percent and 82 percent (Figure 2.4c). This stronger economic participation of women in rural areas should not necessarily be taken prima facie as a 17 WDI source: women were 50.7 percent of the Moroccan population in 2012 18 positive outcome. Participation for women in rural areas might be dictated by necessity, with the income effect playing an important role: women work to contribute to the family income but this does not necessarily signify an improvement of their socio-economic status 18 . Figure 2.4a Morocco is not at a front runner even within the MENA region 100.0 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Labor participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) Labor participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) Source: Opening Doors , WB (2012) Figure 2.4b Women LFP in Morocco has not changed in Figure 2.4c Activity rates in 2011 by the past two decades rural/urban 90 90 82 80 80 81 79 80 75 77 75 75 71 70 70 60 60 50 40 50 37 30 29 40 26 28 28 26 26 20 30 26 19 10 20 0 10 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 0 Labor participation rate, female (% of female population National Urban Rural ages 15+) Labor participation rate, male (% of male population Men Women ages 15+) Source: LFS (2011) Source: LFS (2011) The inactive population is largely made of women with low levels of education. Between 25 and 30 percent of women with little or no education join the labor force, regardless of their age group (Figures 2.5 a&b). The rate of participation more than doubles, at almost 70 percent, for young female graduates in the 30-64 age group. In contrast, men in the same age group (30-64) participate to the labor force fairly at the 18 An additional explanation might be that most rural female employment is in household enterprises, where it might be easier to combine childcare with work. 19 same rates (around 90 percent) regardless of their education level. For the younger age group (15-29) we observe the same patterns between men and women, with a strong decrease in participation among the secondary and tertiary education level, perhaps because of their school attendance. However, while more than half of men with secondary education level join the labor force, only 16 percent of women do so. Figure 2.5a Labor Force participation within Figure 2.5b Labor Force participation within population population aged 15-29 by education category aged 30-64 by education category Labor Force participation among population Labor Force participation among population aged aged 15-29 by education category 30-64 by education category 100.0% 100.0% 80.0% 80.0% 60.0% 60.0% 40.0% 40.0% 20.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0% No Education Primary Secondary Tertiary No Education Primary Secondary Tertiary Male Female Male Female Source: LFS (2011) Source: LFS (2011) Educated women are more likely to participate in the labor force. A marginal effect analysis shows that women with higher education have much higher probabilities of joining the labor force. Women with university and post-graduate education are respectively about 44 and 54 percent likelier in rural and urban areas to be in the labor force than their less educated counterparts (Figure 2.6). This is reinforced by the fact that participation also seems to become more likely with age even though at a declining rate [not shown here], meaning that probably being enrolled in post-secondary education is temporarily preventing women to join the workforce up to a certain age (when they actually earn their diploma). 20 Figure 2.6 Education increase the likelihood of women joining the labor force Probability of Participation among population Probability of Participation among population aged 25-64 - URBAN aged 25-64 - RURAL 60.0% 53.8% 50.0% 43.7% 50.0% 40.0% 40.0% 30.0% 30.0% 20.0% 16.4% 20.0% 10.0% 2.0% 3.0% 5.5% 7.3% 5.7% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% -10.0% -2.8% -10.0% -0.1% -20.0% -9.5% -14.7% Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary Male Female Male Female Source: LFS 2011. Control group for males/females is men/women with no education Educated women however face higher unemployment rates than their male counterparts. While there isn’t a big difference in terms of unemployment rates between men and women in Morocco 19 (respectively 8.7 percent and 10.5 percent in 2011), there is a wide gap in terms of the educational characteristics of the unemployed. The low level of unemployment among less educated women very likely arises because they mostly work in seasonal or temporary occupations and they tend to join the labor force when these types of jobs arise (see details on labor mobility in Chapter 3). Unemployment rates are indeed much lower also in rural areas. Women with little or no education show a sharp difference in their unemployment rates, showing rates close to “frictional” unemployment, as low as 1.4 percent. This is consistent with the fact that women with little or no education in rural areas are likely to join the labor force to contribute to the family income. Higher educated women on the other hand, show much higher rates and longer duration of unemployment, which is consistent with the idea that their reservation wages might be higher and therefore their ability to wait/queue for a suitable job. Figure 2.7a Unemployment Rates by Education Figure 2.7b Unemployment Rates by Education (age 15-29) (age 30-64) 60.0% 16.0% 50.0% 40.0% 11.0% 30.0% 6.0% 20.0% 10.0% 1.0% 0.0% No Education Primary Secondary Tertiary No Primary Secondary Tertiary -4.0% Education Male Female Male Female Source: LFS (2011) Source: LFS (2011) 19 (unlike other countries in the region like Egypt or Jordan where unemployment rates for women are double the ones for men) 21 Figure 2.7c Length of Unemployment Spells by Figure 2.7d Long term unemployment (more than 12 location months) by education and location 90 90 80 80 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 20 30 10 20 0 10 less than more less than more less than more 0 12 than 12 12 than 12 12 than 12 no medium higher no medium higher months months months months months months degree degree degree degree degree degree total urban rural urban rural 2012 men 2012 women 2012 men 2012 women Source: HCP (2012) Source: HCP (2012) An astonishingly high share of women in school age is out of school and out of work. As shown in Verme (2014), the proportion of young people aged 15-29 who are neither in the labor market nor in education changes considerably between men and women. LFS data for the period 2007-2011 shows less than 5 percent of men to be simultaneously out of work and out of school in both urban and rural areas. By contrast, the figures for women are alarming. In urban areas, more than 4 in 10 women aged 15 to 29 years are neither in work nor in school and in rural areas this figure rise to more than 6 in 10 women. This phenomenon alone could explain low FLFP rates among both young and older cohorts if women exit the labor force early in life and do not come back 20 . 20 Why do women drop out from school? Older and illiterate women are often trapped between past discrimination and present constraints. An investigation carried out in Morocco among 204 female participants in adult literacy programs (Agnaou, 2004) revealed that only 11 percent of learners attended regularly. The sample ranged from women aged between 12 and 60 years old, the average was 32. The older age set, between 50 and 60 years old corresponded only to 10 percent of the sample despite being the most affected by illiteracy, whereas the majority was relatively young. The socio-economic stratum they belonged to was very low, both for them and their husbands (or guardian). They all had either Amazigh (Berber) or Moroccan Arabic as native language. The study investigated the reasons for such an irregular attendance and found out that the problem of earning a living or running a house were crucial in preventing women to participate to the program. During fieldwork in the south of Morocco, women revealed that they dropped out because of poverty: since their husbands could not find a job, or worked as seasonal laborers, they had to work as maids or integrate cooperatives as seasonal workers themselves. In addition of the housework chores, and raising five children, they also had to fetch water and wood, farming, cropping, animal feeding, and so forth. Some of them had to take over from their husband’s work because they had migrated to towns. The second reason reported the fact that women had to attend specific social events, like funerals, weddings or guest entertaining. Program interruption had different reasons and accounted for 21 percent. During fieldwork three rural and two urban centers had interrupted the program. Among reasons: political reasons, the change of the headmasters of the school, the instructor’s non-remuneration, and insufficient numbers of participants. Participants could not attend because of the distance, the bad status of roads, especially in rural areas; or in urban settings because they feared sexual harassment after the class, which ends in the late evening. Urban aged women dropped out because they could not afford to buy sight glasses. Husbands’ opposition also played a role. Twelve percent of rural women dropped out because their husbands, who lived in town, ordered them to stop attending, convinced by other women in the family, mainly the woman’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law. 22 2.2 Which factors are behind declining trends in FLFP? There is no single explanation for the limited participation of women in the workforce in MENA. As explained in the MENA regional companion to the 2012 WDR on Gender and Development, there are important MENA specific factors, undoubtedly influenced and shaped by the region’s geography (and natural resources), history, religion and culture, and by social norms. This complex set of factors is manifested in the prevailing gender norms in the countries of the region, the many common features of its legal and institutional framework. In the specific case of Morocco, the economic structure coupled with the legacy of low achievements in terms of social indicators (education above all) limited opportunities to pull women into the workforce. The analysis presented here identifies some of the main correlates of women low economic participation in the past decade and argues how the slow pace of economic growth coupled with gender- biased views and perceptions of the role of the women in the household and society at large tend to distort women economic participation. Box 2.1 Demographic, fertility and education play an important role in shaping long-run FLFP Several assumptions have been put forward and tested empirically in the literature to justify the observed long-run trends in FLFP across countries and their link with the country level of economic development. The structural transformation of the economy seems to be linked to the declining portion of the U curve, which explains how the move of the economy away from agriculture and industry frees some of the labor intensive sectors in agriculture where most of the women are employed, in the case of countries lower income levels. However, the explanation of the rising part of the curve relies on a more complex combination of factors. Fertility has been among the first factors to be identified (Golding, 1995) a factor that found consistent evidence in subsequent studies (Angrist and Evans, 1998; Bloom et Al., 2009). Similarly, female education was detected early on as a major factor of rising FLP rates (Goldin, 1995) and found matching evidence over the years across countries. 21 A more controversial set of factors relates to culture, gender norms and identity. Traditional explanations for FLFP long-run trends account only partially for Morocco observed outcomes. While the drop in fertility rates and the increased education 22of the female labor force (highly correlated to each other) appear significant in determining upward trends in participation, other factors that should have accounted for an increase in participation- such as economic factors- do not appear to be significant. A potential explanation for the relative stagnation in FLFP is to be searched in the (slow) pace of structural transformation of the economy and the lack of expansion in sectors that have been proved critical for expanding female employment like manufacturing and services (Chapter 3 will look into this more in detail). A second influential factor is “culture” or social norms, which could also explain the finding that women seem to exit the labor force around marriage age (the cohort around 25 years of age). 21 These two factors are also related to each other (female education delays marriage and pregnancies) so that identifying the specific contribution of each factor on FLP is not straightforward but the evidence is rather solid in determining a correlation between fertility and education and FLP cross-country and longitudinally. (Verme 2014) 22 Moroccan women have achieved comparable results in several education and health indicators to that of women in other countries with similar income levels or cultural background. Morocco’s Total Fertility Rates are similar to comparable groups of countries, for both incomes level and cultural or geographical proximity (see Chapter 1 and Annex 1). Remarkable progress has been made in the past 4 decades, where the TFR has been decreasing more dramatically than in any other country or group selected as comparators. The same is true if we observe the ratios of female to male in the different levels of education, although Morocco’s educational outcomes have consistently ranked lowest among the other comparable countries and regions, there’s a steeper trend in its series that suggest convergence in the future. While the ratio of female to male gets smaller with advancing education levels, it grew relatively more for higher education (jumping from 20 percent to almost 90 percent for the tertiary level; secondary and primary ratios increased respectively from 40 percent to 85 percent and from 53 percent to 95 percent). Overall, these trends seem to support an upward trend in FLFP. 23 2.2.1 The slow pace of economic growth is one of the main reasons behind low FLFP, together with demographic factors. Economic growth, measured in terms of real GDP growth, negatively affects female labor force participation. Indeed, it appears to reduce the probability of participation for women in both urban and rural areas. These findings result from the analysis of FLFP trends in both medium (1999-2012) and short term (2007-2011) periods (and in both static and dynamic context, the latter being the analysis of a panel of individuals over the short term period) 23 . It is fully consistent with the U-shape hypothesis and the relative position of Morocco on the downward part of the curve, a fact which is at odds with the overall performance of the country and the trends in the variables that are usually associated with the U-shape hypothesis (structural transformation, female education, fertility rates). This apparently odd result is explained by the fact that growth has been mostly jobless and that employment generation, where it occurred, benefitted mostly men (see Chapter 3). Indeed, male participation increased during the period 2007-2011. Education is the single most important factor in explaining unusually low levels of participations, particularly when combined with the current structure of the economy. Secondary education seems to consistently reduce the probability of participation in both urban and rural areas. Morocco managed to improve secondary education for men and women significantly over the past two decades and this is consistent with one of the long-term factors of female participation. But the country was unable to develop sectors that are more likely to employ women with secondary education including manufacturing and services. As analyzed in detail in Chapter 3, women are more likely to be either poorly educated and employed in low skills jobs or highly educated and in search of work or employed in the public sector24 . In a sense, the system failed to make use of the vast majority of women who completed secondary education by creating jobs in labor intensive sectors that require middle-level skills. The alternative for women is vocational education, which provides a distinct advantage for FLP. Demographic factors- such as marriage and the socio-economic status of the spouse- play a crucial role in determining women economic participation. Marriage is a determining factor in the inactivity rates of women, regardless of their location. Being married invariably reduces the probability of participation for women in both urban and rural areas. The panel short-term regression for 2007-2011 also reveals how the interaction between age and marriage is always positive and significant, which means that older married women do better than younger married women. Therefore, marriage rather than age is the key factor to understand participation for women and in explaining the observed pattern described above of low exit rates and declining participation rates for women above 25 years of age. However, having an active spouse increases the probability of participation in both urban and rural areas and in both models. 25 This also means that married couples tend to either work or not work. This may be related to stigma and social networks (see section 2.2.2 below). A working husband has fewer stigmas associated with having his wife working, and a wife of an active person is more likely to be socially connected to other active people and jobs. 23 Over 1999-2012, economic growth is at best insignificant. For one of the specification is weakly negative (Verme 2014) 24 The public sector, however, is not anymore the largest employer in Morocco. Public employment as a share of total employment is between 10 and 15 percent against a regional average of over 40 percent (source: background calculations based on countries HBS for WB report “Jobs for shared prosperity”) 25 This is of course after controlling for marriage. 24 Box 2.2 The effect of marriage on educated women’s Labor Force Participation Married and educated women in urban areas are most likely not to join the labor force. As mentioned earlier, urban women extremely low participation rate explain most of the low FLFP at national leave. Furthermore, marriage has a major role in urban areas in keeping FLP rates low. The probability of participation for married women in urban areas is below 10 percent as compared to a probability for unmarried women of close to 40 percent. This marriage effect is not visible in rural areas where marriage can even increase participation. If we consider that most women in rural areas are uneducated, we should conclude that low FLFP rates in Morocco are mainly explained by women in urban areas with secondary education. This group is not likely to participate mainly because of marriage and because they have an education level matching sectors that are not growing. In addition, educated women are likely to marry educated men who we know have done better than women in the labor market and may be able to support their families on their own. Married women with secondary education are often married to highly educated men who might be able to provide for the family without the need for additional income. This last factor, in turn, contributes to reduce the likelihood for educated women to seek employment Figure 2.8 Probability of participation by age cohort and marital status (b) (rural vs urban) Household composition and characteristics are also important, particularly the number and age of children. Children play an important role for FLP as expected: the probability of participation decreases with the number of children below six only in urban areas. However, if we look at the number of children out of school and out of work between the age of 7 and 17 we find this variable to invariably increase FLP, 25 which is somehow different from advanced countries 26 . This would suggest that older siblings look after younger siblings- substituting for formal but scarcely available childcare options- and increase in this way the likelihood of participation of older women. This could however be a factor that keeps older children out of school. Finally, the presence of other women in the household above the age of 15 that are inactive27 reduces the probability of participation consistently across areas and models. The same result is found for the number of inactive persons above the age of 60. Two factors might be behind this result: (i) the presence of inactive women reflects simply the scarcity of available jobs and therefore discouragement from entering the labor force all together or (ii) the household has many inactive individuals requiring attention. These two factors may reinforce each other of course. Section 2.2.2 will focus on the important role of households, intra-households dynamics and decision making mechanisms in shaping women agency and LFP. 2.2.2 Intra-household dynamics and agency in decision making as correlates of female labor force participation (a) Agency and Intra-household decision making in Morocco Intra-household decision making is crucial to analyze female labor force participation in Morocco. Few women make decisions on labor issues by themselves. Data from the 2010 Morocco Household and Youth Survey (MHYS - see Box 2.2) shows that only about one-third of Moroccan women aged 15 to 49 make decisions about employment by themselves. Other family members, particularly husbands and fathers, influence women’s decisions to work. Family opinions also inhibit women from seeking employment opportunities outside the home: 19 percent of women who are not employed and were not looking for paid employment reported that the reason for not seeking employment was that their husbands or fathers did not allow them Figure 2.10. Figure 2.9 Who makes decision about female employment? Figure 2.10 Women not seeking paid employment because husband or father do not allow (%) Woman 24% Total 42 13 3 42 herself 25% Woman 20% 16% herself with ot 15% Mother 11% Rural 22 12 4 62 included 10% Only men 5% Urban 56 13 3 28 0% Rural Urban Total Source: MHYS 2009-10 data 26 Both Fixed Effects and Random Effects models 27 If they are more than a third of all the women in the household 26 The difference between rural and urban areas in terms of men’s ability to influence women’s labor market decision is striking. In rural areas, only one fifth of interviewed women seem to be able to decide for themselves in terms of their own employment. Together with the unbalanced distribution of household chores, men’s opinion and judgment is a major obstacle for women to seek paid employment. 28 Table 2.1 Who makes decision about female Table 2.2 Reasons for not seeking paid employment employment? (among women not in labor force) (percent) Decision makers Rural Urban Total Reasons Rural Urban Total Woman herself 22 55 42 Husband or father don’t allow 24 11 16 Father of 21 5 12 Don't want to work outside 8 9 9 household home Husband only 34 21 26 Not enough job opportunities 16 16 16 Husband & wife 8 10 9 Too busy doing domestic 27 26 26 work Others 15 9 11 Too old/retired/sick/ 6 6 6 Total 100 100 100 Don't know jobs are available 1 4 3 Other 17 28 23 Total 100 100 100 Source: MHYS Having full agency in employment (defined as women alone can decide to work) contributes to the actual employment. On average, about 18 percent of women with full agency are actually employed, compared to only 4 percent employment rate among women with partial or no agency. Figure 2.12 displays women’s employment status by their level of agency in decision to work; it also shows that both in urban and rural areas, women who have agency in employment (“women herself” can decide to work) have a much higher rate of employment than other groups of women whose employment decision is controlled partially or fully by other household members. In urban areas, women with full agency are almost four times more likely to be employed than women who have partial agency (“women with others” category). On the other hand, women who lack agency in employment decisions (those reported that “only men” can decide about their employment) are least likely to be employed. An econometric analysis on the MHYS data further reveals that a woman empowered to decide on her employment is 18 percent more likely to be in the labor force and 14 percent more likely to work outside home. The effect of agency (or empowerment) is so large in magnitude that it can offset negative factors commonly found in the female labor supply literature such as caretaking duties and earning potential. Moreover, agency is a significant factor boosting labor supply among married women. 29 28 This result is further confirmed by the finding from qualitative survey, in which focus group participants reported the need to ask permission either from the husband or the father to work, to travel, and sometimes even to spend their own money (Qual survey, 2014) 29 (Morgandi and Morgandi 2014). 27 Box 2.3 Agency and economic empowerment start in the household Many key development outcomes depend on women’s ability to negotiate favorable intra-household30 allocations of resources. There is sufficient evidence from rigorous studies to conclude that women’s bargaining power does affect outcomes. But in many specific instances, the quantitative evidence cannot rigorously identify causality. In these cases, policy recommendations can be drawn from a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence. 31 Moreover, the literature supports the current conventional wisdom that women’s education, incomes, assets, age, marital status, culture, income level, and education-influence the dynamics of intra-household decision making (Doss, 2013, Angel-Urdinola and Wodon, 2010). The ability to make decisions—such as participating in the labor markets—comprises three inter-related dimensions: resources (defined broadly to include not only access, but also future claims, to both material and human and social resources); achievements (well-being outcomes); and agency (including processes of decision making, as well as less measurable manifestations of agency such as negotiation, deception and manipulation) . Women’s agency is closely linked to gender equality and growth. Recent research focused on MENA underscores the crucial role that agency plays in the region. İlkkaracana (2012) examined of aggregate employment data in the 1955–2009 period, as well as household survey data for 1988, 2000, and 2008 and qualitative data from a 1997 field study, show that absence of alternative to males as the sole breadwinner resulted in the institutionalization of the gendered labor division and roles as binding constraints on female labor supply. The prevalence of informal sector employment and absence of family friendly policies such as paid work or family reconciliation measures further suppress women’s labor supply response, but social conservatism is a more limited constraint. Nevertheless, women' desire for increased autonomy emerges as the primary motivation for entering the labor market. Using the Akerlof and Kranton's (2000) identity economics approach, Caris and Hayo (2012) investigated the female labor market participation in the Arab region. Employing two rounds of the World Values Survey, they found that women’s labor market participation decisions are influenced by the importance they attach to their identity, which could be lost by taking a job outside the home. The authors also indicated that traditional culture manifestation is a more significant factor in female labor force participation than religious identity. Measuring agency Agency is measured in terms of the ability to make and enforce decisions relating to a specific outcome. Recent literature suggests ways to measure agency directly. In her review of the literature, Jejeebhoy (2000) finds the following common direct measures of autonomy: economic decision-making; child-related decision-making; marriage related decision-making; freedom of movement; power relations with husband; access to resources; and control over resources. Most commonly, researchers construct indices of each (often denoting whether the respondent has sole control or joint control over a range of decisions, or whether she can visit a list of places unescorted). The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)’s module on agency, which draws from the indicators originally proposed by Ibrahim and Alkire (2007), focuses on indicators related to power over, power to , power with and power from within, and address each in turn. Indicators for “power to ” include the indicators of control and decision-making that have characterized most direct measurements of agency. For specific domains, like employment, the decision-making indicators denote the ability of respondents to take decisions (either alone or jointly), and further, whether or not they would be able to take decisions if they wanted to (Samman and Santos 2009). This is the concept of agency that we use in this chapter. 30 Not all individual decisions are made solely by the individual; intra-household decision making mechanism must be taken into account when one considers analyzing decisions such as decision of women to enter the labor market. Decisions such as where to live, how to generate income, how much to invest and consume, and how many children to have constitute common dilemmas faced by households. The outcomes of such decisions are often linked to economic performance at the household level as well as in the aggregate for the country as a whole. In poor households, the intra-household dynamics of decision making and resource allocation may have an even greater impact on the welfare outcomes of family members. If various household members (including male, as opposed to female, members) have different preferences, it is expected that households will behave differently according to who controls household resources. (Angel Urdinola and Wodon 2010) 31 Cheryl Doss: The World Bank Research Observer, vol. 28, no. 1 (February 2013) 28 Data and indicators used in this chapter define “Agency in employment”. The analysis presented in this chapter builds on the 2010 Morocco Household and Youth Survey (MHYS). The MHYS 32 [see Annex 2.2] is a survey conducted in 2009-2010 (La Cava and al 2012)and contains standard labor market–related statistics typical of a standard labor force survey, The survey data is uniquely suitable for analyzing agency because it contains a separate section about Women in Decision Making, covering all women aged 15-49. The questionnaire contains questions about “Who in your household decides” about women’s schooling 33, whether women can seek or remain in paid employment, how to spend their own income, choice of husband, and age of marriage. Additionally, among women who are not in paid employment or are not seeking work, the survey asks the reasons why women are you not actively seeking paid employment. Based on the above framework, the MHYS data are used to create measurement of agency: dummy variables (whether women have full control in their decisions) and ordinal categorical variables, consisting in an arbitrary scale of women’s agency in each dimension. They are coded from the worst (code 1) to best (code 4) 34 in which only the relative ranking is important. To explain female labor force participation in Morocco, the analysis will emphasize decisions about employment. Other types of decisions about women will be analyzed as well, to the extent that they can help explain female employment. Conversely, paid employment combined with the ability to generate income for themselves, also boost Moroccan women’s agency. A qualitative study conducted in 2009-10 [as part of the MHYS] show that women’s appreciation of work seems founded in the benefits of employment itself, rather than in meeting family expectations. Moreover, women with more education feel a stronger urge to work to feel fulfilled. Some young women attached the highest priority to professional success, and those who were already working said that work had improved their lives. Young women often perceive work as a way of achieving autonomy from their families and increasing their bargaining power in decision-making within their future families. It also enables a higher level of personal consumption and greater security, especially if a woman’s husband abandons her 35 . The ability to generate income is a strong factor behind agency. Further analysis of women’s agency to make decision about their own income reveals an encouraging trend. Once women overcome the hurdle of entering the labor market and earn their own income, the vast majority of women (83 percent) have control over their own money. 32 It should be noted that the estimates of female labor force participation in the MHYS appears lower than the official estimates of the Morocco Employment Survey. For example, for all women aged 15 and above, the Employment Survey of 2009 suggests female labor force participation to be 25 percent nationally; the MHYS estimates it to be about 15 percent. Apart from sampling error and differences in the time periods the surveys were implemented, it is likely that differences in survey protocol contribute to this difference. The timing of the two surveys do not coincide perfectly; the 2009 Employment Survey covers four quarters from January through December 2009), while the MHYS 2009–2010 was conducted between October 2009 and March 2010. Furthermore, the questions asked to participants for measuring employment and unemployment are different across the surveys. For example, in the MHYS, individuals are considered employed only if they have worked the equivalent of one day in the last seven days, whereas the Employment survey does not have any such minimum work requirement. Also, the MHYS has a seven day recall period whereas the Employment Survey has a 24 hour recall period to collect employment and unemployment information. This likely leads to MHYS’s employment estimates, and in turn its labor force participation estimates for women being comparatively lower. (La Cava and al 2012). Due to such data issues, the analysis of MHYS will not focus on the labor outcome, but on women’s ability to make decisions. However, other demographic statistics appear to be similar. For example, on marriage, proportions of unmarried people according to age group, sex and location do not differ between the two data sources. Literacy rates from both data sources are quite similar, at 74 percent for men and 52 percent for women. 33 This question was only administered to girls who went to school or to girls who did not go to school under 29. 34 The coding for agency is as follow: 1. Father/Husband only 2: father and mother 3: father with concerned woman/parents with concerned woman 4: concerned woman by herself). 35 La Cava and al 2012 29 Figure 2.11 Agency to spend earned income Figure 2.12 Work Agency and Employment Status of evolves over stages of live Women 100 80 60 40 20 0 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 Woman herself Woman herself with ot Mother included Only men Source: MHYS data, authors’ analysis The influence of family members on women agency extends also to other dimensions than employment, such as schooling and marriage. Figure 2.3 shows the extent that household members, especially fathers and mothers, influence women’s agency in other dimensions than employment. Only about 45 percent of women make decision on their own about husband choice, and about half decide on their own about their schooling. The proportion of women who reported that their fathers were the sole decider is as high as 17 percent for schooling and about 29 percent for marriage. Interestingly, a large proportion of women (29 percent) reported that the entire household (father, mother and herself) made joint decision about her marriage. Similar to the agency in employment, women in rural areas are much less likely to decide about their marriage or schooling on their own. Table 2.3 Who make decisions about marriage and schooling? Husband choice Decides Schooling Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total Woman herself 26 58 45 33 71 55 Woman herself with others 34 26 29 7 5 6 Mother included 12 6 8 12 7 9 Only men 29 9 17 47 16 29 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Note: only women aged 29 or less were asked the schooling question Constraints in agency in different spheres of life tend to overlap. Agency tends to be exercised differently in different spheres of life – a woman may have agency in the labor market but not in her household for instance, or vice versa. But where these agency-related constraints connect and overlap, they 30 may heighten girls and women’s experience of deprivation. In this context, a cross-country study based on the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data shows overlapping agency in three dimensions of agency --control over sexuality and family formation, freedom from violence, and control over resources. The cross-country analysis demonstrates that nearly 1 in 5 women experience agency-related constraints in all three areas. Moreover, agency deprivations are related to other disadvantages- particularly access to education: for instance almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) of rural women with a primary education experienced all three constraints compared with 1 in 100 urban women with a higher education. Moreover, some constraints tend to be more correlated than others. Women exposed to Intimate Partner Violence are 3 percent less likely to have say in large household purchases than women who are not. 36 Our analysis shows that in Morocco several dimensions of agency appear to be highly correlated. Women who are empowered to choose on their own employment are usually also displaying agency in decisions related to education, marriage and how to spend their income. Conversely, women that do not have agency in one of these domains usually experience overlapping constraints. Figure 2.13 Correlation between agency to work and other aspects of agency Corre lation with full agency in e mployment 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Schooling Spending choice of age of income husband marriage Source: MHYS 2010, authors’ calculation Formal and informal institutions (laws and social norms) interact to determine agency in employment and- ultimately- economic participation. At the country level, social norms appear to be closely correlated with higher female labor force participation. Combining the global opinion poll from the World Value Surveys with the labor force data, Figure 2.14 illustrates the relationship between public opinion about women’s agency - percentage of population who agree that having a job is the best way for women to be independent (x axis) and female labor force participation (y axis). The figure shows that among selected countries, there is a positive correlation. However, public support of this notion in Morocco is relatively low (at 50 percent), as it is female labor force participation. In additional to informal institution factors like social norms, formal institutions like laws also matter. Across the world, many countries still have laws that apply differently to men and women, such as laws that require married women to ask for husbands’ permission before opening bank accounts. Figure 2.15 plots the number of “unequal laws” (x axis) against female labor force participation rates. Overall, the global data show that countries with less legal discrimination tend to have higher female labor force participation. In 2013, Morocco has nine unequal laws, fewer than most MENA countries but still higher than Indonesia or China. 36 VAP forthcoming 31 Figure 2.14 Scatter plot of public opinion and female Figure 2.15 Legal discrimination and female labor labor force participation –selected countries force participation–selected countries Female Labor Force Participation Rate - Female Labor Force Participation Rate Job is the best way for a Woman to be and Number of Unequal Laws 80.00 Independent 80.00 Female Labor Force Participation 70.00 70.00 China China Brazil 60.00 60.00 Colombia Colombia Chile Chile Indonesia 50.00 50.00 Malaysia Malaysia 40.00 40.00 30.00 Turkey 30.00 Turkey Morocco Egypt Tunisia 20.00 Tunisia Morocco Egypt Algeria Jordan 20.00 10.00 Algeria Jordan 10.00 0.00 0.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 % Agrees with Having a Job is the best way for 0 5 10 15 20 Woman to be independent. number of unequal laws (b) Agency and female labor force participation Determinants of agency and other constraints Identifying the main determinants of women’s agency 37 in employment and the constraints that women in Morocco face when entering the labor markets is key to informing policies aimed at advancing gender equality in Morocco. In order to analyze the extent to which women’s individual characteristics and influence from family and community affect women’s agency to work, a logit regression is used and results are shown in Annex 2.1 - Table A2.1 38 . The regression results reveal a number of key determinants of women’s agency in employment: i. Education. Individual characteristics such as age, marital status, and education are strong correlates of agency, even after controlling for other factors. Higher level of education contributes to a significantly higher level of agency, increasingly from primary to secondary and tertiary level. ii. Households’ characteristics also influence women’s agency. Women in larger households tend to express lower level of agency, and the presence of older women (over 65 years old) tends to particularly suppress women’s expression of agency. However, having children in a household does not appear to affect women’s agency. iii. Urban-rural residence is a strong correlate of agency, with residence in the rural areas negatively affecting agency. The coefficient is stable, even after controlling for household head’s education and per capita consumption. iv. Marital status. Among all determinants, marital status shows the largest magnitude of impact; being married will decrease the probability having full agency by about 50 percent. 37 Defined here as the capacity to make and enforce their own choices. 38 One must be wary of the way many different factors can influence each other. For example, education level of women is highly correlated with women’s agency in employment. However, education of women may also reflect the level of openness of the women’s family. These spurious relations might change the way you look at the results. However, the coefficients do not change much after controlling for family income and education of household heads. 32 v. Household’s wealth and wellbeing, proxied by education of household head and per capita consumption, do not appear – on the other hand- to be correlated with women’s agency. 39 Interestingly, most of the factors that seem to determine women’s labor force participation are also contributing to shape women agency in employment, i.e. their ability to choose for themselves if participate or not to the labor force. These findings stress the importance of agency- and the related social norms- in shaping women’s employment outcomes and its close relation and interaction with individual and households’ characteristics, as presented below. (i) Can education alone improve women’s agency? Women’s education level is a strong indicator for women’s decision power in employment. The completion of primary or lower secondary education among young people aged 25–29 years of age is significantly associated with women agency in employment. However, the data also show the importance of fathers’ attitudes on women’s employment decisions: fathers can influence such decisions both directly and indirectly through the choices in terms of women education. A qualitative study conducted in 2009- 10 40 found that secondary and tertiary-educated women expressed deep frustration and distress at not being employed, which suggests that women are expected to work as their level of education rises, and perhaps, as a return to the educational investments made by their families. This is particularly true for women graduates from low-income backgrounds, where the investment in their education represents an important sacrifice for their families. As shown in section 2.2.1, women with secondary education (mostly in urban areas) explain- as a group- the declining trends in labor force participation. This is due to the discouragement following the lack of suitable jobs. Educated women face indeed higher unemployment rates (over 50 percent for young educated women) and longer unemployment spells. These results seem to suggest an important and positive role of mid to higher education in changing social norms and perceptions of the role of the women and in increasing women’s agency in employment. However, serious constraints act on the demand side, where not enough (good) jobs are created to absorb this group in the labor market (Chapter 3). (ii) Differences between urban and rural areas Measures of women agency are lower in rural areas in all dimensions . The behaviors of population in urban and rural areas appear vastly different. In particular, while in urban areas almost all the women who earn an income have full agency to spend it, in rural areas women appear to gain more agency only as they become adults. Among young females with a paid job, fathers are the main decision makers about women’s income. This fact corroborates the findings reported in Chapter 3 that women tend to move in and out of temporary employment - mostly in agriculture- to support the family and respond to the need of additional income. In this case, higher female labor force participation may not necessarily mean stronger women’s agency. Women tend to work in low productivity sectors (especially in agriculture) in order to replace men who move out of these sectors to more productive or better paying ones. 39 As it is the case for participation in social programs. 40 (La Cava and al 2012). 33 Table 2.4 Percentage of women with full agency in various dimensions Full Agency in: Rural Urban Total Decision to Study 33% 71% 55% Decision to work 22% 56% 42% Spending own income* 75% 86% 83% Choice of Husband 26% 58% 45% Choice of Age of Marriage 28% 59% 46% Requesting Food 20% 25% 23% Deciding Food Quantity 21% 26% 24% Buying Food in the Market 20% 25% 23% Note: * only women who earn income. Source: MHYS 2010, authors’ calculation Agency patterns and dynamics are also widely different from one region to another 41 (Figure 2.16). The correlation of individual or households’ characteristics with agency changes considerably for urban or rural areas 42 . Women gaining agency with the increase of their age is an urban phenomenon, while household size and number of older persons in the households show negative influence only in rural areas. Regional effects on women’s agency show also diverging pattern. While women who live in regions like Grand Casablanca have higher agency than average, independently from their urban or rural location, in many other regions being a rural or urban resident affect women’s agency in opposite directions. 43 A series of Focus Groups discussions tried to investigate further whether cultural factors are the underlying force for such gaps (see Annex 4.2). 41 There are dramatic variations in women’s agency between regions in Morocco . Locations affect women’s agency in Morocco beyond the urban and rural divide. Analyzing women with full agency in employment by region and urban-rural areas, shows dramatic variation across different regions of Morocco. Grand Casablanca and Rabat-Sale are the two regions where women’s agency is consistently high in both urban and rural areas. Within their borders, many regions show large gaps between urban and rural areas; the urban-rural gaps in Fès – Boulemane, Souss - Massa – Dra, and Taza - Al Hoceima – Taounate are all above 50 percentage points. 42 In addition to the cross tabulation, the effects of regions on women’s agency is examined more closely using logit regression analysis. Annex 1 - Table A2.2 shows regression results when restricting the sample to urban (model 2) and rural (model 3) population 43 Regions that exhibit this pattern are three region cited above - Fès – Boulemane, Souss - Massa – Dra, and Taza - Al Hoceima – Taounate. This finding confirms the large urban-rural gap within region, even after controlling for demographic and economic factors. 34 Figure 2.16 Percentage of women with full agency in employment by region (iii) Norms about housework Domestic work is another important obstacle to the exercise of women’s agency in employment. Qualitative studies conducted for the WDR2012 from interviews with over 4,000 women, men, boys and girls from 20 countries across all regions shows that norms about women’s roles are closely designed around household and childcare activities. These norms influence decisions about women’s use of time and participation in paid work (OnNorms). In addition, the media also help to perpetuate these norms (CEDAW 2008). The Moroccan media consistently portray women only as homemakers and mothers, fail to use gender-sensitive language, and downplay women’s achievements in the public sphere (Freedom House 2010). Since female respondents in the MHYS quoted domestic work as the main obstacle for participating in the labor market, the willingness of men to help with these chores can substantially facilitate women’s labor force participation. The MHYS also asked youth in the sample household about their aspiration and plans for the future. The data presented in Table 2.5 are useful from two perspectives: (i) in describing how social norms are now and (ii) showing how young people would like to see them evolve in the future. Table 2.5 Youth perception and aspiration about housework How is it currently at your house? How you would like it to be in the future? Females More Both The Same Females More Both The Same Types of housework Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male House cleaning work 95% 88% 3% 5% 82% 81% 15% 16% Preparing meals 95% 88% 3% 5% 82% 77% 16% 19% Shopping 18% 11% 30% 35% 9% 6% 52% 55% Studying 11% 6% 56% 54% 5% 3% 83% 80% Working Outside 5% 3% 27% 23% 3% 2% 60% 50% Taking Care of Elders and 69% 58% 7% 9% 71% 69% 19% 17% Children Repair dwelling 7% 3% 12% 12% 5% 3% 24% 22% Source: MHYS 2009-10, youth survey 35 Box 2.4 Women in the Labor Force: roles and perceptions According to the findings of the interviews, women’s employability, salary, and skills are strongly impacted by cultural norms around women’s mobility and their capacity to access better opportunities outside the community. All salaried women report working for pay out of necessity, as they consider this activity less noble and adapted to a woman compared to staying at home. Both men and women agree that men are more deserving of economic opportunities as women are more suited for economic activities that help to reconcile family responsibilities and income-generating activities. All groups report family responsibility as the core responsibility for a woman. According to the informants, salaried work entails some minor and major risks, such as humiliation, fatigue, and depression as well as abuse and violence in some case. Both men and women can face humiliation, but only women seem to face stigma for salaried work. The reason men do not encounter social stigma is because men are considered to be as the principal breadwinners and providers for the family. On the other hand, the fact that women are ‘obliged’ to work dangerously flags men’s inability to provide. In addition, greater agency is attributed to men than to women. Both men and women portray men as more capable of fighting back, quitting the job if conditions become too harsh, or even using physical violence. None of these characteristics is attributed to women: on the contrary both men and women often emphasize women’s docility and submission. Interestingly, all informants rephrase women’s labor force participation as “la femme qui sort travailler” (the woman who goes out to work) to differentiate the one who stays and ‘works’ at home and the one ‘who works for others’. Despite all odds, women accept to work because their salary benefits their families and children. Rising costs for education and health care seem to push women to work for pay. Some women with a higher education in urban areas also report what motivates them is autonomy, self-esteem, and financial independence. There seem to be a huge divide between rural and urban areas in the profile and motivation of working women. In the light of gender norms attributed to women, there seems to be an informal ranking among the type of jobs of type of industry that are acceptable (or honorable) for women – the best option for a woman is to stay at home and having other women working for her: (i) Public sector work seems to enjoy greater consideration and social esteem, especially because they enjoy more social protection, fair contracts, and working hours conciliate work within and outside the house. However, looking more careful, such jobs enjoy greater consideration in as far as they constitute a prolongation of women’s care within the house: for example salaried work as teachers or nurses is highly regarded as an excellent job opportunity for women. (ii) Manufacturing appears a second-class opportunity but is still well regarded. Women mostly operate in the olive processing, fish processing industries where most of the personnel are female, including the supervisor. Some men may work in the same facility but risk is perceived as low because most of the time men and women perform different and separate tasks. Men also tend to be known by the women, as they often come from the same community and are known as family members or acquaintances. (iii) Salaried work in mixed-sex contexts and/or entailing interaction with the public can tarnish a woman’s honor. Some tasks in agriculture and hospitality (such as being a servant in a café or restaurant) imply risks of sexual harassment from male clients, stigma, and various forms of social control through gossiping and disrespect from neighbors and acquaintances 44. All female informants operating in these industries report enduring harsh conditions such as abusive or hard language from colleagues or clients, and community ostracism. Neighbors’ critiques are perceived as particularly damaging if the woman’s job entails a night shift. 45 44 La femme qui sort travailler en dehors du douar est victime de la médisance des autres. 45 For example a woman who occasionally worked as a servant in wedding parties reports that her mother used to offer neighbors cakes from the wedding to ‘prove’ them that she was effectively working that night instead of doing ‘dishonorable things’. 36 Public Sector (teachers, nurses) Care givers in the private sector Manufacturing in women-only environment Agriculture in mixed gender work (fruit picking in green houses), hospitality (restaurants, cafes), transport (ticket sales) Source: Qualitative Survey (2014) There are encouraging trends in the attitudes of young men and women regarding the division of roles/duties within the households. These positive trends appear both in rural and urban areas . A clear separation of activities between men and women is still present in Moroccan households: activities that are traditionally female-executed include house cleaning, meal preparation, and child/elderly care; home repair are instead traditionally male-executed. Women participate significantly in activities like shopping and working outside the home, but to less extent than men. However, in all domestic activities, both female and male youth want to see a more equal participation between men and women, which is an encouraging trend. 46 Moreover, opinions of the two genders appear to be close to each other, which is also a good sign (and also confirms the picture presented in Chapter 1 based on the WVS). These positive trends in attitudes- change are present in both urban and rural areas. Developed countries have seen such changes in time allocations of housework between male and female over the past 40 years (see Figure 2.17). 46 Even among traditionally female activities like house cleaning and preparing meal, in which very few men are doing now (less than five percent), as many as 15 percent and 18 percent of male youth (respectively) reported that they want to see equal participation 37 Figure 2.17 Changes in male and female contribution to housework in developed countries Sources: World Bank, Gender at work report, 2014 (iv) Mobility Restricted mobility further limits women’s economic opportunities. Moroccan women face a range of mobility restriction due to cultural norms, which in turns, affect their employment, and their capacity to access better opportunities outside the community Box 2.5 and section 4.3.7). Women are therefore limited to look for jobs close to home. However, women might enjoy greater mobility- even in conservative families- if the support of the extended family is available in the areas where they move to study or work. Women’s range of movement from home is also restricted by their role as caregivers. Focus group participants indicate that they need to be back at home at a certain time (i.e. before 5 pm). Table 2.6 Agency in employment and food purchase - married women only (%) Level of agency in Percentage that women make decision about food purchase by: employment requesting food deciding quantity buying in market Woman herself 68 64 50 Woman herself with men 63 53 37 Mother included 50 45 36 Only men 59 48 23 Total 62 53 32 Direct quantitative data on women’s mobility in Morocco is still limited. However, our analysis attempts to proxy women’s mobility by their ability to go out and purchase food in the market. The MHYS data reveal a sizable mobility gap, even in activities related to everyday household management like buying food. Table 2.6 presents women’s agency in food purchase by their level of agency in employment. On average, 62 percent married Moroccan women make decision about food purchase in the form of requesting 38 the food; only 32 percent actually buy food in the market by themselves. This means that about half of the women who make plans about food purchase for their household do not go to the markets on their own. The data also reveal the correlation between agency in employment and in food purchase. Women with full agency in employment decision are twice likely to purchase food herself in the market than women who only men can decide their employment (50 percent vs. 23 percent). 2.2.3 Policy implications Education Strengthen the education system by focusing more on the quality of the curricula (in addition to enrollment ratios) is key to encourage women economic participation. This would help also the shift in social norms for the future generations. The analysis presented in this chapter consistently shows that education among women is one the core driving force for women’s agency in employment. Trends in education among youth are encouraging. Young men and women are more educated than their older counterparts. For example, a higher proportion of young people aged 15–21 has attended school at some point in time than the next cohort of young people aged 22–29, suggesting improvements in the very recent past. This is true across genders and across rural and urban areas. Going forward, it is advisable for Morocco to shift its focus on education from increasing enrollment rates to learning and design curriculum that promotes gender equality and constructs gender equal norms. Box 2.5 Curriculum reform to promote gender equality through education Girls’ both access to education and completion rates are not enough strong parameters to achieve their empowerment. Curricula content and teaching methods also play a fundamental role. In Morocco, in many traditional families, literacy practices are believed to be rather masculine. Example of social norms preventing girls to attend school are the fear that too much freedom engendered from education can have a negative effect on the girls’ sexual conduct, on her willingness to participate in the household chores or in agricultural labor. Moreover, parents tend to invest more in their son’s education with a view that parental support will rather come from their sons, whereas the girls will be part of their husband’s family 47. Social norms influence textbooks, curricular choices, the sex distribution of teachers and administrators, teacher attitudes and behavior, classroom and discipline practices, and the presence of violence, all of which shape opportunities for boys and girls (Connell, 1996, 2000, 2010). National curriculum can reinforce existing social and gender inequalities by implicitly upholding traditional gender stereotypes or by disregarding the diversity of learning needs and learning styles among girls and boys. At the same time, schools have enormous potential to effect social change and transform gender relations by expanding the range of possibilities for both boys and girls. 47 The obstacles to literacy are not always a factor of school coverage and curriculum inadequacy. Indeed many studies link illiteracy to “access” to education and poverty. The gender gap in education attainment and completion is due to poverty, to the high cost of books, clothes, and transportation. Girls’ labor is demanded in the house and in the fields, and parents’ opposition to their daughters’ education has in turn an effect on the girls’ demotivation. The causes of female illiteracy are linked to cultural, economic, and school-based reasons (Ibid, 85). Adult literacy has been designed to recover the wasted efforts of a school system failure generated by the lack of primary education or early removal from it. In many developing countries, these programs are addressed to women, who are the most affected by lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills. However, drop out rates are often very high. 39 Gender-sensitization of school curriculum such as revising textbooks, could be a solution 48. A number of countries are taking action to address these biases. For example, in Thailand policies have been instituted directing textbooks to be revised and all gender stereotypes to be removed. In Vietnam in 2009, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education, conducted a national textbook review and developed teacher-training modules to promote gender equality, while in Indonesia teachers are being trained in gender-sensitive methodologies to engage boys and girls. Source: (Agnaou, 2004) and (VAP forthcoming) Childcare and other assistances on domestic work Policies need to be designed to better support working women in their work life balance49 . Promoting male participation in domestic work would also help shifting some of the imbalance in the use of women’s time. Morocco now offers 14 weeks of maternity leave at 100 percent of a woman’s wages, payable from a national social security fund. A pregnant woman is also entitled to an additional year of unpaid leave if so desired. The Labor Code also includes three days paternity leave at full pay (Art 269) (OECD 2012). However, these maternity benefits may not cover women who work in the informal and agricultural sectors (see Chapter 3). Morocco could promote participation in domestic work among men and start in areas where men show signs of willingness to participate. MHYS data show positive trends that an increasing number of young men are willing to contribute to domestic work in all areas. The media and advocacy’s work can play a role in supporting and encouraging this shift in norms and behaviors. Changing norms and advocacy campaign to youths Identity affects female labor market participation. It is therefore crucial to ensure effective and enforceable nondiscrimination policies at the workplace. Labor market reforms aimed at increasing 48 Textual analysis revealed that men occupy 65 percent of the space, whereas women only 35 percent. The predominance of masculine pronouns and verbs over feminine varied across the textbooks but the arithmetic section used exclusive masculine forms of the imperative such as /la:hiz/ “observe”, /fakkir/ “think”, /anjiz/ “perform”. Such grammatical forms had a gender sub-text, which attributed superior arithmetic and cognitive skills to men. In addition, pictures associated with the text pointed at men as audience, thus insinuating that such skills are not suitable for women. Further, training programs are often gender neutral and focus exclusively on what women learn, and rarely on how they learn. In textbooks, women are casted exclusively in female traditional roles, like performing domestic chores, child rearing, washing, food shopping. On the opposite men are portrayed as reading the newspaper, responding to mail, signing checks, reading for children. Such forms of representation implicitly infer that female literacy is less crucial for women and rather it is a masculine activity. In regards of leisure time and citizenship, women are never portrayed as having rest, whereas men are showcased while relaxing, doing sport, reading, weight lifting, and fishing. Women are exclusively portrayed in labor activities and their only involvement as citizens is in the Green March. 49 Financial incentives for childcare and maternity leave are positively correlated with higher female participation (like in Sweden and France), but negatively correlated if they are granted under the form of extended leave, like in Italy, Japan, and South Korea (Goldman Sachs, 2013). Further, extended maternity leave operates as a glass ceiling for women who seek to career advancement and hold managerial positions. As a matter of fact, employers tend to prevent women to access key positions as they could get disconnected from the company for a long period (Bardasi and Gornick, 2008). Wage differentials, including in OECD countries, make women larger penalties for seeking part- time and flexible time (Blau and Khan, 2013). Of course, more women than men seek flexible time because across all countries they are the principal caregivers within the family, as demonstrated by surveys about time use (WDR, 2012; ILO, 2012). 40 female labor market participation rates should take into account two dimensions of female decision making on this issue: the benefits of working and the costs of violating a traditional identity. Hence, reforms have to be both economic and social in nature. Economic reforms should aim at increasing the benefits women obtain from working. A natural target here would be to ensure that there are effective and enforceable nondiscrimination policies at the workplace. However, as the experience of even highly-developed countries demonstrates, in reality, such polices take a long time to become the status quo. Improving job- market-oriented education for women could be another channel of reform, as it would improve female employability and productivity (Caris and Hayo 2013). The narrative about economic necessity and female employment is useful. Findings from the MHYS data show positive trends that youths want a more gender-equal society. Gender-equal attitude of male youth is essential. Recent evidence shows that such attitudes could affect the labor supply of their future wives. According to male focus group discussions, only a small part of men in the focus groups show resentment for the situation as they understand women are just contributing to the family income and supporting the households when needed (Qual survey, 2014). Women from FGDs also mentioned that their income benefits their children and this is one of the main reasons why they are willing to accept any type of job. This narrative is useful in fostering social acceptance of working women as it conforms to the overarching social norms about women’s responsibility in taking care of their families. Focusing on the important role of women contribution to the household not just as mothers or spouses but also as income earners would improve women own perception of their role and their ability to make decisions relating to their employment and will also support progress in a gradual change toward more progressive social norms. Increase physical mobility by investing on “safe” modes of transports Across developing countries, women are more likely to walk or use public transportation, while men are more likely to use intermediate means of transport or motorized vehicles. Generally, when a household owns a transport vehicle, such as an animal cart or motorized vehicle, it is often controlled and more frequently used by the men in the household. For this reason, men are also more likely to have driver’s licenses. In Casablanca, 54 percent of men have driver’s licenses compared to only 18 percent of women.50 Walking is an important travel mode, particularly for the middle and lower income groups and people in the urban periphery. Overall, 70 percent of the women and 60 percent of the men in Casablanca walk in their neighborhoods; more women than men (33 percent versus 26 percent) walk beyond their neighborhoods. Intermediate modes of transport (IMTs), such as bicycles, rickshaws, wheelbarrows, hand carts and animal carts, are more affordable than cars and can facilitate moving small loads, like household items. However, in some communities, women are unable to use IMTs like bicycles due to social norms. Women using bicycles may be cast as “loose” or “behaving like men.” 51 Socio-cultural restrictions constrain women’s but not men’s travel in all three urban areas . In Casablanca, socioeconomic status, and central or peripheral location in urban areas also affect travel patterns and choice of mode of transportation for women and men. The ways in which women use public or private transport may also make it more expensive and more time consuming. For example, women tend 50 World Bank 2011a summarizes the findings and recommendations of four separate case studies on gender and transport conducted in Casablanca, Morocco, Sana’a and rural Yemen, and Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarem in the northern part of the West Bank, during between September 2008 and September 2009. In Casablanca Morocco, areas were selected to represent the center (historical medina), the transition zone, and the newly urbanized or urbanizing areas at the periphery. The sample included 600 women and 200 men from eight prefecture districts, reflecting socio- economic, demographic, and housing differences. The Morocco Gender Transport Surveys: 822 interviews (598 female; 224 male), covered Nearly 70 interviews with women respondents and 16 focus group discussions with transport providers and city officials in 8 districts. A transport log was also developed. (World Bank 2011) 51 Gender and Transport in Less Developed Countries 41 to take more complex or more frequent, shorter trips, while men often travel directly to and from their employment. More transportation options are generally available during peak hours than outside of peak hours. 52 The transportation survey in Morocco suggested variations across urban centers. In the Casablanca case, there is no mention of muhrams or the need to travel with chaperones. (World Bank 2011). Women’s travel can include work as well, but may also include other household responsibilities such as shopping, taking children to and from school, childcare, or health facilities. In the United States, Sweden, and Germany, data show women trip-chain by grocery shopping and dropping off and picking up children while traveling to and from work. 53 (Babinard 2011) Women often pay higher fares per trip because they need to change buses and pay several fares. Their ability to negotiate fares with drivers is limited by socio-cultural norms. Cases in urban Oman, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Turkmenistan, reveal similar constraints and identify alternative approaches to address them. (World Bank 2011). Improved road accessibility has led to increased school enrollment and reduced travel time in Morocco. A 1996 socio-economic impact study of four pilot rural road projects in Morocco found that improved road accessibility and reduced travel time and transport costs facilitated school enrollment and access to health services among women. 54 This pilot influenced the transportation policy; officials used the study findings as a rationale to expand rural road construction in the National Rural Roads Program (1995- 2005). This reflected a shift in focus from road construction to improving access for rural women and men. Since then, the Moroccan Roads Directorate also established a social database that included data on girls’ and boys’ school attendance and women’s and men’s activities in the zone of the road (Levy 2004). (World Bank 2011). Box 2.6 Immobility can mean more than just restricted spatial movement Because of greater distances and more pronounced social conservatism, gender norms are more likely to constrain women in rural areas in their choices of work outside home, particularly when women have to interact with men or work at night. The qualitative survey reveals social acceptability of women working in manufacturing sectors in sectors/areas where most of the workers are female, including the supervisor (as for instance in olive processes and fish processing industry). Some men may work in the same facility but it is still social acceptable because most of the time men and women perform different and separate tasks. Men also tend to be known by the women, as they often come from the same community and are known as family members or acquaintances. This however restricts access to all other types of jobs and industries where these conditions do now apply. A way for women to evade the restrictive “mobility” across sectors and jobs is to start a “micro-business” or home- based activities. Home-based micro-entrepreneurship enjoy greater social acceptance than salaried work. Since home-based work does not require too much mobility, this activity is perceived as less risky and more suitable for women. Clients tend to be already well known (as they oftentimes reside in the same village) and generally are female. The entire micro-business is interwoven around family and same-sex networks. To promote their business and purchase the necessary raw materials women use informal networks. Informal networks seem to operate as marketing tools; source of information and goods. These restrictions are true in most of the country but become particularly binding in less developed rural areas. Policy interventions to promote women’s agency in employment must therefore consider the stark differences between rural and urban areas to be effective. The analysis reported in section 2.2.2 highlights areas in which 52 World Bank 2010; Peters 2001; Dobbs 2005; UN Habitat 2013. 53 World Bank 2010. 54 Low quality infrastructure and lack of public transport in rural and urban periphery areas make access to routine and emergency health care difficult for the poor (Oomman et. al. 2003). (World Bank 2011) average indicator data masks significant access differences between wealthier and poorer women even in countries that have shown significant progress in reducing maternal mortality. For example, there are sharper differences in access to skilled birth attendants between higher and lower income women in Morocco, than in lower income Yemen. 42 urban-rural difference should be emphasized: (i) in rural areas men’s opinion, especially the women’s fathers or husbands, can hamper women working outside home. Therefore, the effort to address agency in employment in rural areas must engage men, either through outreach, advocacy, or tailored a specific component for men; (ii) agency among rural female youth is low despite their work in agricultural sector: young women aged 15 to 24 do not have the agency even to spend income that they earn; (iii) the urban-rural differences are not uniform across the country. Policy makers are invited to consider these differences when designing programs to support women economic participation Source: WB Qualitative Survey for Morocco Women Employment Target public programs to counteract gender-biased allocation of inputs/assets Women’s agency in household decision and bargaining power within the households can affect how targeted public programs are implemented. Differences exist, and can be substantial, in bargaining power over allocations within the households. Assuming that intra-household bargaining is not fully cooperative, giving transfers to women rather than men will have differential effects if (a) the transfer increases women’s relative bargaining power and (b) women have different tastes/preferences over the allocation of expenditure. Achieving increased gender parity in itself may be already interpreted as an indicator of increased family well-being. In some settings, however, other factors such as social norms or a lack of legal rights for women may counteract this effect. One example of this is in instances when transfers to young girls are simply turned over to their fathers and husbands. Differences in income-generating ability also affect the effectiveness of public transfers, with higher benefits when assets are allocated to women. Transfers of productive inputs may generate more or less income in the hands of men rather than women, based on their ability to use these inputs. The benefit of putting assets in the hands of women may be higher. If, for instance, women and men have similar economic opportunities, but women are far more capital constrained, giving capital to women may result in a much higher marginal return to capital. On the other hand, the environment may be the opposite: women may face many other constraints (such as social restrictions on occupational type, or a relative lack of training) that result in lower returns to the transfer. 2 Many external background factors may also make the pass through of transfer programs more or less effective for women. Women may be more vulnerable than men to external pressure from official sources, for example, and thus transfers may have less impact in their hands if leakage increases due to error, fraud and corruption. 55 An Impact Evaluation focused on a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in Morocco with the aim of providing evidence on the existence of a differential effect of direct monetary empowerment to women or men. Preliminary results show that the CCTs decrease dropout rates, increase the number of children returning to school after dropout (especially children in higher grades), and improve learning. 56 The effects of the CCTs are larger when the transfer is given to the mother instead of the father. For children enrolled in kindergarten and first grade, for instance, the difference is significant: 30 percent less likely to drop out if the transfer goes to the mother instead of father. Regarding school re-enrollment, children who have left school are 15 percent more likely to go back to school if transfers are given to the mothers. 2.3 Conclusions Women Economic Empowerment in Morocco is at early stage, and female economic participation among the lowest in the world. Morocco does not only fail to follow global trends in terms of FLFP but 55 (Yoong, Rabinovich and Diepeveen 2012) 56 Conditionality does not change any of the results. This implies that there is no need for a “nanny” state and that resources allocated to the most suitable actors (in this case women, as the most resource-constrained) will be put to their best use. 43 it also shows a reversed trend in women economic participation, with the past decade showing a reduction in activity rates. In 2011, only one woman out of four participated in the labor market, against four out of five men. The urban –rural divide remains also wide: in urban areas only about 19 percent of women join the labor force against 71 percent of men, while in rural areas the rate is respectively 37 percent and 82 percent. The slow pace of economic growth coupled with gender- biased views and perceptions of the role of the women in the household and society at large tend to distort women economic participation in the labor force. Socio-demographic factors –mostly education and marriage-and the intra-households dynamics also play a crucial role with similar (although opposite in direction) effects between rural and urban areas on women agency and employment. Women’s economic participation will have far-reaching positive consequences . Keeping women out of active economic participation will affect the potential of the country to accelerate its economic growth rate. 57 Gender disparities in the world of work are in fact multidimensional and can affect several areas in terms of development outcomes. They include key dimensions such as labor force participation, employment, earnings and lack of access to “good (or “decent”) jobs 58 , which contribute to women overall empowerment. These disparities are also related to the level of economic dependence of women, and thereby also affect women’s standing in the household, including risk of domestic violence or intra- household resource allocation and decision-making power with regard to human capital investments (Blunch, 2010; UNDP, 2010). Access to “good jobs” also contributes to expand women agency and choice, and in turn increase voice and ability to influence society and challenge established norms which limit women human rights and hinder economic and social development. Next chapter will look into more detail to the types of jobs available for women, the structure of their occupations and the match with their skills. The role of the structural transformation of the economy in providing “good” jobs will also be assessed. 57 Cuberes and Teignier-Baque’ (2011) “Gender inequality and Economic growth” , background paper for the WDR 2012 “Gender Equality and Development” 58 The 2013 WDR defines “good jobs” as the ones capable of making the greatest contribution to the development of a country in each specific case. In the case of Morocco, these jobs would not only provide economic opportunities for women by reducing gender disparities in wages, economic opportunities and access to social benefits and to the most productive sectors of the economy. In turn, these jobs will also contribute to expand the country’s economic potential (by enlarging export potential) and development. 44 Chapter 3 Economic Growth, Structural Transformation and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market Has economic growth and structural transformation contributed to increase women employment in Morocco? This chapter will present on overview of the recent (2000-2011) growth performance of the country with the aim to provide an overview of the constraints to growth and productivity that are related to the persistence of gender inequalities. This analysis will build on the assumption, put forth in the theoretical and empirical literature 59 , that gender disparities and related occupational and market segmentations hamper productivity and growth. The structure of female employment over time will be analyzed to see whether growth has been gender-biased and use sectoral labor productivity data to examine whether employment opportunities for women are concentrated in sectors where labor productivity (and hence the wage rate) is low or not growing. This is an important question from not only the welfare perspective, but also from the point of view of economic efficiency. Evidence that women are working in low return sectors signals the existence of mobility barriers which prevent them from moving to higher return sectors. Moreover, such restricted employment opportunities could be one reason for low and stagnant female labor force participations rates. Increased demand for female employment acts in fact as one of the pull factors for FLFP, while restrictive social norms and labor market segmentation act as push factors. When the demand side is insufficient to pull women in the labor force, the role of factors that are currently acting as constraining women participation, such as social norms and agency, becomes more relevant. 3.1 Structural transformation and women in Morocco Morocco labor productivity grew at an average of 3.4 percent per year in the last decade. 60 This increase was mostly driven by within-sector productivity growth. Structural transformation, however, played an equally important role from 2000 to 2007. Aggregate labor productivity may change for two main reasons. First, productivity may increase within sectors. For example, the labor productivity in the agriculture sector may have increased between 2000 and 2011. If the relative employment share of the agriculture sector remained the same and the labor productivity of all of the other sectors remained the same, aggregate labor productivity would rise, due to the rise in agriculture labor productivity. Second, aggregate labor productivity may increase due to structural change, i.e. when higher productive sectors record net increases in employment and lower productive sectors record net decreases. In Morocco, most of the increase in labor productivity was due to within sector productivity growth (out of a total increase of 3.4 percent between 2000 and 2011, 2.4 percent came from within-sector productivity growth, while 1.0 percent was due to structural change (Figure 3.2). This increase has been driven by strong growth in high (above-average) productivity sectors such as finance and insurance services, business services (but also health, education and government services) and slow growth in low (below-average) productivity sectors, with the exception of agriculture 59 Esteve-Volart, 2000; Knowles et al., 2002; Klasen, 1999; Gatti and Dollar, 1999; Klasen and Lamanna, 2003. 60 Morocco witnessed strong value added growth between 2000 and 2011, with average annual growth of 5.0 percent per year. This rate was mostly consistent throughout the period (see Figure 3.1). As total employment growth was slower than value added growth, labor productivity also grew substantially, averaging 3.4 percent per year. During the more recent period, between 2007 and 2011, productivity grew at 3.9 percent). 45 Figure 3.1 Labor Productivity Trends (2000 - 2011) Labor Productivity Value Added Total Employment (right axis) 70 700,000 11,000 60 600,000 10,500 50 500,000 10,000 40 400,000 9,500 30 300,000 9,000 20 200,000 10 8,500 100,000 0 0 8,000 2000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Figure 3.2 Labor Productivity Decomposition: Structural Change did play a role Labor Productivity Decomposition (Annual Growth Rates) 2000-11 (3.4%) 2.4% 1.0% 2000-07 (3.2%) 1.6% 1.6% 2007-11 (3.9%) 3.5% 0.4% 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0% Within-Sector Growth Growth due to Structural Change Structural transformation led to a decline in employment shares of low-productivity sectors and an increase, albeit small in more dynamic sectors. The increase in overall labor productivity between 2000 and 2011 owed to structural change was driven mostly by a decline in the share of employment in agriculture and textiles (by -5.8 and -1.3 percent respectively), considered lower-than-average productivity sectors. Increase in employment in two above-average sectors, finance 61 and communications, also contributed to gains in aggregate labor productivity. 61 Finance, insurance and real estate. 46 Figure 3.3 Structural transformation in Morocco (from 2000 to 2011) led to increased labor productivity Total 2000-2011 Log (Sectoral Productivity / Average Productivity) 12 pu comm 6 8 10 fire min 4 e mf 2 g mc mo mmtn a mt f h td c os -2 0 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 Change in Employment Share beta = 0.159; t-test = 0.34 Despite some improvement, the vast majority of employment remains allocated to very low productivity sectors. In 2011, 78 percent of the totals employed were in the below-average productivity sectors. They produced only 39 percent of real value added, while the remaining 22 percent of total employed produced the rest. Moreover, the four lowest productivity sectors (agriculture, other services- which include domestic helpers- construction and textile) accounted for 60 percent of total employment and produced just 26 percent of value added Figure 3.3 62 ). By contrast, the five highest productivity sectors (which include finance and ITC) produced 28 percent of total value added and employed only 3.5 percent of total employment. 62 Figure 3.3 makes the point starkly. It plots relative labor productivity and total employment share by economic sector. Relative productivity is calculated by dividing the absolute productivity values for each sector by the average productivity value. Hence, any sector with a relative value over 100 is in the above-average category and any sector with a relative value under 100 is in the below-average category. 47 Figure 3.4 Relative Labor Productivity and Employment Share by Economic Sectors - 2011 250 200 150 Almost 80%of workers are in low productivity sectors 100 50 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 oth_s agr con m_text trade m_refi hr fish tran m_oth m_mech m_chem gs eh m_food rbus min comm pu fin The effects of structural changes did not benefit equally men and women. If we disaggregate by gender the relative changes in employment shares of sectors, the most striking result is the diverging path in reallocation of employment between sectors according to the gender of the employed. While men have mostly left below-average productivity sectors- such as agriculture- and moved towards more productive sectors, women remained, for the most part, trapped in lower productivity sectors. Women are mostly employed in the three least productive sectors: agriculture, other services and textile. Their share in agriculture actually increased between 2000 and 2011 from 36 percent to over 41 percent: as of 2011, more than 60 percent or women work in this sector. There were also some positive reallocations, with more women for instance moving to trade and services, but these numbers remain very small in proportion 63 . 63 Relative share analysis may hide other conditions that are more visible when we examine absolute changes in employment. As we see in Table A3.1, of the 372 thousand extra female labor that entered the labor market by 2011, 73 percent (or 270 thousand more women) worked in lower productivity agriculture in 2011. Over the same period, 134 thousand fewer men worked in the sector. Hence, women may have been called upon to replace men who left for other sectors. Moreover, by 2011, female employment in textiles had declined by 92 thousand, while the number of men increased by 63 thousand. In all, there were 71 thousand fewer women working in manufacturing in 2011, compared 218 thousand more men in the sector. As manufacturing is normally a higher productive sector (especially during the stage of development where Morocco finds itself) and is associated with better jobs in terms of employment status and on-the-job training, most women appear not to be benefitting from structural change in Morocco (and in fact may be seeing their situation get worse because of it). 48 Figure 3.5 The effects of structural changes did not benefit equally men and women Female 2000-2011 Male 2000-2011 Log (Sectoral Productivity / Average Productivity) 12 Log (Sectoral Productivity / Average Productivity) 12 pu pu comm comm 10 10 8 8 fire fire 6 6 min min 4 4 mf e e mf 2 2 g g mc mo tn mm mcmm mo tn mt fc h td f mthtd c os a a os 0 0 -2 -2 -6 -4 -2 0 2 -10 -5 0 5 Change in Employment Share Change in Employment Share 3.2 Women in employment Gender segregation in terms of employment is pervasive, with women mostly working in low productivity sectors. Women do not appear to have fully participated or contributed to the recent (although not dramatic) structural transformation of the economy. Uneducated women are heavily concentrated in low productivity sectors, both in rural and urban areas, and low-skills occupations. They are exposed to more uncertainty and less returns to their labor (with many of them being unpaid workers). Their situation has actually worsened in the recent decade, being positioned at the lower end sectors of the structural transformation of the economy. On the other side, women with secondary or tertiary education seem to have benefitted to a great extent from the positive changes brought by structural transformation- working in more productive sectors- and from “better” jobs and occupations. They are more likely to be employed full time, with social security contributions and they are doing better than the equivalent male worker (in terms of occupations-we’ll see this is not the case in terms of salary). However, with the possible exception of public jobs ( in government services), the distribution of occupations within this group (highly educated workers) is not equal between men and women. Namely, a higher proportion of men are in upper- level occupations, such as senior managers and professions, while the proportion of women was greater in lower-level technicians and employees/clerks occupations- suggesting the presence of glass-ceiling effects. (a) Uneducated women remain heavily concentrated not only in low-productive sectors but also in lower quality (and paying) jobs Striking differences exist also in employment status and occupation between men and women. While it is important to assess if women work in low-productivity sectors, it is also crucial to understand if occupational segregation exists within any given sector, which leads to more women occupied in lower- level occupations than men and thus to lower wages. In addition, women may have a lower employment status (family helper vs. salaried worker) and / or less regularity of employment (part-time vs. full-time). If we attempt to analyze these issues on the aggregate level, we are often unable to discern any meaningful patterns. That is because many of these job characteristics are highly correlated with education – with higher-level occupations, more-secure employment statues, and greater regularity of employment associated with higher levels of education. Moreover, the type of work and the sectors where one may work differs with respect to area – with agriculture more prevalent in rural areas and manufacturing more prevalent in urban areas. Hence, an analysis of women’s welfare requires further breaking up the labor market based on the education level of the individual (no education or primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education) and her area of residence (rural vs. urban). In addition to describing the situation for women, we also compare it with that for men. Table 3.1 presents the share of women working 49 in each sector – by education level and area – as well as the average labor productivity of the sector in 2011. We see clearly that where women work depends on whether they are in a rural or urban environment and their level of education. Not surprisingly, more women work in agriculture in the rural areas and more lower-educated women work in agriculture. Table 3.1 Employment Shares – By Economic Sectors, Area, & Education RURAL URBAN 2011L Economic Sectors ED_1 ED_2 ED_3 ED_1 ED_2 ED_3 P Agriculture 95.0 75.0 9.4 14.4 1.4 0.1 26 Fisheries 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 47 Mining 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.3 352 Manufacturing – Total 3.5 9.9 1.3 37.6 31.5 10.4 70 Manufacturing – Food 0.4 1.8 0.0 5.3 2.1 1.0 149 Manufacturing – Textiles 2.9 7.1 0.0 30.4 22.1 3.1 31 Manufacturing – Chemicals 0.1 0.5 1.3 0.7 1.3 0.7 92 Manufacturing – Mech / Elect 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.3 5.1 4.2 91 Manufacturing – Other 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.9 0.9 1.4 78 Public Utilities 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.7 674 Construction 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.4 0.7 1.0 30 Wholesale and Retail Trade 0.5 5.3 5.3 11.1 9.6 9.8 44 Transport and Storage 0.2 1.7 0.0 5.7 5.0 2.3 44 Hotels and Restaurants 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 2.0 78 Communication 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.6 3.4 3.0 632 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 0.1 0.8 11.9 1.6 5.7 11.9 426 Government Services 0.0 1.7 10.3 1.3 10.1 16.2 114 Education and Health Services 0.1 4.5 61.9 2.6 20.3 40.3 139 Other Services 0.5 0.0 0.0 24.4 10.7 2.1 14 The almost totality of women with little or no education works in agriculture in rural areas and in “other non-financial services” or textiles in urban areas. They all perform very low-skills jobs. The “feminization of agriculture” has been documented in developing countries as men migrate farther away and for longer for off-farm employment while women, more constrained in terms of time and mobility, are more likely to continue agricultural work (source: De Schutter 2013). However, women remain generally concentrated in very low levels of agriculture value chains, and most likely performing basic farming activities. In rural areas the almost totality -96 percent- of women with little or no education works in agriculture. The vast majority of them (79 percent) are occupied as less-skilled agricultural workers 64 , while 20.5 percent work as agricultural owners, e.g. heads of family farms. Men, in contrast, were more likely to work as agricultural owners. Moreover, women are much more likely than men to work as family helpers (both in agriculture or textile) and to have less “stable” type of occupation, with only half of them working full time versus more than 90 percent of men doing so (see Figure 3.2). 64 Workers are identified by two major occupations in agriculture: agricultural exploitants / owners and agricultural workers and laborers). 50 Table 3.2 Employment Status – Rural, No and Primary Education Agriculture Textile Manufacturing Female Male Female Male Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Occupation Agriculture Owners 289,791 (18.4) 994,815 (51.4) Craft Workers 41,633 (87.7) 13,316 (65.1) Agriculture Workers 1,285,448 (81.5) 914,141 (47.3) Elementary Occupations 5,827 (12.3) 5,441 (26.6) Employment Status Salaried 39,083 (2.5) 297,060 (15.4) 27,116 (2.8) 133,117 (39.6) Independent 280,469 (17.8) 942,069 (48.7) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Employer 1,322 (0.1) 10,870 (0.6) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Family Helper 1,248,139 (79.1) 641,615 (33.2) 954,032 (97.2) 202,525 (60.3) Cooperative Member 8,000 (0.5) 42,165 (2.2) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Regularity Permanent - Full Time 816,452 (51.8) 1,768,171 (91.4) 468,966 (47.8) 283,821 (84.5) Permanent - Part Time 719,540 (45.6) 45,707 (2.4) 482,960 (49.2) 4,323 (1.3) Occasional 32,340 (2.1) 97,247 (5.0) 25,415 (2.6) 43,359 (12.9) Seasonal 9,137 (0.6) 23,266 (1.2) 4,263 (0.4) 4,332 (1.3) Social Security Contributing to SS 7,941 (0.5) 23,243 (1.2) 0 (0.0) 5,797 (2.9) Outside of SS system 1,569,833 (99.5) 1,910,419 (98.8) 8,205 (100.0) 194,273 (97.0) Total 1,577,774 1,934,391 981,909 335,835 In urban areas, women with little or no education are mostly occupied in manufacturing, namely textiles, and in “other non-financial services”. Overall, their position also worsen with respect to 2000, with more women working in lower productivity sectors than women moving up to more productive sectors (in contrast with men which saw an improvement in their sectoral occupations). Figure 3.3 presents occupations and employment status for all sectors. Women’s conditions in the urban area- in terms of employment status, regularity, and social security components- appear much better than in the rural area (the distribution of women among the different states for each of these three components is very similar to that for men). Women are still more likely to work as family helpers and part-time, but these proportions are much lower than before and the percentage of women working as salaried workers is even higher than that for men. However, differences are still presents in terms of occupations, where a higher proportion of men work in the higher-level occupations of employees and shop workers, while a greater proportion of women work in the lower-level occupations of agricultural workers and elementary occupations. 51 Table 3.3 Employment Status – Urban, No and Primary Education All Sectors Female Male Amount Share Amount Share Occupation Clerks / Employees 13,746 (3.2) 146,003 (7.0) Service / Shop Workers 26,344 (6.2) 343,153 (16.3) Craft Workers 141,887 (33.4) 729,100 (34.7) Agriculture Workers 44,688 (10.5) 56,910 (2.7) Plant / Machine Oper. 1,145 (0.3) 153,921 (7.3) Elementary Occupations 179,476 (42.3) 598,223 (28.5) Employment Status Salaried 271,828 (64.0) 1,095,582 (52.2) Independent 96,954 (22.8) 776,869 (37.0) Employer 4,671 (1.1) 94,392 (4.5) Family Helper 44,596 (10.5) 50,851 (2.4) Cooperative Member 4,228 (1.0) 63,606 (3.0) Regularity Permanent - Full Time 326,989 (77.0) 1,901,947 (90.6) Permanent - Part Time 64,678 (15.2) 15,733 (0.8) Occasional 26,791 (6.3) 167,175 (8.0) Seasonal 5,510 (1.3) 12,654 (0.6) Social Security Contributing to SS 64,182 (15.1) 298,143 (14.2) Outside of SS system 360,306 (84.9) 1,800,840 (85.8) Total 424,488 2,099,831 (b) However, for women with higher education, things have improved dramatically. This is particularly true in urban areas (but not limited to) Women with secondary or tertiary education contributed more than their uneducated counterparts to structural transformation. However, they represent only a small number of women. While there was no sizable difference in the employment conditions of women with secondary education in rural areas, structural change led to an increase in aggregate labor productivity for women with secondary education in urban areas (meaning there was a net positive movement towards more productive sectors). Employment conditions were better for women than men. A larger proportion of women were in higher-level occupations, with over 50 percent of women working as technicians or employees. More women were salaried, although if we combine salaried with independents (which could be shop owners), the distributions of women and men are roughly similar. Roughly the same proportion of women and men worked full- time, and more women received social security contributions – most likely as a higher proportion of women worked as salaried employees, while a higher proportion of men worked as independent service and shop workers. The patterns for women with tertiary education are very similar, with same trends in both rural 52 and urban areas (see Annex 3). However, if we look at the number of women employed, they are actually much smaller than the previous groups. As mentioned in Chapter 2, women with secondary education – particularly married women- are less likely to join the labor force, due to higher reservation wages and less availability of “suitable” jobs. Moreover, with the possible exception of public jobs (in government services), the distribution of occupations within this group is not equal between men and women. Namely, a higher proportion of men are in upper-level occupations, such as senior managers and professions, while the proportion of women was greater in lower-level technicians and employees/clerks occupations- suggesting the presence of glass-ceiling effects. Table 3.4 Employment Status – Urban, Secondary Education All Sectors Female Male Amount Share Amount Share Occupation Tech. / Associate Prof. 65,666 (18.2) 108,071 (6.6) Clerks / Employees 120,607 (33.4) 344,979 (21.0) Service / Shop Workers 10,756 (3.0) 207,956 (12.7) Craft Workers 93,330 (25.8) 461,451 (28.1) Plant / Machine Oper. 4,277 (1.2) 126,046 (7.7) Elementary Occupations 60,891 (16.9) 331,716 (20.2) Employment Status Salaried 302,212 (83.7) 1,026,624 (62.5) Independent 30,776 (8.5) 382,134 (23.3) Employer 7,188 (2.0) 59,126 (3.6) Family Helper 14,424 (4.0) 97,167 (5.9) Cooperative Member 1,526 (0.4) 55,632 (3.4) Regularity Permanent - Full Time 339,729 (94.1) 1,543,670 (94.0) Permanent - Part Time 13,349 (3.7) 10,052 (0.6) Occasional 5,438 (1.5) 77,458 (4.7) Seasonal 369 (0.1) 7,855 (0.5) Social Security Contributing to SS 167,278 (46.3) 501,841 (30.6) Outside of SS system 193,939 (53.7) 1,138,623 (69.3) Total 361,217 1,642,124 53 (c) Women Entrepreneurship in Morocco Females remain underrepresented as business owners. Women entrepreneurs are a minority everywhere. But in the Middle East and North Africa just 13 percent of firms are owned by women, significantly fewer than in East Asia, Latin America, or Europe and Central Asia. Morocco is at the lower end of the MENA region, with only 10 percent of firms owned by women, against nearly 30 percent in Lebanon and 20 percent in Egypt. Even so, female-owned firms defy commonly held expectations, revealing the great potential for women economic empowerment and for their contribution to economic growth and job creation. 65 Women entrepreneurs manage their firms, which are large and well established. In Morocco more than 65 percent of female business owners are also managers of their enterprises, debunking the myth that women are owners only in name and defusing the common perception that women are not prepared or effective in managing a business. The presence of female ownership, however, remains too low for this to make an impact on the aggregate numbers. Evidence from the labor force survey data reinforces the low levels of female entrepreneurship presented by enterprise data. However, female-owned firms- as few as they might be- are well established. The average age of female-owned firms is basically equal to that of male-owned firms. Female-owned firms participate in the global economy. Male- and female-owned firms have similar patterns of domestic sales, selling most products to small domestic firms or individuals. Their global orientation—participation in export markets, use of information and communication technology, and attraction of foreign direct investment—is also similar, though female-owned firms have an edge. According to past Enterprise Surveys 66 , in Morocco, female-owned enterprises are significantly more likely than male-owned enterprises to export 67 and to receive foreign investment 68 . This strong export performance suggests that female-owned firms are productive—only efficient firms can compete in the international market. The export success of female-owned firms may also be linked to their size, which helps them achieve economies of scale. Female-owned firms also employ a higher share of female workers at professional and managerial levels, pointing to their potentially strong role in absorbing a potentially growing female labor force. 65 This section is based on data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys to detail the characteristics and performance of female-owned firms in Morocco comparing them with male-owned firms. 66 Enterprise Surveys 2003-2006 67 Exporters are firms that export more than 10 percent of their output. 68 Firms with high foreign investment are those in which the share of subscribed capital owned by foreign investors is at least 10 percent of the total. 54 Box 3.1 The Demand side: do firms hire women in Morocco’s Manufacturing Sector? Young firms in emerging sectors tend to hire more women. Analysis of firm surveys between 1995 and 2006 reveals that only one in every four employees in the Moroccan manufacturing sector were female. However this average hides large differences across industries within the manufacturing sector. Female employment shares are highest in the wearing apparel sector where about 75 percent of workers were women followed by the manufacturing of radio, telecommunications and communication equipment (58 percent), the tanning and dressing of leather products (33 percent), the textiles sector (33 percent), the medical and precision instruments sector (29.5 percent) etc. The sectors with the lowest share of female workers are concentrated in mineral and metallurgic industries such as in the manufacturing of basic metals (6.8 percent), fabricated metals (6.3 percent), coke and refined petroleum (5.4 percent) etc. (see Figure A3.1 in Annex 3). These results suggest that the hiring of female workers in the Moroccan manufacturing sector was higher in young emerging sectors (e.g. electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment), and in more labor- intensive and export oriented sectors (e.g. textile, leather and apparel sectors). Exporting firms hire five times more women than non-exporting firms . These ideas are tested using firm-level data; the elasticity of female employment with respect to total firm employment is estimated to examine the influence of firm age, size and export-orientation on female employment. On the basis of these elasticities, it is possible to derive the number female jobs created as firm employment expands providing indication on firm level factors that influence female hiring 69. Turning first to firm export status, the results show that for every 10 new jobs, non-exporting firms employ only 1 additional female worker on average. On the other hand, for exporting firms every 10 new jobs is virtually equally split between female and male hires. The results indicate that younger firms hire more female workers for each additional job suggesting that startups, younger firms and emerging sectors (sectors with high share of young firms) are more female labor intensive. For instance firms with less than 4 years of activity employ 3.3 female workers for every 10 new jobs compared to 1.5 female workers on average among firms with 15 years of activity or more. Put together the findings point to the important role of young firm and emerging sectors, labor-intensive and export-oriented sectors as a source of employment for women in Morocco. Moroccan manufacturing jobs are particularly important sources of employment for urban women with low educational attainment. In urbanizing countries women tend to benefit more from growth in light manufacturing. In Morocco, about 42 percent of urban women with some primary schooling (and over 33 percent of urban women with no education) who work are employed in the manufacturing sector - the corresponding figures for rural women are respectively 6 and 3 percent only. The low educational attainment of urban women in the manufacturing also points to the low-skill activities they are engaged in. The overwhelming majority of these women (over 75 percent) are employed to perform low-skill tasks in the textiles, apparel and leather sector and to a lesser extent in the electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment industry. Among urban women with tertiary education, about 10 percent work in the manufacturing sector (4.2 percent in the electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment and 3.1 percent in the textile, apparel and leather sector) pointing to the fact that women are under-represented in high-skill activities in the manufacturing sector. 69 The empirical strategy is based on the estimation of the following equation:∆, = ∆, + , + + + + , (1); where indexes firms, sectors and years. ∆ is the change in the logarithm of total employment between − 5 and , ∆ is the change in the logarithm of female employment between − 5 and . We use employment changes over a five year period to smooth out short-run evolutions and capture medium to longer-run dynamics. is a set of firm and sector time-varying control variables. The ’s are firm, sector and time fixed effects. The control variable includes the following variabales: a set of dummy variables for variable firm age and size categories69 at time − 5, the logarithm of firm productivity at time , a dummy variable for the firm export status at time and the logarithm of 3-digit sector level herfindahl index for sales at time . The coefficient of interest is and measures the elasticity of female employment with respect to total employment. Assuming that the share of female workers is µ the number of new female jobs for each new jobs at a firm is given by ∗ µ. 55 Manufacturing firms- particularly the exporting ones- have the potential to hire more women in better jobs. This will in turn support also firms’ productivity and growth. Exporting firms have the potential to hire more women and to grow as businesses exploiting the new markets that are opened to Morocco by their immediate neighbors, including the EU. Women can contribute to firms’ growth if given the chance to work in the firms and occupy also high-skills positions (including as entrepreneurs). In turn, the growth in young and open industries within manufacturing (but also- sometimes even more so-in dynamics services sectors) can contribute to women progress on many other aspects. In East Asia, growth in the manufacturing sector—particularly in textile and food services industries—has increased women’s wage work and improved female and child health and education outcomes. Numbe r of Additional Fe male Worke rs for Each 10 Ne w Jobs Cre ate d by Firm Characte ristics Pane l A. Firm Age Pane l B. Firm Size 5 6 Number of New Female Jobs Number of New Female Jobs 4.5 5 4 3.5 4 3 2.5 3 2 2 1.5 1 1 0.5 0 0 Firm age Firm size Pane l C. Firm Export Status 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Non-exporting Exporting Note: The figure shows the estimated number of additional female workers hired for each 10 new jobs (in continued lines and bars) and the corresponding 95 percent confidence intervals (in dashed grey lines and black vertical lines). These results were obtained from the estimation of the elasticity of female employment with respect to total employment as specified in equation (1). 56 3.2.1 Gender differences in labor market transitions 70 Gender imbalances in the labor market can also be observed in the different transitions and labor mobility between men and women. If we consider labor market mobility across labor market statuses, economic sectors or contractual arrangements (sectors for short), it is possible to provide a tentative normative classification of sectors - “better” and “worse”- and identify upward and downward mobility. Such normative classification does not reflect individual taste for labor market status or for contractual arrangements but simply the most suited allocations- in the social planner mind- to maximize production and productivity. In such classification employment is considered better than unemployment and inactivity while private employment is better than public employment. It can also be argued that services and industry are better than agriculture in that these sectors are generally characterized by higher value added and productivity. This is not always the case of course. But it is known that, during the historical and structural transformation of societies, agriculture is the first sector to shrink during periods of industrialization while the service sector is the last sector to expand as societies move from agriculture to industry and into the knowledge era. Such classification may help to capture advancements in the structural transformation of a society. Based on the same principles, we also categorize paid and unpaid employment, full-time and part- time employment and formal and informal sectors in this order. This framework has been applied to Morocco labor market in the years from 2007 to 2011 71 . Figure 3.6 Labor mobility across sectors Source: Verme et al (2013) Men and women in Morocco experience very different labor market transitions. Women’s performance is worse than men’s in almost all aspects of labor mobility. Analysis of employment transitions over the period 2007-2007 shows an overall trend towards “upward” mobility. Workers have - on average - improved their labor market status. However, mobility varies significantly across population groups. Men and urban residents have done better than women and rural residents. The gender gap is typically larger in rural areas as compared to urban areas. As observed earlier (chapter 2) unemployment 70 This section build on the work from Verme et al. (2013) “Economic Shocks, Labor Mobility and Jobless Growth in Morocco: Evidence from panel data”, WPS 6795. The analysis is based on the Morocco LFS panel data from 2007 to 2011. Of course, the classification of employment simply reflects an assumption made on the social planner preferences and should not be considered as an absolute or objective classification. 71 Using LFS quarterly data. 57 plays a significant role mostly for men while it plays no role for rural women. When women join employment they do that most frequently from inactivity rather than unemployment. Reallocation of labor across economic sectors and across the private and public sectors is also not operating positively for women. Women are as mobile as and sometimes even more mobile than men but most of the mobility for females occurs between agriculture and inactivity. There are negligible transitions between the public and private sectors. 72 The informal sector plays a much greater role in mobility than the formal sector. For both men and women, the formal sector accounts for less than 10 percent of total transitions. Transitions between formal and informal employment are lower for women as compared to men. There is a large flow of people that moves every quarter into unpaid work and this phenomenon is much larger for women than for men. For women, nearly half of mobility occurs between inactivity and unpaid work with a small difference between the directions of the flow between these two statuses. For men, by far the largest transition occurs from salaried to self-employed. A gender asymmetry also exists in how the labor market reacts to economic shocks. The population of Morocco overall has gained during the past decade in terms of welfare but this progress has occurred via non-inclusive labor market developments. Women have not improved their labor market status and, if anything, they are more dependent on their male counterparts as ever before. Rural women in particular seem to function as a `shock absorber’ for the economy. When the economy is doing well, rural women participate to the labor market in greater numbers but when the economy suffers this group is the first – and often the only group - to be excluded. 3.2.2 Which constraints impede job market opportunities for women? Why do these gender gaps in economic opportunities persist? The previous section shows how women and men tend to work in very different parts of the “economic space” with little change over time. In fact, in the past ten years, women positions in the world of work seem to have deteriorated. Women continue to be more likely than men to engage in low-productivity activities. They are also more likely to be in wage or unpaid family employment or work in the informal wage sector, with very limited access to entrepreneurship. When in formal employment, they concentrate in “female” occupations and sectors. These patterns of gender segregation in economic activity can change with economic development but do not disappear. As a result of these differences in where women and men work, gender gaps in earnings and productivity persist across all forms of economic activity— as we will see later in the section this also contributes to discourage many women from entering the labor force all together. This lack of progress in economic opportunities is puzzling. It raises several questions, such as: why do these gaps persist. Disparities persist when multiple reinforcing constraints combine to block progress. As shown in the 2012 WDR on Gender and Development disparities in the economic sphere (the persistence of gender earnings gaps and gender segregation in employment) stem from overlapping constraints. They start with differences in endowments (in time use, education, in access to assets and formal institutions), combine with limited agency (differences in societal voice and household decision making) and results in different (and unequal) economic opportunities. Gender differences are particularly persistent when rooted in deeply entrenched gender roles which are also expressed in gender biased rules and regulations or at least in an unequal enforcement and implementation. All these levels are mutually reinforcing in their interactions. Income growth has some influence in shifting these patterns but, as seen in the case of Morocco, does not eliminate them. 72 The public sector in particular hires young people out of education and keeps these people throughout their working careers with little or no recruitment of middle aged workers. Public jobs are taken early and they are for life. 58 Identifying the market failures or inefficiencies that cause low labor force participation by women is a critical policy issue as they impede the economy from fully utilizing a valuable human resource. These costs are even greater for a country like Morocco which aims to accelerate economic growth by deepening the structural transformation of the economy. One obvious way to achieve this would be to look into an untapped pool of resources who are willing to work but are unable to find suitable jobs. This section will focus on the main economic obstacles women face in accessing “decent” jobs and wider economic opportunities. A binding constraint: unequal access to education Women face unequal access to education. This prevents them from moving to better jobs. Opportunities to attend school are far from universal in Morocco. The question is which socio-economic characteristics influence the child’s likelihood of being in a group that is vulnerable in terms of access to education opportunities. Figures 3.7 and 3.8 show how each particular circumstance contributed to inequality of opportunity in 2001 and 2007. While residence (urban/rural) and welfare status (being in different quintiles based on expenditure per capita) explain the largest shares of inequality in education related opportunities, gender plays also an important role behind an unequal enrollment at school among kids aged 10-14. Low education quality—resulting from poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms (in Morocco the average size of a classroom is over 45 students), and absentee teachers—contributes to poor educational outcomes, such as high repetition and drop-out rates and low achievement levels. High enrollment rates may mask low levels of actual educational attainment, which in turn contribute to the skills shortages and mismatches. While this is an issue common to both men and women, it becomes even more prevalent for women give the high barriers they have to circumvent to move up to higher education levels. Figure 3.7 The contribution of circumstances to Figure 3.8 The contribution of circumstances to opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2001 opportunities (Shapley decomposition), 2007 100 2001 100 2007 90 80 42 80 37 70 55 52 60 60 15 50 16 40 10 40 13 13 13 30 11 13 20 16 20 16 10 17 14 0 0 Started School (10-14) Finished 6 years (13-16) Started School (10-14) Finished 6 years (13-16) gender wealth family hh education region rural gender wealth family hh education region rural Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, MNA HOI report (forthcoming). Note: Circumstances include: quintiles based on consumption per capita, gender, age of hh, number of household members between 0-15 age, presence of elderly, being single parent household, hh education, region, rural or urban locality Wide gender gap in remunerations as expression of occupational segregation 59 There is a substantial wage gap between men and women (about 23 percent), even when controlling for education and professions. In 2007, 60 percent of employed men received wages compared to 36 percent of women. 73 As shown from the Kernel density curve and the results of simple OLS regressions explaining logarithm of wage earnings, men tend to earn more than women and the gap widens if we control for such individual characteristics as age and education 74 . In particular, wage gap in logarithm without controls is 0.2 and 0.27 with controls. Re-transforming results in original scale shows that women tend to earn 23 percent less than men without controls and 29 percent if we control for education, age and the place of residence. Figure 3.9 Kernel density of log of monthly wage earnings Table 3.5 Male dummy coefficients from the OLS regressions explaining log of monthly wage Kernel density estimate 1 .8 log N % wage .6 Density without 23** 0.20*** 6883 .4 controls with 29*** 0.27*** 6849 .2 controls 0 4 6 8 10 log_monthly_wage Men Women kernel = epanechnikov, bandwidth = 0.0868 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above. Monthly wage does not include payment in-kind and bonuses. Controls include education, age and region. For 34 individuals with wages information about education was missing. Asterisks show level of significance: * at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. Kolmogorov-Smirnov equality-of-distributions test rejects equality of distributions. Observed characteristics can only explain a small part of the gender wage gap. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition is used to divide the wage differential between men and women into the part “explained” by characteristics or endowments (education, age and so forth) and the residual part called “unexplained”. This “unexplained” part includes the effects of unobserved predictors, but also often used as a measure of discrimination. As shown in Table 3.6, the differences in endowments between women and men narrow wage gap by 6 percent. In particular, both education and region favor women and reduce the gap, while experience widens it. The unexplained part, in contrast, increases the gender gap by 31 percent and this mostly comes from higher returns to experience among men. 73 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above. 74 In order to calculate wage gender gap, we have selected a subsample of workers with non-zero wage earnings. Wage is measured as monthly cash wage earnings in Moroccan dirhams without premium and payment in-kind. The results remain qualitatively the same if cash premiums are taken into account. 60 The gender wage gap adjusted for selectivity bias- meaning taking into account the fact that only some women work in wage employment- is much higher, reaching 77. If we control for potential selection bias in female wage employment using the probit model, results change dramatically. Gender wage gap increases from 23 percent to 77 percent with an absolute majority of it coming from unexplained part in particular the difference in the constant term. This indicates a presence of selection bias with women engaged in wage work being a non-random sample of the population. Correcting for this fact increases the gender wage gap substantially. Occupational segregation is the key observed factor explaining the wage gap and contributing to the unexplained part as well. As shown in Table 3.6, education tends to narrow both the explained and unexplained parts of the wage gap, but concentration of women in low paid sectors overweighs this effect and increases the explained part of gender gap. Evidence that women are working in low return sectors signals the existence of mobility barriers which prevent them from moving to higher return sectors. It is also important from a welfare perspective as such restricted employment opportunities could be an additional reason preventing women from participating in the labor force. Table 3.6 Results from Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of gender wage gap in 2007 75 Oaxaca-Blinder Oaxaca-Blinder adjusted for selection Male, average wage in dirham 1789 1789 Women, average wage in dirham 1458 1010 difference 1.23*** 1.77*** explained 0.94*** 0.93*** unexplained 1.31*** 1.90*** Explained part (endowments) Experience (age and age squared) 1.03*** 1.02*** education 0.94*** 0.94*** region 0.98*** 0.98*** Unexplained part Experience (age and age squared) 1.35* 0.94 education 0.98 1.00 region 0.99 1.00 constant 0.99 2.02*** N 6849 6849 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above. correction for selectivity is done following by Jann (2008). Probit model for female with non-zero wages was estimated to get the Mills ratio. Asterisks show level of significance: * at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. Exponentiated results 75 61 Box 3.2 Salary Gap: the facts and the perception Official data In 2007, the raw gender gap based on average earnings was 17 percent. Despite progress in the recent 2 decades (it was 56 percent in 1991 and 28 percent in 1999), gender wage gaps remain considerable 76. This gap differs widely, however, when looking across different locations and individual characteristics. For instance, HCP reports a gender gap on salaries of 27 percent in urban areas and 37 percent in rural areas. This is despite the fact that women seems to have a higher return to education than men (almost 7 percent in 2007 against 4.8 percent for men) and to have experienced better returns from professional experience (7.5 percent vs 6.6 percent for men, with a decrease in terms of salary after 28 years of work, which means close to retirement). The analysis from HCP reports that only 36 percent of this gender gap in retribution is explained by individual characteristics, while the biggest part (64 percent) is due to pure discrimination. This discrimination is higher in rural areas (92.6 percent vs 44.7 percent respectively) and within primary sectors (i.e. agriculture, about 105 percent vs 64 percent and 23 percent respectively in industry and services). While this gap seems to have slightly diminished in the past 16 years, it still remains wide and not justified if not from a pure gender discrimination effect. In addition, the portion of salary gap that is explained by different levels of schooling/education attainments and professional experience also hides the fact that women most likely face an unequal access to education, as shown in Chapter 1. Source: HCP Cahiers du Plan n.36 (2011) Perceptions Inequality of opportunity and gender-biased norms are behind wide gender gaps in wages and salaries. Men enjoy greater freedom of movement (both geographically and in terms of jobs) compared to their female counterparts. This has a direct impact on the salary gap between men and women, girls’ school completion rate (especially in the rural areas), and women’s capacity to access quality jobs. Salary gap between men and women is reported between 30 and 50 percent less than a man - depending on the sector - for the same job and the same qualifications. In agriculture, for example, for the same task women earn 50 percent less than men. In some cases, salary gap is harder to assess because men and women occupy different sectors/industries. A woman employed as a worker in a factory, in agriculture, or as a domestic helper earns on average 40-50 dirhams per day (between US$5 and US$6). Among the reason that justify such discrepancy informants quote: - Women’s lack of mobility and lack of better opportunities. Women cannot look for better jobs in bigger centers and access better opportunities; - Women cannot negotiate their salary; - Lack of legal protection, lack of formal contracts offered to women; - Double burden as the care responsibility within the family remains unchanged for women. - Constraints to women mobility at work: women cannot work after 5 pm. On the other side, women’s low salary makes is justified as follows: - Work for less money. Men can refuse a lower salary because their honor can be tarnished if they get paid like a woman. Moreover, they ‘deserve’ a better salary since they are the principle breadwinners and perform physical tasks that women cannot do 77 . - Women work more than men, endure fatigue and humiliation, and take breaks less often - Do not protest and accept all tasks with docility - Are more loyal and accountable for their jobs. Source: Focus Group Discussions and qualitative survey (WB 2014) 76 « Inégalités des salaires hommes-femmes 1991-2007 ». Cahiers du plan n.36 (2011), HCP 77 Les hommes préfèrent parfois rester chômeurs qu‘accepter des bas salaires et des conditions parfois déplaisantes de la part des patrons. 62 Limited access to credit hinders female entrepreneurship opportunities Gender biased access to formal credit limits self-employment opportunities through entrepreneurship. As shown in Chapter 4, in Morocco gender gaps remain prominent in terms of access to credit and formal savings, limiting the ability of women to start a private enterprise. In 2012 only 27 percent of women had an account at a formal financial institution (Findex 2012) while 43 percent of women have taken a loan (formal or informal) in the past year. Given the limited amount of credit available from formal institution, it is reasonable to think of microfinance as an alternative source of credit, particularly for micro-enterprises. In Morocco, approximately 46 percent (368,000) of total MFI clients are indeed women. Qualitative interviews carried out among women entrepreneurs has revealed gender-biased attitudes of loan officers towards female entrepreneurs, the request for high collateral and/or for a male guarantor (typically the husband or another male family member). Access to microfinance services is important for women economic empowerment. Microfinance78 is considered a successful example of gender-inclusive development. Globally 75 percent of more than 205 million customers served by MFIs are women, including 82 percent of the 137.5 million poorest clients (Microcredit Campaign Report 2012). Women are viewed as key beneficiaries for MFIs because they are often responsible for the well-being of the family, and thus seen as a conduit for conferring income and consumption smoothing benefits to the greatest number of people. Microfinance also supports females’ economic empowerment because it creates opportunities for business expansion and productive investment at the household level, bypassing many socio-economic barriers that prevent women from participating in the local economy. Qualitative and quantitative studies (e.g. Women’s World Banking) have demonstrated the access to microfinance services empowers women through an increased likelihood to own assets (land, houses, etc.), greater control over household assets, and an ability to invest and grow in microbusinesses. An impact evaluation in Morocco (Duflo et al 2011) estimated the effect of Al Amana opening 60 new branches in sparsely populated rural areas on credit allocation, consumption, and business activity, among others. The main effect of improved access to credit was to expand the scale of existing self-employment activities of households, including both keeping livestock and agricultural activities. Impact evaluation revealed important limitations to female empowerment in rural areas in Morocco. Social norms still prevent low-income women from benefitting from alternative sources of finance. The studies found that only a small proportion of women borrow in rural areas. Out of those women who borrowed there was little change with regards to bargaining power in the household, decision-making, or mobility between villages. This impact evaluation highlights the significant economic and social challenges low-income women face even when financial services are extended to them. Financial literacy problems along with lack of financial and business planning, and cultural norms stigmatizing debt and interest credit have been identified as major barrier the use of microfinance (see Box 3.3). The impact evaluation and the qualitative study carried out recently by the World Bank bring important insight into these challenges and as a result helps policymakers structure more effective interventions. 78 Source: WB MSME project document “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project” (2013) 63 Box 3.3 Women and micro-finance in Morocco 79 Women entrepreneurs in Morocco tend to use micro-finance as the last resort. This entails a negative perception of this type of financial service: it is often perceived as too costly (the interest rates are too high); the conditions are too stringent and do not match with the uncertainty coming from their economic activity (which is often seasonal and subject to fluctuation). Some women report having recurred to micro-finance to pay utility bills, get a lump sum during inactivity or unemployment, more rarely to finance an investment. Most of women’s experiences appear to be mixed or negative in this field. Women who recurred to micro-finance by necessity reported the feeling of undertaking a risky activity, as they feared punishment and imprisonment for their inability to repay. Debt in traditional society appears as something as potentially ‘dishonorable’ as it publicly displays ‘a need’ for money. Further the inability to repay, despite the legal consequences, can tarnish the man’s honor as it publicly admits the husband’s inability to provide. Most commonly debt, and therefore microfinance liability operates through two different gender channels in Morocco: the woman – after consulting her husband – asks for a loan and normally repays it. However, if she is unable to pay back, implicitly her liability is transferred to the husband. When a husband is unemployed - as in many of the cases illustrated by the interviews - and the facto the woman is the only breadwinner, asking to take out a loan is an even more hazardous activity for a woman. Many women feared that their inability to repay could have even harsher consequences over their husbands. In one case the woman seemed uncomfortable with the idea of paying interest, which is in conflict with the tenets of the Shari’a and reported to cast more trust in Islamic finance. Very few women seemed to be financially literate and using credit in the framework of business/financial planning to grow their activity. On the contrary, most of the women – who reported having no savings, no assets at all - used credit along with consumption smoothing during hardship. As Rutherford (2000) has emphasized, the poor tend to use credit as a lump sum that operates as substitute for insurance, as well savings. Source: Morocco Qualitative Survey (2014) Regulations Women are predominantly occupied in jobs- such as micro businesses or domestic workers- that are not protected under the Labor Code. 80 The Government of Morocco faces the challenge of finding the 79 The information reported in Box 3.3 is based on a series of consultations carried out between Dec 2013 and March 2014 across the country through ethnological methods – including, but not exclusively, textual analysis or hermeneutics; phenomenology or ethnic knowledge analysis; linguistics; and post-structuralism. The consultations carried out by local consultants in Moroccan, have been transcribed and lately translated into French have used mixed qualitative data gathering methods such as focus groups discussions; in-depth and semi-structured interviews; and life history interviews. Key informants of the enquiries are salaried women (in two different age groups); micro- entrepreneurs without employees or self-employed; small (micro) entrepreneurs; community leaders; and men (both employed and unemployed). 80 A study (check- this is 2007)by the Ministry of Employment on the minimum wage found that a third of paid workers in formal employment earn wages of 90 to 110 percent of the minimum wage (“le SMIG”) A large proportion of those “Smigards” are women and part-time workers in sectors that rely heavily on labor and in small enterprises. Forty one percent of female wage workers earn the minimum wage, compared to 31 percent of men. The same study found that enterprises adjust to increases in the minimum wage by shedding workers, especially unskilled workers. Workers earning the minimum wage appear 4.7 times more likely to lose their job than better paid workers. The study noted that the greatest effects fall on the youngest (below 25 years old) and oldest (60 years and older) workers. The study does not explicitly state the impact on women, but given their proportion among minimum wage workers, and their concentration in low skilled jobs, women are disproportionately affected negatively by increases in the minimum wage. 64 right balance between worker protection and labor market flexibility. The task is even more complicated as the Labor Code applies only to a minor portion of the workforce. By definition, labor regulations in Morocco protect formal sector workers who constitutes only a minority of the workforce, and exclude the self-employed, domestic workers, family members working in a family business, workers in traditional artisan or handicraft sectors for businesses with less than five employees, and employers with the annual revenue of less than five times the amount excluded from income tax calculations. These occupations are almost a prerogative of women, as shown above. The key structural issues identified in labor regulations are related to the dismissive hiring and firing regulations, the fragmented and high contributions of social security, and the high payroll tax. Labor regulations and payroll taxes in Morocco do not promote a dynamic labor force and discourage formal employment, disproportionately affecting youth and women. More specifically, Morocco’s highly restrictive fixed-term contract laws and heavy firing regulation and costs constitute important obstacles to a firm seeking to adjust its working force to best cope with new demand, technologies, and economic shocks. With one of the highest minimum wages 81 in the world and relatively high payroll taxes, the cost of formal labor is inflated. As a result, businesses prefer to remain informal to minimize labor costs and rigidities, and this in turn negatively affects the quality of jobs available to young people and women. A fragmented social security system coupled with ineffective dismissal regulations and institutions also play an important role in explaining poor labor market outcomes. 82 The majority of workers- and the large majority of women- are lacking access to formal income protection and/or proper unemployment insurance schemes, which not only leave them vulnerable to unemployment risks, but also constrain their ability to move between jobs and/or engage in higher risk/higher return activities. This may affect labor productivity growth over the medium term. 81 With between 25 and 33 percent of labor costs, the tax wedge in Morocco is among the highest in the region. It reflects high payroll and income taxes, as well as high social security contributions. Evidence from the countries suggests that, in general, the tax wedge can have sizable effects on employment and unemployment rates, in particular, could lead to less hiring, lower labor force participation, fewer hours worked, and more informality. By the available data, a 10 percent reduction in the tax wedge (the difference between the cost of labor and take-home pay) could increase employment between 1 and 5 percent (Kugler & Kugler 2003). Estimates for OECD countries show that a 10 percent rise in the tax wedge reduces labor input by 1 to 4 percent of the working age population. (Nickell, 2003). 82 Current income protection policies, based on a large extent on the regulation of dismissal procedures and severance pay, are not effective for a large segment of the labor force and in fact constrain the management of those human resources who are covered. Some evidence suggests that firms are either by passing the regulations or moving to short-term contracts. 65 Box 3.4 Morocco Labor Code A comprehensive new labor law went into effect in Morocco in 2004 83 , offering greater protection for women in the labor market. The amended Labor Code raises the minimum employment age from 12 to 15; reduces the work week from 48 to 44 hours with overtime payable for additional hours; and raises the minimum wage by ten percent. All these features might benefit women. The Code also stipulates penalties for gender- based discrimination and requires equal pay for equal work. It contains gender-specific employer mandates, including:  Employer-paid maternity leave (14 weeks),  Flexibility to extend the maternity leave period if medically justified up to eight weeks before delivery and 14 weeks after,  Reduced workload for expectant mothers,  Allowance of breast feeding time in the workplace,  Childcare requirements based on the number of female employees,  Flexibility in resignation procedures for expectant mothers14 and possibility of requiring a longer rest period or an unpaid year-long leave,  Prohibition to end the employment contract of an expectant mother during pregnancy or during the 14 weeks after delivery15,  Restrictions on work hours that apply to female employees (In order for women to work at night, transport must be available from home to the workplace in case public transport is not available,)  Restrictions on types of job women can perform,  Mandatory rest day for women less than 20 years old. While this code provides greater protection for women and ensures minimum working conditions, it may constrain their opportunities, because it raises the costs for firms that hire women. Restrictions on women’s working hours and types of jobs make it more difficult for firms to add extra shifts. Mandatory leave and rest days as well as time allowances for breast-feeding and childcare requirements incur additional costs when financed by firms. Evidence from studies in East Asia shows that firms respond to these mandates by substituting men for women workers–which reduces women’s welfare by limiting their opportunities. In Taiwan, for example, a study found that restrictions on certain types of work and on work hours for women significantly reduced women’s employment and actual working hours. These measures in effect impede greater gender equality in the labor market. Other provisions in the new Labor Code that are not related to working conditions can similarly work against women:  Restrictions on shift work except in enterprises whose organizational structure requires it. Flexible or shift types of work might be more practical for women who need to combine paid work with other duties, so restricting their ability to do shift work may restrict their ability to work in the market at all.  Lack of flexibility in the list of standard absences (wedding, death, surgery). As a woman is responsible for the wellbeing of the family, her absences might differ from the ones accepted and exceed the number of days allowed. Again, if productivity and reliability are major factors used to evaluate an employee,  Employee delegates within an enterprise are chosen on the basis of their age (minimum 20 years old) and duration on the job (minimum one year). As women tend to have less regularity in a job for the reasons seen above, they are less likely to be eligible for delegate positions. Similarly, prerequisites to be part of the enterprise committee and trade unions do not take into account women’s different needs and do not favor the election of women. Source: WB Gender and Employment in Morocco (2007) 83 The new Labor Code which complies with ILO conventions and recommendations. Compared to several other MENA countries, relatively few employers in Morocco (16 percent) consider labor regulations as a major constraint to expanding their formal employment. The skills and education of the labor force are two times a more significant problem than employment regulations. In 2014, Morocco will be celebrating the10th anniversary of Labor code. Up to now, no changes or amendments are envisaged to address the key issues mentioned earlier; however, the government envisions evaluating the new labor code and draw key impacts of these regulations on labor market. 66 3.3 Policy recommendations The policy conclusions stemming from the analysis presented until now point to the crucial role of increased education (and quality of) to promote greater access to and better jobs for women, also through its role in changing social norms (see Chapter 2); however, education alone might not be enough: other policies are needed to break the barriers to women working in a wider range of occupations, in high productivity sectors with access to higher remunerations, and to actively participate in the economic and social life of the country. Below we provide some recommendations as to how to tackle such barriers and promote greater economic empowerment for women. Expand Economic opportunities Reforms are needed to create more “suitable” jobs for women and at the same time make women more “employable”. Policies are needed to reduce gender-based occupation segregation and remove barriers that prevent women from working in high productivity sectors. The very low rate of female labor force participation in Morocco reflects also a real lack of opportunities for women who want to work and is not simply the result of women preferences for family life. This is starkly reflected in the dramatically high unemployment rates for young women, in particular for those with high levels of education. These women want to work, but cannot find suitable employment. It is therefore essential to improve women’s access to economic opportunities by on one hand expanding the scale and type of job opportunities – for instance in some of the most productive sectors of the economy (such as ICT or financial) and on the other hand by breaking down the legal and social barriers that discourage employers from hiring female candidates, and discourage women who want to work from accepting available jobs. The growth of ‘female-friendly’ industries should be promoted in order to increase women’s employment, while at the same time expanding the range of industries “suitable” for women occupation. High value service sectors such as ICT have in particular demonstrated an ability to pull women into the workforce. In manufacturing, sectors such as garments and wearing apparels are particularly ‘female-friendly’. As the analysis has shown, exporting manufacturing firms provide the best potential to hire more women in better jobs. As recommended in the MENA WDR, best practice industrial policy, conditionality, sunset clauses, built in program reviews, monitoring and periodic evaluation might be in specific cases desirable. While it is important that sectors that employ mostly women grow at a sustained pace, it is even more important to move away from the notion that most sectors are inherently not suitable for the expansion of women’s employment. The simple fact that the vast majority of women in Morocco are working in low return sectors signals the existence of mobility barriers that prevent them from moving to higher return sectors. These barriers might be of legal or social nature and might be behind such a low rate of economic participation. Policies need to focus on underlying determinants of differential access to assets. Women entrepreneurs face significant difficulties relative to men. Foremost among these is access to credit, especially since personal laws limit women’s ownership of family assets (see Chapter 4). These differences are rooted in failures of markets and institutions and in their interactions with household responses. For example, accessing credit often requires collateral, preferably land or immobile assets. Women are thus at a disadvantage because they have lower or less secure access to land and are disproportionately employed in the service sector where capitalization is lower and output is often intangible. These forces may be further reinforced by gender- based preferences in the households that can lead to unequal resource allocations (of land, for example) to male and female members. Policies need to focus on these underlying determinants of differential access—leveling the institutional playing field by strengthening women’s ownership rights, correcting biases in service delivery institutions, and improving the functioning of credit markets. 67 Employment policies It is essential for policy makers to pay more attention to the negative bias women experience in terms of labor mobility. Employment policies need to be more inclusive and target explicitly women in marginalized groups. In addition, policies designed to increase female labor participation should focus more on how to retain jobs in addition to finding jobs. Perhaps surprisingly, women are as mobile as men. While stock measures such as the FLFP look ‘stable’ for both genders and very grim for women, the actual share of women who move across labor statuses is high and comparable to that of men. Women want to participate and do participate in great numbers. In any point in time the share of women participating is low but the share of women who participate during the year is large. Therefore, many of the women that do participate are unable to hold on to their jobs. The specific patterns of transitions experienced by women, specifically women living in rural areas, suggest that the role of “secondary worker” that women hold in the household is stressed in time of crisis, where women employment seem to replace men’s. When the economy is weak, rural men working in urban areas seem to go back to rural areas and, by doing so, push women out of the fields and back to inactivity. Conversely, when the economy performs well, rural men take up jobs in urban areas and they are replaced by women in the fields. These compensation mechanisms suggest that rural areas have an excess of labor force that, does not transit via unemployment. Job creation of non-farm jobs would seem one of the keys to address this issue, a process that may need specific investments and labor market policies and programs. Box 3.5 Regulations can play an important role in supporting women economic participation Reforms of the Labor codes should be designed taking into account obstacles for women economic participation. The Labor Code reform has introduced greater protection for women in the labor market. The main recommendations going forward would be to introduce more flexibility in dismissal procedures, extending the benefits that come with fixed-term contracts, and modernizing minimum wage policy and aligning them with international standards. 84 All these potential reforms are likely to benefit women as they would tackle some of the most relevant obstacles that currently impede women economic participation. It is also advisable to introduce actions specifically designed to address the constraints faced by women. For instance in Turkey, during the 2007 reforms of the labor code, it was specifically addressed in the measure to reduce indirect labor costs the need to ease (and render them more cost effective and cost –sharing) regulations on in-site facility such as kindergarten. This would reduce the cost for employers to hire more women. Specific incentives to vulnerable groups were also targeted to support women such as subsidies for new youth and women hires (until April 2010) consisting of 100 percent of employers’ social security contributions (at the legal minimum wage) in the first year, with a 20 percentage points decline per year in the subsidy in the following four years. Gradually integrate, or at least harmonize, the various social insurance programs while expanding coverage would benefit women working as domestic workers or wage employees in the agricultural sector.85 The 84 In particular, a revised regulation should allow employers to dismiss workers for economic or technical reasons without requiring third-party authorization, while reinforcing controls and penalties for wrongful dismissals. This can be done if an adequate unemployment insurance program is implemented. The main condition regulating dismissal would be to provide adequate advance notice (for example, at least three months), a period during which the worker continues to receive his or her salary but is allowed to engage in job search activities. The Labor Code could also consider the introduction of a dismissal tax that is designed to internalize the social costs of making a worker redundant. In this case, employers would be asked to pay a given percentage of the salary of the employee who is made redundant. The revenues from this tax could be used to finance, in part, the unemployment insurance fund. The tax, however, should be small in order not to discourage the use of open-ended contracts. 85 A reform that goes in this direction has been recently implemented by the ANPME with the introduction of the status of “Auto-entrepreneur”, allowing MSMEs entrepreneurs to benefit from health coverage (including family 68 principle would be that all Moroccan residents, regardless of where they work, would have access to the same system under the same rules. Self-employed workers, domestic workers or wage employees in the agricultural sector, for instance, would also join the current system for private sector workers. Like them, they would benefit from the basic pension and be allowed to make additional contributions. Because it is difficult to observe their earnings—and for many, these earnings fluctuate seasonally—the system would give them more flexibility in terms of the level and frequency of their contributions. The contributions, for instance, do not have to be set up as a percentage of earnings; they can be made in absolute terms subject to a minimum floor (for example, 5 percent of the guaranteed minimum wage (salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti, SMIG). Mainstream gender sensitive actions in the National Employment plan aimed to enhance employment and promote decent conditions of work. The Labor Ministry, with the technical assistance of ILO, has engaged in the development of a National Strategy for Employment for which consultative committees that include all stakeholders have been established. In addition, the Ministry of Labor has unveiled its Strategic Action Plan 2012-2016 (Plan d’Action Stratégique 2012-2016), which will serve as the basis for the Strategy. The Plan served to identify priority areas in employment policy, to set objectives, expected results and a timeline for their completion, as well as to assign responsibilities and the required financial resources to achieve each objective 86 . The gender dimension should be taken into account in the design and expansion of Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) and in the valuation of the impact of training programs on employment outcomes. members); maternity leave; pension; and a specific and simplified fiscal policy (1 percent tax wage floor of the total income). 86 The objectives included in the Strategic Action Plan are to: (i) increase the reach and impact of ALMPs by evaluating existing ALMPs and by creating three additional programs: Moubadara, which encourages employment in non- governmental organizations; Taȃtir, which provides paid internships for the long-term unemployed; Istiȃab, which seeks to encourage the formalization of the informal sector; (ii) create an employment observatory as well as a labor market information system; and (iii) re-enforce the capacity of public and private labor market intermediation agencies; and (iv) establish an unemployment insurance scheme. To operationalize this Plan, ANAPEC unveiled its 2013 Action Plan (Plan d’Action 2013), which identifies specific actions to meet the objectives included in the Strategic Action Plan. 69 Chapter 4 Women and the Law in Morocco: Access to economic assets, voice and political participation 4.1 Women’s Legal Equality The strength of women’s agency is key to understanding the emergence of unequal development outcomes based on differing capacities of men and women to exercise choices related to economic, social and political life. Agency, as defined by the World Bank’s World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (WDR 2012) 87 and Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa 2013 (Opening Doors) 88 , refers to the ability of an individual or group to make choices and transform them into desired outcomes. The ability of women to influence their own lives by exercising agency matters in the context of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. Agency has a role in contributing to women’s human development and economic opportunities, and opening opportunities for greater participation in social and political life. Effective exercise of agency by women also improves their children’s welfare and shapes their future behavior. In this context, the following section will assess women’s agency in the pursuit of economic, social and political development. Obstacles to women exercising agency in Morocco are caused by a combination of uneven treatment in legislative and regulatory frameworks, with gaps further widened by restrictive social norms that affect women’s behavior. Practical boundaries on women’s agency are defined both formally by legal rights and informally through social norms. Legal rights are codified in legislative frameworks and enforced by formal institutions. Legal restrictions, often reflecting social norms, impact agency most prominently in Morocco in relation to family and personal life. Social norms, based on a combination of religious and non-religious factors, are enforced through a combination of self-enforcement by individuals, often backed by family pressures and informal institutions. Social norms in Morocco impact on all aspects of agency, including economic participation, roles in family life and the ability to participate in policy development and political life. They are often reinforced through biased delivery of services by public sector institutions, contravening applicable legal and administrative frameworks. When effective, justice sector institutions and services, such as courts, lawyers and special services targeted to women, can help women overcome discriminatory laws and restrictive social norms. Economic participation can increase women’s agency by providing them the financial resources necessary for enhanced decision-making. Gender equality is a core development objective in itself. As highlighted in the World Bank’s World Development Report ‘Gender Equality and Development’ (2012), development means there should be fewer gaps in well-being between men and women. The WDR 2012 also states that gender equality can enhance economic efficiency and improvement other development outcomes. The Millennium Development Goals embody the principles that women’s empowerment and gender equality are development objectives in their own right. Gender equality is also enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which more than one-hundred eighty countries are signatories, including Morocco. A key component of gender equality is legal equality, namely that women and men are provided the same rights, responsibilities and protections under law. Attitudes towards gender equality vary widely between women and men in Morocco. Women are considerably more supportive of the concept of gender equality as an essential part of democracy. 87 The WDR 2012 defines agency as ‘an individual’s (or group’s) ability to make effective choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes’ 88 Opening Doors defines agency as ‘the capacity and authority to act, and underpins an individual’s ability to shape her own life: freedom of choice, expression, and decision making’. 70 Women in Morocco have stronger attitudes in favor of gender equality than men - 60 percent for women versus 30 percent of men. Using the same grouping of comparison countries suggests a relatively considerable gap between attitudes of women versus men in Morocco on gender equality of rights, and highlights the attitudes of Moroccan men against gender equality of rights as a considerable outlier (). Figure 4.1 Gender equality in rights is an essential characteristic of democracy, percentage agreeing 80 70 60 50 40 Men 30 Women 20 10 0 Source: World Values Survey, 2011 4.1.1 Legislative Reforms The GoM has made strides over the last decade in closing equality gaps in law, particularly with reforms related to personal and family life. The Constitution, revised in 2011, provides for equality of Moroccan citizens and obligates public bodies to promote liberty and equality for male and female citizens and to foster participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. It also provides for equality in civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights realms contained in the Constitution and international conventions adopted by the GoM. The state is also obligated to work towards the realization of parity between men and women, and the Constitution provides for a governmental authority to work towards parity and address all forms of discrimination. The Family Code (Moudawanna) was revised in 2004 with the participation of civil society, and expanded the rights of women in areas such as guardianship, marriage and child custody, and access to divorce. Amendments to the Labor Code (2003) and the Law on Nationality (2008) have also benefitted women. The introduction of an informal quota in local elections raised the level of women’s representation in 2009. Morocco formally withdrew its reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2011, and adopted its Optional Protocol in 2012. The result of these changes is that de jure women do enjoy more freedom to travel, access employment, and negotiate marriage and divorce. 71 Table 4.1 Legislative reforms enhancing agency • granting equality to men and women in enjoying constitutional rights and rights enshrined in international treaties adopted • requiring public bodies to promote liberty and equality for male and female citizens and to foster participation in political, economic, social and cultural life • requiring state to work towards the realization of parity between men and women • designation of a governmental authority to work towards parity of citizens and to address all Constitution forms of discrimination • commitments to ban discrimination, including that based on sex, and to comply with all international conventions ratified (Preamble) • women no longer required to have male guardian • women can sign their own marriage contracts in place of a male guardian • provided women additional grounds to initiate divorce • equalized rights related to child custody • restrictions on polygamy, including consent of current wife • raised minimum age of marriage from to 18 (with exceptions) Family Code • strengthens women’s control of economic assets in marriage (Moudawana) Labor Code • increases benefits related to maternity [see also Box 3.4] • Women married to non-Moroccan men can pass nationality to children (with restrictions) • Children of Moroccan mothers and foreign fathers provided rights to education and health Nationality Law services reserved for citizens Criminal Code • Women now eligible for reduced sentence for assaulting husband if caught in adulterous act • Rapists can no longer escape prosecution by marrying victim 4.1.2 Continuing Legislative Inequality Despite reforms equality gaps between men and women remain in a number of laws, particularly in relation to family matters, which continue to weaken women’s agency. Despite recent legislative reforms, there are a number of areas where women do continue to face de jure discrimination, primarily in relation to family and personal life. These laws are influenced by social norms related to traditional views of family roles, and the perception that women are in need of protection both physical and in terms of reputation. These areas include rights to inheritance, the ability to marry non-Muslims the grounds for accessing divorce. Women, in general, are entitled to lessor shares of inheritance than male relatives. And they are restricted in passing citizenship to non-Muslim spouses and children. Grounds for seeking divorce are not completely equal for men and women. Pre-marital sex remains a criminal offense only for women. And at present there is no specific legislation providing protection against gender-based violence, including victims of domestic violence. 72 Table 4.2 Legislation weakening agency Family Code (Moudawana) • men can have multiple wives, women cannot have multiple husbands • husband can unilaterally repudiate wife for divorce, no similar divorce grounds for women unless agreed to by the spouses prior to marriage • inheritance rights differ between men and women • women and men can still be married under the age of 18 with consent of a judge • women can divorce men unilaterally only if they renounce rights to dower and alimony (khul) • women can pass nationality to children they have with non-Moroccan husband only if he is Muslim and they married in accordance with the Family Code Nationality Law • men can pass nationality to foreign wives, Moroccan women cannot pass nationality to foreign husbands Criminal Code • sex outside of marriage is a criminal offense only for women • in family matters, women’s testimony given only half the weight of men Labor Code • does not cover domestic and agricultural workers Decree No. 2-56-1019 (1957) • women prohibited from performing dangerous work and barred from some occupations 4.1.3 Social Norms and Legal Equality Social norms further restrict women from exercising the choices legally available to them. Social norms often restrict agency beyond the boundaries set by legislative frameworks, and can partly explain women’s low levels of economic and political participation. These norms are enforced by a combination of pressure from society and family, and through self-enforcement by women not wishing to face controversy by their actions. These norms partly explain low labor force and political participation by women, and disparities in control of economic assets. In Morocco, social attitudes towards the role of women vary considerably between men and women over certain topics. Data on attitudes towards gender equality and social norms remains mostly lacking in Morocco. One of the few sources of data available is the World Values Survey. Attitudes of men and women in Morocco vary considerably in relation to issues of economic and political participation, and access to higher-education. There are considerable gaps in attitudes as to whether men should have priority for scarce jobs, whether men make better business executives and political leaders, and whether university education is more important for males or females (Figure 4.2 - see also Chapter 1). 73 Figure 4.2 Social norms, men versus women 120 100 Pe rce nt 80 Men - Agree 60 Women - Agree 40 Men - Disagree 20 Women - Disagree 0 Men should Men make Men make University is Approve of have more better better more woman as right to scare business political important for single parent jobs executives leaders a boy Source - World Values Survey 2007 Attitudes prioritizing men for access to scarce jobs and perceptions that men make better business executives and politicians are not wholly inconsistent with attitudes outside of the MNA region. Comparing general attitudes in Morocco with a grouping of representatives from BRIC countries (Brazil and India), Muslim-majority countries (Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia) and lower middle income countries (Ukraine, Moldova and Guatemala) demonstrates that attitudes in Morocco related to aspects of women’s economic and political participation are not necessarily extreme. Figure 4.3 Men should have more rights than women to scarce jobs 120 100 80 60 Neither Disagree 40 Agree 20 0 Source: World Values Survey (2011) 74 Figure 4.4 Men make better business than women 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Strongly Disagree 50% Disagree 40% Agree 30% Strongly Agree 20% 10% 0% Turkey Indonesia Malaysia Ukraine Moldova Morocco Gaps in attitudes related to family matters are relatively smaller, suggesting restrictive social norms related to family roles are more established across gender lines. There is basically no gap in approval rates of women as single parents. Both men and women overwhelmingly disapprove – roughly 97 percent of each (Figure 4.5). Unlike attitudes towards areas of economic and political participation, in this case Morocco is a considerable outlier compared with other countries, with the exception of attitudes in Indonesia. Morocco is most unique in the sense that disapproval ratings are extremely high while special circumstances that would make single motherhood acceptable appear very limited. Figure 4.5 Gender equality in rights is an essential characteristic of democracy, percentage agreeing 80 70 60 50 40 Men 30 Women 20 10 0 Source: World Values Survey, 2011 75 4.1.4 Women’s agency, legal equality and social norms Agency and legal equality can be assessed through the lens of control of economic assets, family roles and personal life, and political participation. The relevant factors for assessing agency are contained in Table 4.3, below. Table 4.3 Components of Agency Relevant Factors employment income, land, inheritance, dowries, pensions, social security, alimony, Control of Economic Assets family allowances, household finances role as wife, marriage of minors, access to divorce, child custody rights, violence against women, control of family books, nationality, ease of mobility, work outside of the home, Family Roles and Personal Life travel with children Political Participation elected and appointed office, election quotas, representation on boards of directors, professional associations, entrepreneurs 4.2 Control of Economic Assets Morocco’s legal framework governing accumulation and transfer of economic assets is disadvantageous to women, leading to gender gaps in control of assets as compared to men. Accumulation of economic assets by women is dependent not only on equality in basic property rights and labor force participation, but also on legal regimes governing marital assets and inheritance. Having adequate access to, and control over, economic assets can increase women’s agency and aid poor women in escaping poverty. There are no legal restrictions on the purchase, sale of ownership of land by women in Morocco, nor are there restrictions on accumulation of other types of economic assets. However, the low labor force participation of women negatively impacts women’s abilities to obtain financial assets. Social norms also play a role, restricting women’s participation in economic and financial activities. In such circumstances, the transfer of assets, and thus wealth, through marital property regimes and inheritance becomes more important to women’s economic development. While revisions to the legal framework related to marital property could potentially increase women’s control of marital assets, these reforms are poorly implemented in practice. And the inheritance regime currently awards female heirs lessor rights than comparable male heirs. 4.2.1 Access to Bank Accounts, Credit Cards and Loans Moroccan women control fewer banking-related assets than men, but perform comparably to women in other LMI countries. Men are considerably more likely to have an account at a formal financial institution and have access to a debit card, and more likely to have saved at a financial institution in the last 76 year and own a credit card. Women are more likely to save using a savings club. There is a considerable gap in how Moroccan women compare with women in other LMI countries versus the comparison of Moroccan men and men in other LMIs. While Moroccan women perform comparably compare with women from LMI countries, with the exception of saving at a financial institution, Moroccan men considerably outperform men from LMI countries Figure 4.6 and Figure 4.7. Figure 4.6 Use of bank accounts and bank cards Figure 4.7 Use of accounts at formal financial institutions 60 45 40 50 35 40 30 25 30 20 15 20 10 10 5 0 0 Account Account Account Account Account Account at Saved at Debit card Credit Card used for used to used to used to used to formal financial business receive receive send receive financial institution purposes government remittances remittances wages institution (last year) payments Morocco - Men Morocco - Women Morocco - Men Morocco - Women LMI - Women LMI - Men LMI - Women LMI - Men Source: Gender Equality Data and Statistics, The World Bank (2011) Moroccan women are considerably less likely than men to use accounts at formal institutions for business purposes or to receive wages. Men are considerably more likely to use accounts at formal institutions for business purposes and to receive wages. Use of accounts to receive wages is the largest gender gap in Morocco, likely at least due in part to women’s low labor force participation in the formal sector (Figure 4.7). Again, Moroccan women do compare favorably on these indicators to women in other LMI countries. There are smaller gaps between men and women in accessing loans, with the largest gap related to loans used to purchase homes. In 2011, nearly 4 percent of women reported having taken a loan from a financial institution in the last year, while 5 percent of men reported the same, whereas 43 percent of women reported having taken any loan in the last year, versus 49 percent for men. 89 Women were only more likely than man to take a loan from a private lender – 2 percent of loans by women and 1 percent by men. There was rough parity between men and women related to outstanding loans for different matters including funerals or weddings, health and emergencies, home construction and payment of school feels. The only larger variation is related to loans for purchase of a home, reported by 3 percent of women versus 6 percent of men, which is likely due in part to social norms where men are viewed as head of household and legal obligations of men to provide financial maintenance to their families. Moroccan women compare favorably to women in other LMI countries in terms of having taken a loan in the last year (43 percent versus 35 percent, respectively), but less favorably in terms of loans from financial institutions (4 percent versus 7 percent, respectively). 89 World Bank Gender Statistics, http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/gender-statistics 77 4.2.2 Earning and Controlling Income Attitudes towards women controlling their own income are generally positive, especially if combined with contributions towards household expenses. Low female labor force participation in Morocco – at 24 percent - results in reduced independent income for women in general. Attitudes towards women controlling their own incomes are more positive than negative, especially when tied to contributions to household expenses (Figure 4.8). Figure 4.8 Attitudes towards women’s control of incomes 90 80 70 60 50 Male 40 Female 30 20 Urban 10 Rural 0 For, without For, subject to Against reservations contribution to household expenses Source: La Femme Marocaine sous le regard de son environnement social, Haut Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc - 2006 4.2.3 Access to Land The GoM produces no official data on women’s land ownership in Morocco, but anecdotal evidence suggests the level remains low, particularly in regards to agricultural land. Morocco has no single, comprehensive land law, and customary norms apply to governance of some types of land. There are no formal legal restrictions on women’s abilities to buy, sell or register land individually, and married couples can opt to register land jointly. However, the limited data available, much of which is anecdotal, suggests the level of land ownership by women remains low. For example, FAO estimates women control only around 4 percent of agricultural holdings, comparing unfavorably to other LMI countries Figure 4.9. As of 2005, agricultural land accounts for roughly two-thirds of the land area of Morocco. 90 There are several probable causes that, combined, prevent significant increases in levels of women’s control of land. 90 Property Rights and Resource Governance, USAID Country Profile, Morocco (USAID 2011), http://usaidlandtenure.net/sites/default/files/country-profiles/full- reports/USAID_Land_Tenure_Morocco_Profile.pdf 78 Figure 4.9 Percentage of agricultural holdings headed by women Lower Middle Income Countries 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Source: (FAO 1996-2007) Inheritance and marital property rules, combined with restrictive social norms, likely play a strong role in preventing women’s increased control of land. Socially it may be seen as less acceptable for women to purchase land in certain areas, primarily due to views of men as head-of-household and that unmarried women should not live alone. Under the Family Code, varying formulas for the division of land through inheritance often result in lessor shares for female versus equivalent male heirs, for example in the case of sons versus daughters. Inheritance of land is an important means of passing wealth, particularly in rural areas. No data available exists as to the extent women rely on inheritance as a means to acquire land. Studies in Latin America demonstrate that there women are much more likely than men to acquire land by inheritance. 91 The default property regime under marriage is separate property, meaning upon divorce each party takes from the marriage any land registered to them. If land purchased during marriage is registered only in the name of the husband, a divorced wife loses all rights. Though property can be registered jointly between spouses there is no data available to determine the extent to which this takes place. Customary norms governing land prevent some women from benefitting from inheritance or sales of land. About 42 percent of land in Morocco is held collectively by tribes and governed by customary norms, with the state as trustee of the collective land through Trusteeship Councils. 92 Civil society estimates that around 37 million acres of land are governed by customary norms (orf )93 . The extent to which rights to 91 Deer and Doss, Gender and the Distribution of Wealth in Developing Countries, Research Paper No. 2006/115, UNU-WIDER (2006). For example, respondents reporting acquisition of land by inheritance are as follows: Brazil – 54% of women, 22% of men; Chile – 84% of women, 65% of men; Honduras – 40% of women, 19% of men; Mexico – 81% of women, 45% of men; Nicaragua – 37% of women, 22% of men; and Peru – 75% of women, 49% of men. See also Deere et.al. ‘Property Rights and the Gender Distribution of Wealth in Ecuador, Ghana and India’, which found that for married couples in Ecuador, Ghana and Karnataka, India, inheritance is the most important means of acquisition of agricultural land owned by the couples. 92 Maroc - Marches fonciers pour la croissance économique au Maroc (Vol. 1 of 5) : Héritage et structures foncières au Maroc, Banque Mondiale (31 Mai 2008), http://www- wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2009/09/17/000020953_20090917145930/Rend ered/PDF/499700v10P11651age0foncier0Mai02008.pdf 93 ‘Moroccan Women Build Land Rights Movement’, GlobalPost (July 18, 2012). http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/morocco-women-land-rights 79 tribal lands are registered is unclear. Traditionally these lands were used collectively, but more recently have been distributed to men as heads-of-household and subsequently sold. When such land is sold, unmarried or widowed women (Soulaliyate) do not share in the proceeds of the sale, while at the same time losing access to the land, and in general men benefit from the proceeds. A series of ministerial guidelines issued by the Ministry of Interior, which has oversight of tribal lands, over the last several years have sought to protect women’s rights in relation to sale and inheritance of tribal lands. The most recent guideline, issued in 2012, grants women rights equal to men in terms of benefits from incomes and profits derived from such lands. 4.2.4 Social Security Benefits Family allowances, which benefit employees with spouses and children, are paid only to men through the social security system. Retirement ages for men and women are equal in both the private and public sectors. However, employees in the public sector are entitled to early retirement after twenty-one years of service for men and eighteen for women. Individuals contributing to the social security regime (CNSS) for a certain period of time are entitled to a family allowance for each of their children. While both men and women are insured with CNSS and pay contributions, these family allowances are paid exclusively to men. In case of divorce, the payments are made to the person with physical custody of the child. 4.2.5 Marital Property The default marital property regime of separate property is not beneficial to women given their low labor force participation and limited control of economic assets as compared to men. The default marital property regime in Morocco remains separate property, under which spouses remain the legal owners of any assets registered to them acquired during, or prior to, their marriage. In case of divorce, each party takes from the marriage any assets registered under their names. In case of death of a spouse, the property registered in his/her name passes through inheritance rules. A community property regime, whereby assets accumulated during a marriage are split more evenly between spouses, would likely be more beneficial to Moroccan women. 94 There are several policy objectives generally linked to community property regimes. One is to recognize the equal contribution of spouses in maintenance of the family, which is consistent with the amendment to the Family Code providing head-of-household status to both spouses. Another is to protect spouses working outside of the formal labor force, for example those who perform non-compensated tasks related to the household. This protection would be of considerable benefit to the roughly three-quarters of married women outside of the formal labor force in Morocco. Women can legally exert increased control over marital assets, but are not doing so in large numbers. Reforms introduced in 2004 allow couples to sign a contract, separate from the marriage contract, establishing the terms under which assets acquired during marriage are managed. One option is for married couples to establish a community property regime. However, in 2011 only 609 such contracts were concluded, representing only 0.002 of marriages registered that year and only 1520 contracts in 2013. It is unclear why this level remains at such a low level, but factors such as a lack of awareness, the lack of a model contract that could be used to assist couple entering marriage, and restrictive social norms likely play strong roles. 95 94 Full community property regimes generally include all assets acquired during, and prior to, marriage. Partial community property regimes may exclude assets obtained prior to marriage or through inheritance. 95 Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011). 80 Safeguards are in place to protect women’s marriage-related assets, but are not applicable in all situations. All the possessions a wife brings to the marriage, such as furnishings, remain hers. A dower is paid by the husband to the wife prior to marriage, or can be paid in installments with agreement of both spouses. The amount and conditions of the dower are set in the marriage contract and are based on the means of the husband, though the Family Code stresses the dower is symbolic and should be modest. The dower remains under the control of the wife, and she is under no obligation to use it to support the family. In case of unilateral repudiation initiated by a husband, the divorce cannot be finalized until all financial assets, including dowries, alimony and child support, are paid. However, this type of divorce is one of the least common, accounting for less than 1 percent of divorces in 2011, and protections do not extend to other more common types of divorce. Despite the legal equality of spouses as heads-of-household, married men remain legally responsible for the financial maintenance of their families, including alimony payments to their wives. Men remain legally responsible for the financial maintenance of their families, which likely shapes the social norms regarding attitudes in favor of men have preference in employment when jobs are scarce. Women are entitled to alimony (financial maintenance payments) from their husbands during marriage, with the terms set in the marriage contract. Wives are not required to pay alimony to husbands, even if they earn higher incomes or have access to greater economic assets. Alimony payments are based on the means of the husband and are obligatory regardless of the wealth of the wife. They should cover the costs associated with food, clothing, housing, and healthcare expenses for the family. A woman loses her right to alimony if she refuses to reside in the matrimonial home. Upon divorce, women are entitled to alimony only for the period of ‘iddah’, which lasts roughly four months. This is a relatively short period of time to receive assistance, especially for women who have no other considerable assets on which to rely. The inflexible timeline associated with iddah also does not allow for extended periods of alimony in consideration of the individual circumstances of vulnerable women, for example those in poverty, 4.3 Family and Personal Life Strong policy objectives related to women’s equality and access to justice guided reforms of the Family Code. In 2004, the Government of Morocco (GoM) introduced a new Family Code, known as the Moudawana. As noted in the preamble, the new Code was part of an effort to promote human rights as a component of the democratic social project initiated by King Mohammed VI. The elaborated policy initiatives behind the new Family Code included: providing justice to women, protecting the rights of children and preserving the dignity of men; adhering to the tolerant objectives of Islam, while reflecting the spirit of the modern era and requirements for progress and development; and recognition that equality before the law enshrined in the Constitution had allowed women to obtain more prominent positions and participate more actively in different areas of public life. The contents of the new Code were based on recommendations by a Royal Commission established for this purpose, and numerous consultations were held with civil society organizations, in particular women’s groups. In conducting its work the Royal Commission was guided by the principles of Sharia law; while also considering Islamic principles of tolerance, the use of ‘ijtihad’ (juridical reasoning) and Morocco’s commitment to internationally recognized human rights in capturing the ‘spirit of the modern era’. Laws covering family issues have a strong link with development. Family codes are important in the context of development because they cover issues impacting legal equality (rights to marriage and divorce, head-of-household status, management of marital property and guardianship of children), access to economic assets (inheritance, dowries, alimony and child support) and the protection of children (child custody). Increasing rights of women within the family, and improving means to exercise them, can also 81 have positive impacts on women’s agency. The reforms introduced through the new Family Code have considerably increased the rights of women within the family, and if implemented properly could enhance women’s broader economic, social and political participation. Reform of the Family Code in 2004 closed a number of gender gaps related to legal equality in family and personal life, but gaps persist and implementation of reforms remains mixed. The new Family Code, introduced after a period of public consultations, did allow for closing some of the gender gaps related to family life during marriage and upon divorce. 96 Two of the most important changes related to equality were that husbands and wives were provided ‘joint responsibility’ in family matters, making both de jure heads of household, and the requirement of women’s obedience to their husbands was dropped. Grounds for divorce and procedures for entering marriage were made more equal, but some gaps persist. For child custody, women have preference in physical custody of young children upon divorce, but men have precedence in legal custody, which involves making the major decisions about the child’s welfare, such as education and healthcare. New tools are available for women to prove paternity. In addition, a number of practices also continue to negatively impact women’s development, such as marriage of girls and violence against women and girls. Public attitudes towards the reform of the Family Code were more positive than negative. A 2006 survey demonstrated that a majority of Moroccans (68 percent of men and 62 percent of women) surveyed reported knowledge of the reforms, with awareness considerably higher in urban (72 percent) versus rural (55 percent) areas. 97 Of those reporting awareness, women were considerably more likely than men to view the reforms positively (62 percent of women versus 36 percent of men). There was little variation between general support in urban (48 percent) versus rural (51 percent) areas (Figure 4.10). Only 14 percent of men reported being against the reforms, with the largest group (37 percent) expressing mixed support. Support was particularly strong towards introducing new grounds for divorce (96 percent of women and 88 percent of men). Other attitudes towards women’s enhanced agency were also positive, with a majority of respondents agreeing that women had the right to control their own incomes. However, attitudes were considerably more negative in regards to eliminating the male guardianship over women, with 75 percent of men and 71 percent of women against it. 96 The Family Code applies to all Muslims, as well as Christian and Jewish women married to Muslim men. The Hebraic Moroccan Family Law applies to members of the Jewish community. 97 La Femme Marocaine sous le regard de son environnement social, Haut Commissariat au Plan (2006). 82 Figure 4.10 Attitudes towards reform of the Moudawanna 70 60 50 Men 40 Women 30 Urban 20 Rural 10 0 Positive Against Mixed reviews Source: La Femme Marocaine sous le regard de son environnement social, Haut Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc - 2006 4.3.1 Marriage Women can enter marriage on the same grounds as men, but in the vast majority of cases still have male guardians sign marriage contracts on their behalf. Women were given the right to marry without the consent of a male guardian, which had been necessary to conclude the marriage contract. Women can now sign their own contracts. Doing such could increase a woman’s bargaining power both before and during marriage, since the contracts regulate a number of important factors such as alimony, dowries, grounds for divorce and the rights of husbands to polygamy. However, women are not yet doing so in large numbers. The percentage of women signing their own marriage contracts was only around 20 percent in 2011, a level mostly unchanged since 2007. 98 There is no definitive data on the reasons why women are not signing marriage contracts, but there are a number of likely factors: lack of awareness; restrictive social norms; viewing the signature of male relatives as a ‘ceremonial’ aspect of the wedding; and judicial bias through the insistence of judges to have male guardians sign the contracts. There are also some remaining equality gaps. Muslim Moroccan women can marry only other Muslims, while Muslim Moroccan men can marry non-Muslim women, namely Christians and Jews. Polygamy remains a right for men, but has been more tightly regulated resulting in only a small percentage of polygamous marriages. In 2010 less than 1 percent of new marriages involved polygamy. 98 Femme Marocaine en Chiffres, Tendances d’évolution des caractéristiques démographiques et socioprofessionelles, Journée Nationale de la Femme, Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc (2012); and Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011). 83 Women do appear to exercise increased agency in deciding who to marry. Data from a 2009 official household survey suggest women do enjoy today wider discretion in decisions about who to marry. The percentage of married women reporting being forced by family to accept their first marriage proposal is low, at roughly 9 percent, with a rural/urban gap of 3 percent (11 percent in rural versus 8 percent in urban areas). 99 Fathers are usually the ones to intervene - in 67 percent of those cases (70 percent in rural and 65 percent in urban areas) it was reported the woman’s father forced her to accept the marriage. Marriage without a women’s consent has some demonstrated negative effects. Such women were almost three times as likely to report domestic violence as those who had consented. For unmarried women who refused marriage proposals, in the majority of cases (62 percent) it was the woman that refused, with the woman’s family rejecting the proposal in the remainder of cases (38 percent). An interesting trend relates to the decreasing incidence of families rejecting a female family member’s decision to marry, suggesting women are able to exert greater decision-making related to entering marriage (Figure 4.11). Figure 4.11 Rejection of request for marriage by family members 80 70 60 50 Before the period of 12 Pe rce nt 40 months prior to the survey 30 During the 12 months prior to the survey 20 10 0 Urban Rural Combined Source: ENPVEF (2009) Marriage of female minors is increasing, despite raising the minimum age of marriage and requiring judicial checks on underage marriages. The revised Family Code raised the minimum age of marriage for girls from fifteen to eighteen, equalizing it with that for boys. However, an exception was reserved allowing both boys and girls to be married under the age of eighteen with the consent of judge. If the aim of this reform was to decrease the number of underage marriages, it is failing. The number of marriages involving parties under the age of eighteen has been increasing - from 38,331 in 2007 to 44,134 in 2010. 100 Underage marriages accounted for 11 percent of marriages in 2010 and 12 percent in 2011. 101 Judicial consent does not appear to be an adequate screen for the legitimacy of marriage of minors, with 89 percent of requests approved in 2007 and 92 percent in 2010. And the burden of underage marriage falls almost exclusively on girls. In 2010, 99 percent of requests for certification of underage marriage made to courts involved girls, a percentage that has not changed since 2007. 102 Girls married as minors face certain risks. Data shows that marriages involving under-aged girls tend to result in higher rates of divorce and re- 99 ENPVEF, Haut Commissariat au Plan (2009). 100 La Femme Marocaine en Chiffres, Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc (2012). 101 Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011). 102 La Femme Marocaine en Chiffres, Tendances d’évolution des caractéristiques démographiques et socioprofessionelles, Journée Nationale de la Femme, Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc (2012). 84 marriage, with 62 percent of women in a second or greater marriage reporting their first marriage took place before age eighteen. 103 Reported incidences of domestic violence involving married women in Morocco are highest among younger women, particularly for those between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. Although girls under the age of eighteen were not included in the survey, the data suggests the younger the age of a woman at marriage the more likely she is to be subjected to domestic violence. 4.3.2 Divorce Reforms to the Family Code in 2004 significantly increased women’s access to divorce, but some gaps remain. The primary effect of the reforms to the Family Code on divorce was to provide women the ability to initiate divorce without having to show some type of cause by their husbands. Showing cause involves demonstrating harm by their husbands, such as lack of financial support, failure to abide by the marriage contract, abandonment, physical abuse or absence. Doing such requires complicated legal procedures, which could also prove costly. Apart from showing harm, a woman could obtain divorce (khul) only by renouncing her rights to financial assets related to marriage, such as dowries and alimony. For many women, especially the poor, these may be their only considerable economic assets. Women can now seek divorce by mutual consent, which requires consent of both parties, and irreconcilable differences, which can be initiated by either husband or wife as a form of unilateral divorce. Equalizing grounds for divorce is important since women are more likely to initiate divorce than men, with women initiating 56 percent of divorces in 2009 and 59 percent of divorces in 2010 and 2011. 104 The primary gap is that men can still unilaterally repudiate a wife. This is effectively done through repudiation of the wife in front of a judge. Women have the right to repudiation only if it is stipulated in the marriage contract, which requires the consent of the husband. Data suggests women are not exercising this option in large numbers – only 0.18 percent of divorces in 2011 were initiated by women based on grounds elaborated in their marriage contract. Divorce options more favorable to women are increasing in use while those less favorable are decreasing. Data suggests positive trends in divorce proceedings that are more favorable to women. The level of divorces based on renunciation of financial interests by women (khul), which had accounted for nearly one-third of divorces in 2007, is decreasing, while divorce based on mutual consent of the spouses accounted rose to 53 percent of divorces in 2011. This trend could have positive effects on women’s bargaining power during marriage and access to financial assets after divorce (Figure 4.12). In addition, only 0.27 percent of divorces in 2011 involved unilateral repudiation initiated by a husband. 105 103 ENPVEF, Haut Commissariat au Plan (2009). 104 Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011). 105 Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011). 85 Figure 4.12 Types of divorce 60 50 Pe rce ntage 40 2007 30 2010 20 2011 10 0 Without Compensation Mutual Consent (Khul) Source: Femme Marocaine en Chiffres, Tendances d’évolution des caractéristiques démographiques et socioprofessionelles, Journée Nationale de la Femme, Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Royaume du Maroc (2012); and Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011) 4.3.3 Child Custody and Child Support Women are favored in receiving physical custody of children, while men generally maintain legal custody. The default child custody regime is for children to be placed under the physical custody of their mothers until the age of fifteen, during which time the mother is responsible for their basic needs. Fathers, and other male relatives in their absence, remain the legal guardians of their minor children upon divorce. This obligates a father to continue financial maintenance through child support payments to the mother until the children are no longer considered minors, which is generally, aged eighteen for boys and for girls until they are married. Legal guardianship provides fathers the right to make all major decisions about the welfare of the children, such as issues related to education and healthcare, and results in women having to ask permission from ex-husbands to travel with children outside of Morocco. The reforms to the Family Code introduced some flexibility in the awarding of child custody rights by allowing judges to take into account the best interests of the child, but there is no available data to assess who often this standard is invoked. Divorced women are often dependent on child support payments, but face difficulty in enforcing court orders, placing them in a financially precarious situation. Having physical custody of children makes women dependent on child support payments to meet household needs. Given the low levels of women’s labor force participation and their limited control of economic assets, child support payments are particularly important. However, many women face considerable difficulties in enforcing judicial decisions awarding child support, and the safeguard mechanisms put into place to address such situations, such as the Family Solidarity Fund, do not yet provide adequate levels of services. 4.3.4 Family Books Women must take extra steps to obtain a Family Book, which is a document needed to conduct administrative tasks and access public services. A Family Book (livret de famille) is an administrative document used to demonstrate legal identity and civil status, such as marriage status, for individuals within a family. It is drafted upon marriage, and the original is issued in the name of the husband and given to him. A woman (wife, divorced woman or widow) must request a legalized copy, which must be done through an administrative process. Physical possession of the Family Book is needed to conduct many 86 routine administrative tasks, including: obtaining an identification card, passport or driver’s license; access to healthcare and legal aid services; proving identity to obtain employment; opening a bank account; claiming inheritance; registering a business; and enrolling a child in school. The policy of issuing Family Books automatically to husbands, while requiring women to access them through bureaucratic procedures, is inconsistent with the reforms to the Family Code in 2004 that mandate equality of husbands and wives within the household. It also burdens women with spending time and resources to navigate additional administrative procedures. 4.3.5 Maternity Leave Recent legislative changes have increased maternity leave benefits for mothers. Women are now provided fourteen weeks maternity leave with pay equivalent to two-thirds of their salary. Maternity leave can be extended by one year without payment if agreed between employer and employee. Maternity leave benefits are paid by the government. Women are also entitled to one hour of breaks per day for breastfeeding (see also Box 3.2). Men are also entitled to three days of paternity leave. 4.3.6 Violence against Women Morocco lacks a comprehensive legislative framework to address violence against women. There is no specific legislation covering domestic violence, though a number of drafts have been circulating in recent years and have been the subject of discussion with CSOs and the GoM. Instead domestic violence is addressed through general provisions in the Criminal Code related to assault, with the some harsher penalties applicable to assaults or battery involving family members such as spouses. Sexual assault and rape are both criminalized, but it is unclear whether they are applicable to acts committed by a husband against a wife. Sex with a minor is a crime even in the absence of violence (statutory rape). While physical abuse is grounds by which a woman can seek divorce, it is difficult to prove due to the requirement to produce two witnesses. Sexual harassment is considered a crime. As per amendment of the Criminal Code in January, 2014, a major loophole in the protection of women was closed, so that a rapist can no longer escape prosecution by marrying the victim. In these cases victims were sometimes pressured by social norms to agree to marriage to avoid harm to their reputations and those of their families. However, the lack of supportive services available for these victims pushes many towards marriage. The lack of an effective legal framework means women have limited protections and public officials lack tools to address violence. Without an adequate legal framework, there is limited basis to provide the tools for preventing, investigating and prosecuting violence, and ensuring effective protection of victims. It is also more difficult to provide services to special categories of victims, such as trafficked women and immigrants. And official links with the health and social services needed by victims remain unclear. Judges and law enforcement officials lack certain tools to address individual cases, such as protection orders for victims, administrative detention for alleged perpetrators and measures to ensure victims can remain in their homes without risk to further violence. While shelters exist for victims, they are relatively few, are operated by CSOs with limited government support, sometimes apply restrictive admissions requirements and are not clearly regulated by law. The GoM introduced a free hotline for victims of violence, but at present it is not in operation. Violence against women - including psychological, physical, and sexual acts and attacks against women’s individual liberties - is considerable. The Enquête nationale sur la prévalence de la violence à l’égard des femmes (ENPVEF) (2009) found substantial levels of violence against women aged eighteen to sixty-four. 106 Overall, 62 percent of women reported some form of violence against them in the twelve 106 Enquête nationale sur la prévalence de la violence à l’égard des femmes, Haut Commissariat au Plan (2009). 87 months preceding the survey, with urban women reporting higher incidence (68 percent) versus women in rural areas (56 percent). The most common types of violence reported include psychological (48 percent), violence in exercising rights under the Family Code (17 percent) and physical violence (15 percent). Attacks on the exercise of individual liberties were reported by nearly one-third of women. While social attitudes are generally negative towards domestic violence, there is a considerable gender gap in attitudes with only 55 percent of men versus 77 percent of women believing that violence against women is never justifiable. 107 Rates of reported violence against women are relatively high in Morocco compared to a number of countries in other regions. Figure 4.13 Reported incidence of physical and/or sexual violence, over lifetime 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Source: Violence against Women Prevalence Data: Surveys by Country World Health Organization, 2012 108 Women are most likely to experience violence connected to marriage and in public spaces, with psychological violence the most common type. Women were more likely to report psychological violence and violence in exercise of their individual liberties, in relation to marriage, with the violence perpetrated by their husband or their husband’s families. They were more likely to report incidents related to application of rights under the Family Code outside of the marital relationship, with the perpetrators of violence being their families and ex-husbands, while levels of physical violence were nearly identical (Figure 4.13). This suggests women are more constrained by violence related to exercise of individual liberties committed by their husbands and their families, while violent constraints against women in the application of the Family Code are more likely to take place outside of marriage. Women reported the highest incidence of violence in public spaces (33 percent), followed be educational and training facilities (24 percent), the workplace (16 percent) and within the family (14 percent). Psychological violence is the primary form of violence experienced by women across contexts: 10.3 percent intra-family; 25 percent in public space; 13 percent in the workplace; and 16 percent in educational and training facilities. 107 World Values Survey, 2007. 108 http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/vawprevalence_matrix_june2013.pdf 88 Figure 4.14 Reported rates of violence 109 45 40 35 Pe rce ntage 30 25 20 Marital 15 10 Extra-marital 5 0 Psychological Exercise of In application Physical individual of the Family liberties Code Source: ENPVEF (2009) Unemployed women are at higher risk of violence. In comparison to employed women, they are nearly one-and-a-half times as likely to report physical violence; twice as likely to report intra-family violence; and four times as likely to report violence in exercise of their individual liberties. Available data is not disaggregated by income/expenditure levels of victims, so it remains unclear whether poor women are more likely to suffer abuse, as is consistent with global trends. Incidents of violence against women vary by urban and rural locations, particularly in relation to violence in public spaces and work places. Women in urban areas were considerably more likely to report incidents of psychological, physical and sexual violence, as well as violence in application of the Family Code (Figure 4.14). In particular, urban women were twice as likely (19 percent versus 9 percent) to report physical violence in the twelve month period prior to the survey, and almost five times as likely to report physical violence in a public place (14 percent versus 3 percent). In terms of physical violence in the work place, employers are the most common aggressors in rural areas (40 percent versus 15 percent in urban areas) and clients in urban areas (64 percent versus 25 percent in rural areas). The gap in incidents between urban and rural settings grows wider in the context of location. Urban women reported considerably higher incidences of psychological and physical violence in public places, as well as psychological violence in the work place. Women in rural areas were more than twice as likely to report incidents of economic violence, suggesting more restrictive social norms related to women’s control of economic assets. 109 ‘Individual liberties’ include, for example, the freedom to choose friends, work or study, choose which clothes to wear, and to decide on methods of contraception. ‘Application of the Family Code’ involves violence in the exercise of rights provided in the the Family Code, and covers married or divorced women. ‘Marital’ refers to violence committed by a spouse or members of the spouse’s family. ‘Extra-marital’ refers to violence committed by a fiancé, ex-husband or intimate partner. 89 Figure 4.15 Rates of violence against women, by type and location 110 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Urban Rural Source: ENPVEF (2009) Women victims of violence are highly unlikely to report incidents to the competent authorities. Data suggests that relatively few women report incidents of violence to the competent authorities, such as the police and gendarmerie. Incidents occurring within the family and those involving sexual violence are particularly likely to go unreported (Figure 4.15). Women who took some action in relation to intra-family violence were most likely to be engaged in reconciliation (35 percent urban versus 45 percent rural). While reconciliation can be an effective means to resolve disputes in general, its use in domestic violence cases should be approached more cautiously given the risk of further violence to the victim with assurances that adequate safeguards are in place to ensure protection of victims throughout the reconciliation process. Figure 4.16 Filing of complaints for violence against women, urban versus rural 20 15 10 Urban Rural 5 0 In public place Intra-family Sexual Source: ENPVEF (2009) 110 Economic violence covers acts denying women’s rights to access and dispose of economic assets, such as wages, revenues from property ownership and bank accounts. 90 Attitudes towards tolerance of violence against wives is relatively high in Morocco. Figure 4.15 shows the percentage of people answering the question “how justifiable is for man to beat his wife”. Answers range from 1 –never justifiable- to 10 – always justifiable. The highest percentage of population who believe that wife beating is never justifiable is observed in Turkey and Jordan. However, if the whole range of answers is taken into account, Morocco shows the highest acceptance of violence towards wives, second only to Algeria. There are great differences in terms of responses by gender, with women in Morocco much less tolerant to violence than men: 73 percent of women believe violence is never justifiable compared to 53 percent among men (see also Table A1.4). Having less education and more children is significantly associated with higher tolerance of violence against wives. Figure 4.17 Attitude towards violence against wives in Morocco and selected comparators, 2011 circa 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 82% 75% 69% 30% 59% 63% 20% 41% 10% 0% Algeria Jordan Malaysia Morocco Tunisia Turkey Never justifiable 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Always justifiable Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation. Note: Do not know answer and no answer were removed from calculations 4.3.7 Nationality Moroccan women cannot pass nationality to non-Moroccan, while Moroccan men can. Foreign spouses of Moroccan men are automatically entitled to Moroccan citizenship. However, Moroccan women must initiate complicated administrative procedures to pass nationality to their foreign spouses, creating a unique burden on them versus Moroccan men married to non-Moroccan women. Without going through this process, foreign spouses of Moroccan women face obstacles related to residency in Morocco and access to employment and public services. 4.3.8 Freedom of Movement There are no legal restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, but social norms may play a part in limiting movements and married women need permission of their husbands to travel outside of Morocco with their children. Legally women can travel within Morocco and internationally without restrictions, such as permission of male relatives. They can also obtain passports without a male family member’s consent. However, married women cannot travel outside of the country with her children unless they have permission of the children’s father. Social norms do appear to play a role in restricting movements, particularly of rural women who are less likely to make regular movements outside of their domiciles (Figure 4.18 and Chapter 2). 91 Figure 4.18 Women’s movement outside of the home, urban versus rural 60 40 20 Urban 0 Rural Source: ENPVEF (2009) Excluding reasons related to employment or education, women are most likely to leave the household for reasons related to household-related needs (56 percent) and visits to family (34 percent). For these trips outside of the domicile, nearly 68 percent of women always ask permission from a family member, with a wide urban/rural split – 79 percent in rural versus 60 percent in urban areas (Figure 4.19). Figure 4.19 Women seeking permission to travel outside of the home, urban versus rural 90 80 70 Percentage 60 50 40 Urban 30 Rural 20 10 0 Always ask Sometimes ask Never ask permission permission permission Source: ENPVEF (2009) 4.3.9 Single mothers Women who have children outside of marriage, and their children, suffer from considerable legal discrimination. Sexual relations outside of marriage are a criminal offense for both men and women. However, the consequences of these actions more negatively impact women. Pregnancy outside of marriage is positive evidence against a woman of this crime and abortion is illegal, so a woman pregnant outside of marriage has no legal recourse. The Family Code recognizes paternity only through marriage, and an unmarried man cannot be forced to take a paternity test. The law is unclear as to whether an unwed mother can obtain a family book containing her children, leaving acquisition of one to considerable bureaucratic discretion. Even requesting one exposes a woman to being criminally charged with sexual relations outside of marriage. Unwed mothers are also excluded from receiving alimony or child support payments from the Family Solidarity Fund. Children born in such circumstances also face discrimination. Their fathers are not legally obligated to pay any financial assistance to them, and they cannot inherit assets from their fathers. Thus the mother is burdened with providing all financial support, which would be 92 particularly difficult for the poor and may even push mothers into poverty. These children also cannot take the last name of their fathers and must take the surname ‘Abd’ in the civil registry, which marks them as illegitimate children and exposes them to a lifetime of discrimination in accessing public services and employment, as well as in their personal lives. 4.4 Voice and Political Participation Despite steady but slow progress, women remain under-represented in the three branches of government. Morocco ranks 111th out of 136 countries on the Political Empowerment sub-index of the 2013 Global Gender Gap study of the World Economic Forum, and 129th in the overall rankings, comparing unfavorably to lower-middle income countries worldwide as well as with countries in the MNA region. Its overall score has risen only 0.4 percent since 2006. On the indicator measuring the percentage of women versus men in the legislature, senior officials and managers, Morocco is ranked 99th out of 111, with women accounting for only 13 percent of such positions. And on the male versus female ratio of ministerial posts, Morocco ranks 122nd out of 125, with women in only 3 percent of ministerial positions. Participation in elected bodies at the national and subnational levels has been increasing, due at least in part to quotas, but remains clustered in lower-level bodies. The GoM has used quotas to increase women’s participation in legislative bodies. The Elections Law provides a quota of sixty women for the House of Representatives, which is the lower house of parliament. This stems from a 2002 charter agreed with political parties to reserve thirty seats for women. Currently there are sixty-six women in the House of Representatives, accounting for 17 percent of members. There were only thirty-four women in 2007. An additional thirty seats are reserved for young men under the age of forty, but there are no similar measures for young women. In the House of Councilors, the upper house of parliament, women account for only 2 percent of members. While the representation is only slightly lower than global average for lower houses of parliament (22 percent), there is a considerable gap between Morocco and the global average for participation in upper houses (19 percent). 111 Morocco also compares rather poorly against other LMIs, particularly in terms of women’s participation in the upper house of parliament. In 2011, a law regulating elections at the sub-national level introduced a quota for women of one-third of seats in regional councils. At present, women account for only 12 percent of regional and local councilors. 112 The same law provides additional electoral constituencies reserved for women for elections to the lower district and communal councils. All political parties must have Parity Commissions, though these are not yet functional, and all internal decision making-bodies must include 30 percent women. Only one small political party is headed by a woman and only six of the thirty ministers in the Cabinet are female. 111 Source: International Parliamentary Union, at http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/world010913.htm 112 Women’s Political Participation in Moroccan Political Parties, National Democratic Institute. (November 2013) 93 Figure 4.20 Percentages of women parliamentarians, LMI country comparison 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Lower House Upper House Source: International Parliamentary Union (2014) Participation in the judicial branch of government and justice-related professions remains tilted towards men. In 2013, women accounted for 48 percent of the staff of the Ministry of Justice and Liberties (MdJL), and 22 percent of judges. 113 It is unclear if women are clustered in the lower levels of these bodies. Through the Charter for the Reform of the Judicial System (2013), the GoM has pledged to increase the number of women in senior judicial positions, particularly in terms of membership on the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, and open further professional positions, particularly that of adoul (notary), to women. Women are faring slightly better in the legal profession, accounting for 20 percent of lawyers and 33 percent of trainee lawyers. They account for only 8 percent of registered judicial experts. Women were permitted to work as murchidat (Islamic guides) since 2006, allowing them to perform the same functions as male imams with the exception of leading Friday prayers. 4.5 Promoting Access to Justice Justice sector services play an important role in challenging legal inequality and overcoming obstacles linked to social norms. Justice sector institutions and the services they provide are tools for women to challenge constraining social norms and discriminatory legal frameworks. These challenges can be channeled through courts, administrative bodies and complaint mechanisms linked to delivery of public services. Both women and men are burdened by inadequacies in the justice sector in Morocco, which include lengthy proceedings, complicated procedures and corruption. The poor are further burdened by limited resources to access services provided by courts and lawyers, and there is no functional legal aid system to assist them. Moroccan women continue to face considerable obstacles in accessing justice . Women’s access is constrained as compared to men by relatively less control of economic assets needed to navigate justice sector services, and restrictive social norms that discourage them from filing cases and complaints. When they do access services, women remain subjected to the discriminatory legislation that remains in force. Poor women’s access is most constrained, facing the obstacles related to both poverty and gender. New rights and services that conflict with established social norms, such as those in the revised Family Code may prove difficult to implement. A 2009 survey demonstrated that 25 percent of women reported violence 113 Rapport sur Le Budget Genre, Loi de Finances pour l’Année Budgétaire 2014, Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances. 94 outside of marriage by their families in attempting to exercise their rights under the Family Code, while another 17 percent reported violence by their husbands or husband’s families. 114 Overall, 19 percent of urban and 15 percent of rural women reported being subjected to violence trying to exercise these rights. Public sector services linked to women’s access to justice remain ineffective and inadequate. In general, data involving court cases is not regularly gender disaggregated, so the needs of women versus men in the court system are not readily identifiable. This undermines the ability to effectively target services aimed at closing gender gaps. It also prevents effective monitoring and evaluation of service delivery and measuring the wider impact of reforms. What limited data is available suggests services are inadequate. The ENPVEF, conducted in 2009, found that over one-half of women entitled to alimony were not receiving it regularly, with about one-quarter not receiving any payments at all. Non-payment of alimony has a particularly negative effect on poor women. 115 Almost one-third of these female respondents reported no other sources of income and around 18 percent had no paid employment, making them financially dependent on alimony payments. The weak implementation of judicial decisions on alimony, which impact women as recipients of financial transfers, is demonstrated in MdJL statistics. In 2011, only 60 percent of requests for alimony received decisions, and where decisions were issued only 60 percent of them were enforced (Figure 4.21). In addition, over one-third of the women reported having to provide some financial resources to supplement unpaid child support from their former husbands, signifying considerable problems with enforcement of judicial decisions related to child support payments as well. Figure 4.21 Percentages of family law cases issued decisions and enforced (2011) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 Cases issued decision 20 Decision enforced 10 0 Source: Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Family Court Statistics (2011) The GoM has introduced a number of specialized justice sector services and institutions that could help promote access to justice for women. Introducing special services, such as legal aid and alimony funds, and simplifying procedures for services important to women can help address the gender gap in accessing justice. These can aid women in securing economic assets wrongfully denied them, such as social safety net benefits, assets related to marriage (alimony, child support, dowries) and employment-related benefits. Amendments to the Family Code in 2004 and related reforms established new justice services to benefit women and created new responsibilities for justice sector officials. In 2005, MdJL created a special office covering women, children and families, which is responsible for integrating gender in its work. A 114 Enquête nationale sur la prévalence de la violence à l’égard des femmes (ENPVEF), Haut Commissariat au Plan (2009). 115 Enquête nationale sur la prévalence de la violence à l’égard des femmes (ENPVEF), Haut Commissariat au Plan (2009). 95 new system of family courts was established to address family law matters, many of which are important for women, such as alimony, child support and custody, divorce and inheritance. The Family Solidarity Fund, which began work in 2010, provides alimony and child support payments to women who cannot enforce judicial decisions in their favor. This Fund was established to address the problem of weak enforcement of judicial decisions affecting women. To address violence against women, the MdJL established a series of multi-sectoral units to coordinate the functions of judges, lawyers, healthcare and social service providers, and CSOs. However, these services are achieving only limited impact. What limited data is available point to weak implementation of services developed to benefit women. For example, the Family Solidarity Fund, established to directly assist vulnerable women in obtaining unpaid alimony and child support payments, had only around 800 beneficiaries at the end of 2013, a relatively small number given the scope of the problem involving non-enforcement of judicial decisions related to these cases. The Fund has limited reach outside of major urban areas, and excludes from benefits a particularly vulnerable category of women, namely those who have had children outside of marriage, as well as divorced women who do not have custody of their children and widows. Due to lack of data it is unclear how effectively the newly established family court system is functioning. And the current legal aid system, which overall provides very few services to the poor, focuses on criminal law cases, with little resources dedicated to the types of cases most likely to impact women, such as family law and other civil disputes. Anecdotal evidence suggests the units attached to courts addressing violence against women are underutilized and providing few services relative to the scope of violence, instead focusing on administrative procedures as opposed to protection services. If implemented effectively the Charter for the Reform of the Judicial System could improve women’s access to justice. The Charter (Chartre de la Réforme du Système Judicaire) was adopted in July 2013 as a result of the National Dialogue on Reform of the Judicial System (La Haute Instance du Dialogue National sur la Réforme du Système Judicaire), a roughly year-long process of consultations with stakeholders on the development of reforms. Among its aims, it proposes improving women’s security by adopting a gender-sensitive approach to criminal law policy and strengthening protections for women victims of violence. It contains plans for improving services that impact women by simplifying procedures of the Family Solidarity Fund, which remain complicated and time-consuming. It also includes a plan to evaluate implementation of the Family Code and improving infrastructure in the family court system. The former could be beneficial in assessing the impacts of new rights and services, and allow for improvement of problematic services. Related activities aimed at enhancing free access to judicial sector information online and through publications, and provision of free legal aid services through units attached to courts, if implemented properly could benefit large numbers of women, especially the poor. 4.6 Policy Implications and Conclusions The comprehensive collection, analysis and dissemination of public sector data is necessary to measure gender gaps and assess impact of reforms initiated by the GoM. The lack of comprehensive data severely undermines abilities to evaluate the impact of innovate reforms and understand continuing gaps in equality and agency. The GoM could take advantage of current initiatives to assess reforms by improving capacity to produce date. For example, through the Charter for the Reform of the Judiciary proper data collection and analysis can accompany planned assessments of the reforms to the Family Code, and the performance of specialized Family Courts and the Family Solidarity Fund, both institutions that should be producing positive effects on women’s agency. Similar approaches could be developed to assess impact of reforms to legislation covering rights associated with employment, social security benefits and maternity. Data should also be compiled to assess the extent to which women are exercising new rights and identify obstacles to exercising these rights. 96 Legal and regulatory frameworks need to be made consistent with legal principles on gender equality enshrined in the Constitution and elsewhere. While commitments to gender equality have been made in high level legislation, such as the Constitution, disparities between the rights of men and women exist in other pieces of primary legislation. These cover important issues including: division of marital property; nationality; access to divorce; division of inheritance; guardianship of children; and access to family benefits associated with employment and pensions. Legislative and regulatory frameworks could also be reviewed to assess impact on particularly vulnerable categories of women, such as victims of gender-based violence, domestic workers and single mothers, and amended to address on gaps in protection. Legislative and regulatory reforms would increase women’s legal equality and protection of economic assets . Legislative and regulatory reforms can help improve gender equality and financial protection of vulnerable women, and in turn help increase women’s control of economic assets include: establishing a default community property regime for married couples; providing female employees equal access to family allowance payments through the social security regime (CNSS); extending requirements for provision of financial assets to women and children prior to finalization of divorce to all types of divorces: requiring joint registration of land as a default for married couples; extending eligibility for the Family Solidarity Fund to never-married women with children. Family Code provisions obligating men only to provide financial maintenance to families could be altered to align responsibility with the ability of each spouse to contribute. Additional protections could be introduced to reduce the frequency of marriage of female minors. The number of marriages involving minor girls has been increasing in number and accounts for roughly 12 percent of all marriages. The system of certification of underage marriages by a judge does not appear to be slowing the practice, with more than 92 percent of requests for underage marriage granted in 2010. New procedures should be put into place to ensure such marriages are in the best interest of the minor and that the minor provides clear consent. Legal and judicial procedures alone will not fully address the problem, but can aid in making approval of requests for underage marriage more of an exception than a norm. Social and economic factors linked with underage marriage need also to be addressed. Further equalizing rights related to marriage and divorce will aid in closing gender gaps. Women would benefit from the right to unilateral divorce on the same grounds as men, and not have to rely in its inclusion in the marriage contract when doing such requires consent of a fiancé. Rights to pass nationality to spouses could be equalized so that women are not forced to pass nationality to spouses though complicated bureaucratic procedures. Women could be provided family books (livret de famille) on the same grounds as men so that they can undertake administrative functions related to their families. And women and men should have equal rights in entering marriage with non-Muslim partners. Public sector services can be improved to support women’s access to economic assets. Since 2004 married couples have been allowed to sign contracts covering the management of marital assets, which could be beneficial to married women. However, very few couples have elected to do so. The GoM could develop a model contract containing arrangements for equitable management of marital assets, and launch information campaigns to increase awareness of this mechanism. Increased access to land can also be promoted. The GoM is advised to redesign land registration forms to promote and simplify joint registration of land for married couples and adopt procedures to ensure regulations covering benefits related to customary land are properly implemented to ensure equal treatment of women. Greater understanding of how social norms negatively impact women’s access to economic assets, and how such norms can be overcome, is needed. Capacity needs to be built to support implementation of public sector services targeted towards closing gender gaps and the institutions that deliver them. The GoM has introduced a number of innovate services that can positively impact gender and agency gaps. Capacity should be built to increase 97 the quality of key services, such as services for victims of domestic and sexual violence and expedited access to alimony and child support payments, in particularly through the Family Solidarity Fund. Service delivery improvements can be achieved through administrative simplification and ensuring availability of services in areas outside of major urban centers. Additional tools can be introduced, for example protection orders for women victims of domestic violence. Legal aid services –information, counseling and legal representation – need also to be developed consistent with discussion on the draft Legal Aid Law. Women are more dependent on such services due to a combination of limited financial resources and restrictive social norms. Violence against women is considerable and needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive manner. The current legal framework applicable to acts of violence against women contains numerous gaps. These include: non-criminalization of rape and sexual assault if committed by a spouse; lack of a provision in the Criminal Code applying specifically to domestic violence; and lack of special tools available to law enforcement and courts to protect victims, such as protection orders and removing alleged abusers from family homes. The ENPVEF provides valuable data suggesting categories of women at most risk to violence, such as unemployed women and those married at young ages, and identifying areas where violence is likely to take place, such as within the family home or in public spaces. It also suggests few women report acts of violence. Reconciliation mechanisms for victims of domestic violence need to ensure protection of victims as a priority over reconciliation with abusers. Additional tools could be introduced, such as civil and criminal protection orders against alleged abusers. The GoM is invited to consider additional tools to quotas to help increase women’s political participation. Official quotas have increased women’s participation in some elected bodies, but women remain under-represented in other parts of government. Quotas have been effective in raising women’s participation in the lower house of parliament and in elected bodies at the municipal level. Participation could be further increased by revising quotas at the local constituency level to allow greater parity between male and female candidates for election, or by providing incentives or disincentives to political parties, which receive public funding, to increase the number of women at the top of party lists 98 Chapter 5 Conclusions Much remains to be done to improve women’s access to economic opportunities and empowerment. Women’s empowerment, and in particular economic empowerment, is paramount to achieve an open and inclusive society and to accelerate growth. These twin goals can therefore benefits from any progress and achievement in reducing gender disparities. In this context, the status of woman agency is key to understanding the emergence of unequal development outcomes based on differing capacities of men and women to exercise choices related to economic, social and political life. The policy conclusions stemming from the analysis presented in this report are along two main priorities: (i) increase women’s economic opportunities, by removing constraints to their participation in the formal labor market and nurturing entrepreneurship. (ii) Closing gender gaps in voice and agency, by fostering women’s participation in politics and protecting their rights – at home, and in the wider society. Expand Economic opportunities Policies are needed to reduce gender-based occupation segregation and remove barriers that still prevent women from working in high productivity sectors or accessing “decent” jobs. Young and exporting firms – in the manufacturing sector alone- hire five times more women than non-exporting firms. The potential of services sectors is even greater. Women can contribute to firms’ growth if given the chance to work in the firms and occupy also high-skills positions (including as entrepreneurs). In turn, the growth in young and open industries can contribute to women progress on many other aspects 116 . The government is therefore invited to focus on reforms that support structural transformation of the economy, encourage private sector investment and stimulate growth to facilitate women shift away from agriculture and other low productivity sectors and occupations. To be more specific, to improve women’s access to economic opportunities is essential on one hand to expand the scale and type of job opportunities – for instance in some of the most productive sectors of the economy (such as ICT or financial services ) -and on the other hand to break down the legal and social barriers that simultaneously discourage employers from hiring female candidates, and women who want to work from accepting available jobs. The government can also act to remove all the barriers- such as limited access to finance and specific legal impediments- that are currently hindering women active participation in the economy. Making it easier for women to create and grow their own businesses will boost innovation, growth and employment in the country. This is an especially important for women given the challenges they face obtaining formal sector employment. Removing regulatory barriers and easing the access to credit for female entrepreneurs. Access to credit is a key obstacle to business startup and expansion. Anecdotal evidence from women business owners believe that they are more likely to be discriminated against merely on the basis of gender. Although bankers argue that their credit policies are gender neutral, Moroccan businesswomen claim that their male counterparts receive more favorable treatment, for example, lower collateral for the same loan amount and no requirement for a spousal guarantee, whereas a woman needs her husband’s guarantee. Morocco scores 3 out of 10 in the index of financial inclusion (where 10 is the highest level of inclusion) and women do seem to have less access to loan and credit in general and from formal institutions in particular. Improving access to credit for female entrepreneurs will increase women chances to work but also to create jobs for other female workers. Further reforms of the Labor code should be designed taking into account specific obstacles to women economic participation. A comprehensive new labor law went into effect in Morocco in 2004, offering 116 In East Asia, growth in the manufacturing sector—particularly in textile and food services industries—has increased women’s wage work and improved female and child health and education outcomes. 99 greater protection for women in the labor market. While this reform has much improved women’s working conditions, it may- in certain cases- constrain their opportunities by raising disproportionally the costs for firms that hire women. Restrictions on women’s working hours and types of jobs, for instance, make it more difficult for firms to add extra shifts. Mandatory leave and rest days as well as time allowances for breast-feeding and childcare requirements incur additional costs when financed by firms. Evidence from other countries shows that firms respond to these mandates by substituting men for women workers– with the effect of reducing women’s welfare by limiting their opportunities and de facto impeding greater gender equality in the labor market. Moreover, the Labor Code applies only to a minor portion of the workforce, the formal one, excluding many occupations that are almost a prerogative of women- and that are mostly informal- like domestic workers, family members working in a family business, workers in traditional artisan or handicraft sectors. Gender-sensitive policies are therefore needed to extend social protection to those in the informal sector, to mitigate their vulnerability. While movement toward formalization is the longer-term objective of a comprehensive jobs strategy (which include creating more formal jobs and regulating informal jobs), extending state protection (social and legal) to the informal workforce might be a short-term intervention to support an increase in productivity of informal enterprises and therefore a higher income for women in the informal workforce. Level the playing field through government actions across the lifecycle. Gender biases can start very early in life and design trajectories of inequality that become increasingly difficult and costly to resolve. This report shows how overlapping constraints for women in Morocco tend to heighten women’s experience of deprivation. After residence (urban/rural) and welfare status (being in different quintiles based on expenditure per capita), gender is the most important factors in explaining inequality in education related opportunities. Low education quality—resulting from poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and absentee teachers—contributes to poor educational outcomes, such as high repetition and drop-out rates and low achievement levels and, in turn contribute to the skills shortages and mismatches. While this is an issue common to both men and women, it becomes more prevalent for women give the high barriers they have to circumvent to move up to higher education levels. Given such gender-specific impediments to schooling, supply and/or demand side actions might be needed. On the supply side, it is important to increase the accessibility and suitability of schools for girls. Given girls’ greater mobility restrictions, it is essential to multiply efforts to build local schools, particularly in remote rural areas. On the demand side, cash transfers to poor families can help offset fees and hidden costs and counter normative pressures on girls’ early marriage and school drop-out. Strengthening the education system by focusing more on the quality of the curricula (in addition to enrollment ratios) is also key to encourage women economic participation. This would help also the shift in social norms for the future generations and promote gender equality. Closing gender gaps in voice and agency Agency has a role, often a strong one, in contributing to women’s human development and economic opportunities, and opening opportunities for greater participation in social and political life. The World Bank’s World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (WDR 2012) and its regional companion “Opening Doors” Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa region” (2013) defines agency as ‘an individual’s (or group’s) ability to make effective choices and to transform those choices into desired outcomes’, and highlighted the importance of agency in promoting development. If implemented effectively improvements to legislative frameworks, especially in relation to family law issues, can help narrow gender gaps in legal equality and exercise of agency. Reform of the Family Code in 2004 is arguably the most significant even in the last decade related to enhancing women’s agency. New rights, and services to access them, were introduced within the concepts of religious and cultural norms. Gender equality is enshrined in a number of key laws, including the Labor Code. However, legislation is often difficult to implement when provisions conflict with social norms, as continues to be the 100 case in Morocco in relation to legal equality, access to employment and the role of women within the family. Justice sector services can plan an important role in aiding women in overcoming legal and social obstacles to exercise rights and increase agency. New public sector entities were established to deliver services linked to the reforms. These include the Family Courts and the Family Solidarity Fund. The extent to which justice sector services are supporting women in the exercise of rights and furthering legal equality is nonetheless unclear. While both are operational, they each struggle with weak delivery of services in part caused by limited capacity. Their procedures are complicated and time-consuming, which are disincentives to potential beneficiaries. Legal aid services exist in law but are not effective or widely-available in practice, negatively impacting poor women in particular. These shortfalls in accessing justice sector services could be addressed through the Charter for the Reform of the Judicial System. Policies need to focus on underlying determinants of differential access to assets. Women face significant difficulties relative to men. Foremost among these is access to credit, especially since personal laws limit women’s ownership of family assets. These differences are rooted in failures of markets and institutions and in their interactions with household responses. For example, accessing credit often requires collateral, preferably land or immobile assets. Women are thus at a disadvantage because they have lower or less secure access to land and are disproportionately employed in the service sector where capitalization is lower and output is often intangible. These forces may be further reinforced by gender- based preferences in the households that can lead to unequal resource allocations (of land, for example) to male and female members. Policies need to focus on these underlying determinants of differential access—leveling the institutional playing field by strengthening women’s ownership rights, correcting biases in service delivery institutions, and improving the functioning of credit markets. Mainstreaming gender into policies Gender-disaggregated data are a powerful tool to design gender-sensitive policies. Survey instruments need to be designed and implemented with a gender perspective if they are to accurately reflect the different situations and needs of men and women. Over the years, Morocco has developed a solid statistical base with gender-disaggregated information on the labor market and other human development indicators and outcomes. However, access to this information needs to be broadened and the survey results widely disseminated, to allow various stakeholders to have informed discussions on the gender issues in the market. Further, there is a need to develop tools for gender-sensitive monitoring and impact evaluation of policies and programs. Mainstreaming gender into policy action is key to achieve gender equality and women empowerment. Morocco has not approached so far gender equality and women empowerment in a systematic way. While many policies, programs and initiatives that address various gender issues have been developed in the country, the efforts remain disintegrated and therefore not effective. This means that there is scope for a tremendous improvement in women conditions in the country. This time represents a window of opportunity, given the recent stepping up from the government in terms of reforms for women rights and to advance democracy in general. 101 ANNEXES 102 Annex 1 Education and health Moroccan women have achieved comparable results in several health indicators with respect to women in other countries with similar income levels or cultural background117 . Moreover, these achievements are the results of impressive progress over the past three or four decades. Fertility rates (both adult and adolescence) have been decreasing dramatically, at par with the continue increase of contraceptive prevalence, placing Morocco among the best performing countries in the group. Similar pattern is shown in the lifetime risk of maternal death. Morocco’s numbers started as the highest in the group of countries, but shows a consistent convergence for the most recent years. Extending information on women’s lifecycle, Morocco has also the lowest Incidence of Child Marriage 118 for the three countries in the MENA region for which information is available. However, stark differences remain between rural and urban areas. Figure A1.1 Morocco achievements in terms of women health indicators Source: WDI 117 The countries considered in such analysis included Algeria, Tunisia and Jordan, who were chosen since they belong to the same region as Morocco, thus, implying geographical and cultural proximity. Turkey and Malaysia were added given a similar socio-cultural background of developing secular Islamic countries, even if they are economically better off than Morocco. Finally, the country aggregates or “regions” included for the same reasons above described are the Arab World, the Low- Middle Income countries and he MENA Countries. 118 This variable reflects the proportion of women who married before the defined legal age of marriage, as defined by each country’s laws. 103 Significant shortcomings remain in terms of access to health and health indicators. Morocco has the lowest number midwives and nurses per every 1000 people, numbers of births attended by skilled health staff and percentage of pregnant women receiving prenatal car. This is also reflected in the high rates for the maternal mortality ratio. However, there has been a dramatic improvement over time in all indicators, and the lifetime risk of maternal death has declined consistently from very high level and it’s showing a clear convergence with comparator groups and countries. Table A1.1 Health indicators Morocco and comparable countries Morocco Algeria Jordan Tunisia Malaysia Turkey Lower MENA Arab middle World income Nurses and 0.89 1.95 4.05 3.28 3.28 2.40 1.51 2.23 2.29 midwives (per 1,000 people) Births attended 73.60 95.20 99.10 94.60 98.60 95.00 56.52 78.04 72.48 by skilled health staff (% of total) Pregnant women 77.10 89.40 98.80 96.00 90.70 95.00 75.79 65.12 receiving prenatal care (%) Maternal 130.00 117.40 19.10 69.00 30.00 28.50 mortality ratio (national estimate, per 100,000 live births) Lifetime risk of 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.12 0.08 0.05 0.82 0.24 0.81 maternal death (%) Progress has been made to bridge the gap between human capital formations by genders. There has been a remarkable increase in access to education, not just for women. This is the results of policies aimed to increase education, at least at primary level, and particularly targeted to rural areas but overall illiteracy rates and gender disparity in access to secondary education remain high. Both education quality and learning outcomes lag behind those of comparable countries. Adult and Female literacy rates not only are the lowest among comparable countries and regions, but also do not show any convergence with the rest of the countries. However, there’s a steep acceleration from 2009 to 2011: from 43.92 percent to 57.64 percent for female literacy rate, and from 56.08 percent to 67.08 percent for the total. 104 Table A1.2 Education indicators Morocco and comparable countries Morocco Algeria Jordan Tunisia Malaysia Turkey Lower MENA Arab middle World income Literacy rate, 57.64 63.92 93.93 71.09 90.75 90.31 62.18 69.90 66.57 adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) Literacy rate, 67.08 72.65 95.90 79.13 93.12 94.11 70.65 77.49 75.21 adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) Primary 97.75 100.00 91.91 91.36 97.61 102.21 89.96 88.07 81.63 completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) Primary 100.78 100.46 93.69 88.84 103.41 102.81 92.67 93.52 87.32 completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) Progression to 83.18 93.51 98.03 90.80 99.24 97.72 86.91 88.74 85.31 secondary school (%) Progression to 81.88 92.44 97.82 92.04 98.44 98.39 87.51 90.84 87.58 secondary school, female (%) Figure A1.2 Trends in Literacy rate for Adult and Females 105 Regarding the ratios of female to male in the different levels of education, although Morocco’s educational outcomes have consistently ranked lowest among the other comparable countries and regions, there’s a steeper trend in its series that suggest convergence in the future. However, is worth noting that even if the ratio gets smaller when advancing education levels, it also grew relatively more as well, going for the primary level from 53 percent to 95 percent, for the secondary level from 40 percent to 85 percent and the biggest change, from 20 percent to almost 90 percent for the tertiary level. Still, it doesn’t achieve the levels of Tunisia where there is 1.5 times more women enrolled in tertiary school than men. Table A1.3 Gender gap in enrollments Morocco and comparable countries Morocco Algeria Jordan Tunisia Malaysia Turkey Lower MENA Arab middle World income Ratio of female 95.20 94.43 98.45 97.76 93.90 99.03 96.70 92.72 91.83 to male primary enrollment (%) Ratio of female 85.65 103.98 103.51 104.86 97.10 91.80 92.05 94.31 92.91 to male secondary enrollment (%) Ratio of female 89.12 148.34 115.12 159.05 123.00 84.08 83.99 100.12 101.88 to male tertiary enrollment (%) Ratio of girls to 91.36 99.54 100.74 101.19 98.24 94.99 94.80 93.41 92.26 boys in primary and secondary education (%) 106 Figure A1.3 Trends in gender gaps in enrollments Morocco and comparable countries/groups 107 Subjective well-being Figure A1.4 Marginal effects and confidence intervals for gender dummy after probit model measuring likelihood of importance in life, 2011 0.2 0.15 male dummymarginal impact and bounds 0.1 0.05 0 -0.05 -0.1 religion is important *work is important ***leisure is important ***politics is important friends are important family is important male, marginal impact lower bound upper bount Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation. Note: Do not know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. Marginal effects from probit model. Dependent variable takes one if individual considers a category very or rather important in his life. * mean statistical significant difference at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. Controls include education, age, employment status, number of kids 108 Figure A1.5 Views on gender related statements across men and women by age groups in Morocco, 2011 a) Male % of agreement among men If jobs are scarce, men should have a priority 90 women earning more than women 80 causes a problem 70 having job for women best way to be independent 60 child suffers with working mother 50 men better political leaders than 40 women 30 university educaiton is more important for boy than girl 20 men bettter business executives than 10 women 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 being housewife is fullfiling as age group working for pay b) Female % of agreement among women If jobs are scarce, men should 90 have a priority women earning more than women 80 causes a problem 70 having job for women best way to be independent 60 child suffers with working mother 50 men better political leaders than 40 women 30 university educaiton is more important for boy than girl 20 men bettter business executives than women 10 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 being housewife is fullfiling as working for pay age group Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation. Note: Do not know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. Age group above 65 is not reported due to few observations. 109 Table A1.4 Marginal effects from probit regression, different specifications Dependent variable: 1 if beating wife is never justifiable VARIABLES 1 2 3 4 5 6 Male -0.188*** -0.187*** -0.187*** -0.197*** -0.201*** -0.199*** - - Age 0.00279** 0.00280** 0.000596 0.00164 0.00157 Married 0.000831 0.0524 0.0595 0.0599 - - - Number of kids 0.0391*** 0.0369*** 0.0370*** less than primary education -0.0900** -0.0789** Lower middle class -0.0485 Working class -0.0737 Lower class -0.0443 Observations 1,027 1,027 1,027 1,027 1,027 1,027 Source: WVS wave 6, author’s calculation. Note: Do not know answer and no answer were removed from calculations. ***Coefficients significant at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent. Results are qualitatively the same if ordered logit is used for original scale of answers. 110 Annex 2.1 Regression results for intra-household dynamics and women agency and participation Table A2.1 Logit Regressions results for agency in employment (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Age (completed years) 0.061 0.06 0.059 0.068 0.067 -1.94 -1.89 -1.86 (2.07)* (2.06)* Age Squared 0 0 0 0 0 -0.58 -0.52 -0.51 -0.73 -0.72 Married -2.277 -2.277 -2.271 -2.353 -2.357 (18.39)** (18.39)** (18.23)** (18.20)** (18.22)** Education Secondary and VET 1.199 1.203 1.204 1.172 1.185 (10.00)** (10.03)** (9.63)** (9.00)** (9.05)** Education Tertiary 1.986 2.003 2.002 1.747 1.77 (5.03)** (5.06)** (4.96)** (4.22)** (4.26)** House Hold Size -0.084 -0.073 -0.073 -0.07 -0.07 (4.14)** (3.46)** (3.37)** (3.10)** (3.12)** Number of 65+ in household -0.176 -0.192 -0.185 -0.183 -0.189 (2.03)* (2.20)* (2.06)* (1.97)* (2.02)* No children in the household 0.184 0.168 0.174 0.114 0.111 -1.68 -1.53 -1.57 -0.99 -0.96 Urban 1.152 1.158 1.165 0.973 0.983 (11.64)** (11.67)** (11.56)** (8.82)** (8.87)** T he household has at least one son -0.198 -0.203 -0.236 -0.235 -1.63 -1.66 -1.91 -1.9 Education of the HH Head Basic - Prep 0.326 0.297 0.295 -0.93 -0.81 -0.81 Education of the HH Head Higher 0.271 0.26 0.26 -0.76 -0.7 -0.7 Per capita consumption 0 0 0 -0.01 -0.44 -0.42 region==Souss - Massa - Dra -0.465 -0.461 (2.26)* (2.24)* region==Gharb - Chrarda - Béni Hssen -0.129 -0.139 -0.61 -0.66 region==Chaouia - Ouardigha -0.449 -0.46 (2.03)* (2.08)* region==Marrakech - Tensift - Al Haouz -0.772 -0.776 (3.58)** (3.60)** region==Oriental -0.484 -0.491 (2.06)* (2.09)* region==Grand Casablanca 0.855 0.842 (4.30)** (4.22)** region==Doukkala - Abda -0.065 -0.05 -0.27 -0.21 region==T adla - Azilal -0.314 -0.322 -1.34 -1.37 region==Meknès - Tafilalet -0.746 -0.744 (3.23)** (3.22)** region==Fès - Boulemane 0.187 0.18 -0.73 -0.71 region==T aza - Al Hoceima - T aounate -0.206 -0.211 -0.93 -0.95 region==T anger - T étouan 0.242 0.236 -0.94 -0.91 Is this individual the recipient of any social program? -0.207 -1.03 Constant -1.242 -1.127 -1.423 -1.204 -1.187 (2.62)** (2.35)* (2.37)* -1.92 -1.89 N Obs 3,023 3,023 3,023 3,023 3,023 Pseudo R-squared 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.29 0.29 Note: * p<0.05; ** p<0.01; per capita consumption is the total food and non-food expenditures without rent 111 Table A2.2 Logit regression results for agency in employment– restricted samples Younger Older Dependent var: Full Agency in All Urban Rural Married than 29 than 30 (1) (2) (3) (4) employment (5) (6) age (completed years) 0.067** 0.088** 0.082 0.083 0.272 -0.167 Age Squared 0 -0.001 0 -0.001 -0.006 0.002 M arried -2.353*** -2.597*** -2.097*** -2.274*** -2.441*** Education Secondary and VET 1.177*** 1.040*** 1.339*** 1.078*** 1.266*** 0.994*** Education Tertiary 1.754*** 2.012*** 0.012 2.190*** 1.714*** 1.974*** House Hold Size -0.070*** -0.05 -0.090** -0.013 -0.036 -0.101*** Number of 65+ in HH -0.192** -0.156 -0.315** -0.497*** -0.249** -0.14 No. children in the HH 0.11 0.261* -0.039 0.149 0.236 -0.098 The household has a son -0.235* -0.194 -0.347 -0.440** 0.009 -0.463** Age difference between Husband and Wife -0.011 Education of the HH Head Basic - Prep 0.143 -0.054 0.473 0.265 -0.194 0.376 Education of the HH Head Higher 0.102 -0.11 0.641 0.083 -0.15 0.227 Per Capita Total HH Expenditure 0 0 0 0 0 0 Urban 0.974*** 0.592*** 1.054*** 0.905*** region==Souss - M assa - Dra -0.462** 0.566** -1.763*** -0.22 -0.373 -0.563* region==Gharb - Chrarda - Bé~H -0.129 0.227 -1.359*** -0.457 0.182 -0.643* region==Chaouia - Ouardigha -0.448* -0.401 -1.131*** -0.268 -0.634* -0.235 region==M arrakech - Tensift ~l -0.772*** -0.029 -2.429*** -1.278*** -0.571** -1.087*** region==Oriental -0.490** -0.212 -1.543*** -0.967** -0.25 -0.927** region==Grand Casablanca 0.858*** 1.071*** 1.676** 0.731** 1.244*** 0.504* region==Doukkala - Abda -0.061 -0.016 -0.953*** -0.251 -0.427 0.129 region==Tadla - Azilal -0.316 -0.233 -1.077*** -0.248 -0.266 -0.44 region==M eknès - Tafilalet -0.744*** -0.368 -2.109*** -1.154*** -0.642** -0.949*** region==Fès - Boulemane 0.192 0.704** -1.975** -0.131 0.552* -0.205 region==Taza - Al Hoceima - ~u -0.203 0.756** -1.664*** -0.483 0.093 -0.614* region==Tanger - Tétouan 0.244 0.385 -0.595 0.174 0.423 -0.024 Constant -1.049* -0.417 -0.623 -3.233** -3.330* 4.225 N 3023 1763 1260 1432 1614 1409 bic 3121.43 1932.332 1243.118 1468.467 1695.849 1554.232 112 Table A2.3 Individual Panel Short-Term Models for Female Labor Force Participation (1) (2) (3) (4) Variables Urban, FE Urban, RE Rural, FE Rural, RE - gdp_real_index -0.0268** 0.00869*** -0.0342*** 0.00453** (0.0124) (0.00213) (0.00976) (0.00177) Age 0.820*** 0.560*** 0.469*** 0.315*** (0.0960) (0.00933) (0.0731) (0.00588) - - - - age squared 0.00834*** 0.00742*** 0.00182*** 0.00362*** (0.000892) (0.000118) (0.000591) (6.62e-05) M arried -1.499*** -5.696*** -1.882*** -2.784*** (0.423) (0.158) (0.371) (0.0901) ageXmarried 0.0229** 0.0551*** 0.0344*** 0.0619*** (0.0104) (0.00367) (0.00791) (0.00211) head of household 0.843 0.645*** 0.578 0.109** (0.722) (0.0628) (0.388) (0.0525) primary education 0.126 0.268*** 0.0440 -0.694*** (0.0907) (0.0480) (0.0942) (0.0586) secondary education -1.845*** -4.525*** -2.403*** -3.942*** (0.279) (0.121) (0.858) (0.327) ageXsecondary education 0.0541*** 0.154*** 0.0768** 0.116*** (0.00839) (0.00358) (0.0317) (0.0122) tertiary education 1.296*** 4.324*** 1.707** 3.252*** (0.166) (0.0855) (0.846) (0.343) vocational education 2.083*** 5.617*** 2.189*** 2.336*** (0.140) (0.0710) (0.510) (0.255) household head has general education -0.0585 -0.185*** 0.167 -0.576*** (0.0847) (0.0431) (0.117) (0.0631) spouse is active 0.723*** 1.132*** 0.428*** 1.157*** (0.127) (0.0861) (0.0569) (0.0380) household has children under six y.o. 0.124 -0.253*** 0.0918 0.209*** (0.113) (0.0432) (0.0840) (0.0310) household has children in age 7-17 out of school and work 0.355*** 0.680*** 0.0682 0.433*** (0.0819) (0.0529) (0.0463) (0.0277) household has more than 1/3 of other females inactive -1.106*** -0.505*** -1.506*** -1.880*** (0.0816) (0.0460) (0.0628) (0.0430) number of over 60 y.o. inactive -0.942*** -0.354*** -1.341*** -1.254*** (0.0735) (0.0315) (0.0443) (0.0271) Constant -10.74*** -6.919*** (0.308) (0.242) Observations 19,262 205,564 31,298 140,154 Number of indcode 9,631 102,782 15,649 70,077 Source LFSs 2007-2011. Conditional logit fixed effect: dependent variable: FLP (1: in the labor force; 0: otherwise). Standard errors in parentheses (*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1). 113 Annex 2.2 The Morocco Household and Youth Survey (MHYS) description The Morocco Household and Youth Survey (MHYS) is a nationally representative survey of 2,000 households, in which 1,216 households were located in urban areas and 784 households in the rural areas of Morocco. The data collected focused on demographic and educational characteristics, economic activities, migration, and social program participation. The MHYS collected data on household asset ownership (in order to construct a household wealth index and to sort households into welfare deciles). The MHYS also administered a short consumption module at the household level. The MHYS was implemented from December 2009 through March 2010. The MHYS also included a separate instrument administered to 2,883 young individuals between the ages of 15 and 29, and representing about 90 percent of the youth in the surveyed households. Information was collected on topics such as economic inclusion, community participation, and use of key public services. The survey was thus able to examine little-studied issues relating to youth such as participation in the labor force, intermediation, career choice, perceived job possibilities, use of time, use of recreational and educational activities targeting youth who have completed formal education. The MHYS is unique in its focus on youth as a special group. When considering that youth (aged 15 to 29) constitute roughly 30 percent of Morocco’s total population, the MHYS enable deep analysis on a large demographic group. The results derived from the MHYS can provide evidence for policymakers in creating programs that promote and increase the Moroccan youth economic and social inclusion. Sample Design The sample size for the Household Questionnaire was 2,000 households with 1,216 found in urban locations and 784 in rural locations. The 2,000 households were drawn from the 2004 General Census of Population and Housing. For determining the number of households in urban and rural locations, proportionality of the possible locations was used to ensure representativeness. The proportionality was based off the disaggregation of Morocco into primary units in which there are about 600 households. In the end, 125 primary units were randomly selected, with 76 rural primary units and 49 urban primary units. From these 125 primary units, 16 households were randomly selected giving us the total sample size of 2,000 households. For the Youth Questionnaire, the sample size was 2,883 individuals between the ages of 15 and 29. These 2,883 individuals came from the selected households in the Household Questionnaire. If an individual or individuals between the ages of 15 and 29 were living at the selected household, the Youth Questionnaire would be administrated. 114 Annex 3 Women in Employment Table A3.1 Employment (in thousands) – By Economic Sectors & Gender – Age >= 15 LP FEMALE MALE Economic Sectors 2011 2000 2011 Chg. 2000 2011 Chg. Above-Average Activities Public Utilities (Water and Electricity) 674 3 4 1 28 28 0 Communication 632 6 23 17 19 49 29 Finance, Insur., Real Estate, Bus Services 426 27 60 32 75 169 94 Mining 352 1 3 2 53 35 -18 Manufacturing – Food 149 30 40 11 84 113 29 Education and Health Services 139 140 195 55 216 194 -22 Government Services 114 87 84 -3 385 368 -17 Manufacturing – Chemicals / Refining 92 14 10 -4 75 88 13 Manufacturing – Mechanical / Electrical 91 11 31 20 110 176 66 Manufacturing – Other 78 21 14 -7 168 216 48 Transport and Storage 78 7 8 2 261 425 164 Manufacturing – Total 70 436 364 -71 644 862 218 Below-Average Activities Fisheries 47 1 1 0 84 70 -14 Hotels and Restaurants 44 23 52 29 129 210 81 Wholesale and Retail Trade 44 83 118 35 1,169 1,476 307 Manufacturing – Textiles 31 360 269 -92 207 269 63 Construction 30 4 7 3 544 1,066 523 Agriculture 26 1,422 1,692 270 2,549 2,415 -134 Other Services 14 153 156 3 294 374 80 Sum (Average) 60 2,392 2,765 372 6,449 7,740 1,292 Non-Employed Population Unemployed 350 315 -36 1,017 713 -304 Students 716 1,222 506 983 1,529 545 Housewives 5,703 6,967 1,264 0 0 0 Other Inactive 616 817 200 1,011 1,398 386 Total Population 9,779 12,085 2,306 9,464 11,386 1,922 115 Table A3.2 Employment Status – Urban, Tertiary Education All Sectors Female Male Amount Share Amount Share Occupation Senior Officials 3,233 (1.3) 39,626 (8.0) Professionals 56,313 (22.7) 107,893 (21.7) Tech. / Associate Prof. 99,542 (40.2) 124,910 (25.1) Clerks / Employees 69,372 (28.0) 108,124 (21.7) Service / Shop Workers 3,797 (1.5) 46,547 (9.4) Craft Workers 9,528 (3.8) 35,659 (7.2) Employment Status Salaried 228,843 (92.3) 378,384 (76.0) Independent 5,771 (2.3) 50,718 (10.2) Employer 10,767 (4.3) 41,978 (8.4) Family Helper 422 (0.2) 5,330 (1.1) Cooperative Member 1,377 (0.6) 17,889 (3.6) Regularity Permanent - Full Time 245,066 (98.9) 490,253 (98.4) Permanent - Part Time 1,840 (0.7) 2,665 (0.5) Occasional 435 (0.2) 1,607 (0.3) Seasonal 0 (0.0) 199 (0.0) Social Security Contributing to SS 190,852 (77.0) 355,918 (71.5) Outside of SS system 56,549 (22.8) 139,393 (28.0) Total 247,928 498,041 116 Table A3.3 Employment Status – Rural, Secondary Education Agriculture Textile Manufacturing Female Male Female Male Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Occupation Agriculture Owners 1,307 (2.8) 81,457 (23.6) Craft Workers 3,862 (88.1) 9,530 (65.0) Agriculture Workers 45,204 (97.2) 254,934 (73.9) Elementary Occupations 521 (11.9) 2,993 (20.4) Employment Status Salaried 1,323 (2.8) 53,848 (15.6) 2,527 (57.7) 10,700 (73.0) Independent 1,307 (2.8) 70,390 (20.4) 1,323 (30.2) 1,533 (10.5) Employer 0 (0.0) 3,314 (1.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Family Helper 43,881 (94.4) 209,506 (60.7) 533 (12.2) 0 (0.0) Regularity Permanent - Full Time 20,344 (43.7) 310,163 (89.9) 2,529 (57.7) 14,663 (100.0) Permanent - Part Time 24,572 (52.8) 11,638 (3.4) 1,854 (42.3) 0 (0.0) Occasional 1,351 (2.9) 17,138 (5.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Seasonal 244 (0.5) 6,162 (1.8) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) Social Security Contributing to SS 0 (0.0) 4,761 (1.4) 1,834 (41.8) 6,021 (41.1) Outside of SS system 46,511 (100.0) 340,340 (98.6) 2,549 (58.2) 8,642 (58.9) Total 46,511 345,101 4,383 14,663 Table A3.4 Occupations and Gender in Various Sectors – Rural, Secondary Ed. Female Male Percent Amount Share Amount Share Female Trade Clerks / Employees 1,370 (41.4) 7,056 (8.9) 16.3 Service Workers and Shop Sales Workers 1,063 (32.2) 42,081 (52.8) 2.5 Craft and Related Trades Workers 0 (0.0) 9,020 (11.3) 0.0 Elementary Occupations 873 (26.4) 20,224 (25.4) 4.1 Total 3,306 79,665 4.0 Education Technicians and Associate Professionals 1,443 (51.4) 3,700 (55.0) 28.1 Clerks / Employees 879 (31.3) 972 (14.4) 47.5 Craft and Related Trades Workers 484 (17.3) 0 (0.0) 100.0 Plant and Machine Operators / Assemblers 0 (0.0) 1,284 (19.1) 0.0 Total 2,806 6,732 29.4 117 Table A3.5 Occupations and Gender in Various Sectors – Rural, Tertiary Ed. Female Male Percent Amount Share Amount Share Female Education and Health Professionals 649 (12.5) 527 (5.9) Technicians and Associate Professionals 2,973 (57.3) 6,683 (74.6) 30.8 Clerks / Employees 630 (12.1) 902 (10.1) 41.1 Other 937 (18.1) 849 (9.5) 52.5 Total 5,189 8,961 36.7 Figure A3.1 Female employment share by sector we aring appar el;dres si ng an d d ye ing of fur radi o, tel evis ion and tel eco mmuni cati on equi pmen t food pr odu cts and bever ages textil es recycl in g tann ing and dres si ng o f leath er medi cal , preci sio n i ns trument s el ectr ical machi nery and apparatu s n.e .c. oth er n on-metal li c mine ral prod uct s pu bli shi ng, pr inti ng an d r eprod uction of recorde d med ia rub ber and plas tics pro ducts offi ce, account ing and comp uti ng machi nery furn itur e; manufacturi ng n.e .c. chemical s an d chemi cal p rodu cts moto r vehi cles , trail ers and semi -trail ers pap er an d p aper p rod uct s oth er tr ansp ort equi pment machin ery and eq uip ment n .e.c. tob acco prod ucts wo od and of p rodu cts o f wo od and co rk, coke, refi ned petro leum pro ducts and nu fabri cat ed met al p rodu cts , excep t machi bas ic metal s 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Female employment share, % 200 0-2006 199 5-1999 118 Salary gap Table A3.6 Individual characteristics of salaried workers, 2007 male female Age 36.1 34.3 Education Without level 0.00 0.00 Nursery school or institution of religious education 0.03 0.00 M'sid or Koranic 0.02 0.00 Without primary training 0.27 0.15 With primary vocational training 0.01 0.01 Without college training 0.17 0.13 College with vocational training 0.02 0.03 Without secondary vocational training 0.09 0.10 With secondary vocational education 0.03 0.06 Higher without training 0.07 0.12 With higher vocational training 0.03 0.06 Other 0.00 0.00 Cannot read and write 0.25 0.33 Residence Rural 0.34 0.17 Luxury 0.02 0.03 Modern 0.08 0.13 Old Medina 0.03 0.06 New Medina 0.38 0.45 Clandestine 0.14 0.15 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above received wages at some point in time during last 12 month. 119 Table A3.7 Marginal effects from Probit model explaining participation in wage employment among women, 2007 marginal effect at mean Age 0.0214*** Age squared -0.000275*** Married -0.133*** Number of kids (below 15) -0.0123*** Observations 13,760 Female with wages 1677 female without wages 12,083 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above received wages at some point in time during last 12 month. Asterisks show level of significance: * at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent Table A3.8 Results of OLS regression explaining logarithm of monthly wages across males and females, 2007 female male Age 0.0453*** 0.0616*** Age squared -0.000376*** -0.000581*** Without level -0.0774 -0.0775 Nursery school or institution of religious education 0.785** -0.0922** M'sid or Koranic -0.183 0.00844 Without primary training 0.157*** 0.123*** With primary vocational training 0.264** 0.0818 Without college training 0.425*** 0.209*** College with vocational training 0.472*** 0.242*** Without secondary vocational training 0.539*** 0.330*** With secondary vocational education 0.860*** 0.576*** Higher without training 1.000*** 0.827*** With higher vocational training 1.134*** 0.988*** Another level -0.451 0.347*** Cannot read and write omitted Rural 0.305*** 0.308*** Luxury 0.165*** 0.206*** Modern -0.0616 -0.0056 Old Medina 0.120** 0.132*** New Medina 0.103** 0.0749*** Clandestine omitted Constant 5.732*** 5.816*** Observations 1,669 5,180 R-squared 0.388 0.381 Source: National Survey of Living Standards 2007, author’s calculation. Note: sample includes population aged 15 and above received wages at some point in time during last 12 month. Asterisks show level of significance: * at 10 percent, ** at 5 percent and *** at 1 percent 120 Annex 4.1 Qualitative Survey A series of consultations carried out between Dec 2013 and March 2014 across the country to asses women’s perceptions on: (i) the main reasons of women’s exclusion from the labor market; (ii) Structural inequalities in the labor market and (iii) inequality of opportunities in the labor market (access to education and employment) The consultations carried out by local consultants in Arabic, have been transcribed and lately translated into French have used mixed qualitative data gathering methods such as focus groups discussions; in- depth and semi-structured interviews; and life history interviews. Key informants of the enquiries are salaried women (in two different age groups); micro-entrepreneurs without employees or self-employed; small entrepreneurs 119 ; community leaders; and men (both employed and unemployed). The qualitative survey covers three provinces of Morocco with the following profiles: (i) Province with “high” economic growth, low poverty rates and high level of women’s participation in economic activity; (ii) Province with low economic growth, high levels of poverty and low level of women’s participation in economic activity; (iii) Province with intermediate levels of economic growth, poverty and women's participation in economic activity. In each of the 3 provinces, 2 towns were selected to represent (an urban district and a rural district). The table below was used to select the provinces. 119 Informants classified by the consultants under this category in reality have a micro-entrepreneur profile. 121 GDP Men Women Poverty Poverty per activity activity Activity Act W/ rate rate Poverty N° Régions GDP Capita rate rate rate Act M Urban Rural rate 1 Régions du SUD 35438 35491 70,5 14,5 41,8 20,6 2,3 5 2,4 4 Souss Massa Draâ 61183 17528 69,4 35,3 50,8 50,9 4,1 18,3 12,5 5 El Gharb Chrarda Bni Hssen 33412 18721 80,2 37,2 58,3 46,4 10,7 19 15,6 6 Chaouia Ouardigha 70543 40750 80,7 35,3 58,4 43,7 5,2 9,5 7,6 7 Marrakech ensift Al Haouz 66457 20046 79 32,2 54,2 40,8 4,1 15,7 11,2 8 Oriental 39288 19617 77,6 12,3 44,7 15,9 7,4 14,5 10,1 9 Grand Casablanca 158842 40624 71,6 20,3 45,7 28,4 3,2 3,7 3,2 10 Rabat Salé Zemmour Zaër 96155 36732 66,3 23 44,1 34,7 3,6 11,4 5,1 11 Doukkala Abda 55331 26657 81,7 41,8 62,2 51,2 8,9 17,4 14,3 12 Tadla Azilal 21917 14531 74 27 48,1 36,5 6,2 11 9,3 13 Meknès Tafilalet 44191 19931 71,1 19,1 43,1 26,9 6,7 16,8 9,5 14 Fès Boulemane 32316 18532 71,2 21,7 45,7 30,5 9,1 16,8 12,5 15 Taza Al Hoceima Taounate 23391 12544 78,2 23 50,8 29,4 5,4 12,3 10,7 16 Tanger Tétouan 63122 21149 72,9 11,9 42,5 16,3 4,1 12,1 7,4 The selected regions are presented below: Poverty Poverty Poverty Régions Provinces Population Rate Rate Urban Rate Rural Khouribga 496 734 6,2 5,1 8,2 Beni Chaouia Ouardigha Slimane 197 704 8,1 7,2 8,6 Settat 951 613 8,2 4,7 10 Gharb Chrarda Bni Hssen Sidi Kacem 691 225 14,9 9,7 17,1 Kénitra 1 158 551 16 11,1 20,7 Taourirt 205 823 16,4 12,9 21,3 Jerrada 105 719 22,8 22,1 23,9 Figuigu 127 097 13,8 7,4 25,6 Oriental Berkane 269 824 8,7 5,5 13,2 Nador 726 520 9,5 7,1 11,8 Oujda Angad 473 922 5,4 4,5 11,2 Based on the 2007 poverty map, municipalities with similar levels of poverty than the province (in terms of ranking) and having a consistent population were selected (reported below) Poverty Province Type municipality Name Population Rate Khouribga Urban Bejaâd 40 512 4,40% Rural Oulad Abdoune 12 829 5,60% Sidi Kacem Urban Jorf El Melha 20 581 12,40% Rural Al Haouafate 17 119 15,40% Taourirt Urban M. Taourirt 79 664 13,10% Rural Ahl Oued Za 14 184 25,60% The Questionnaire administered are reported below in French (Annex 4.2) 122 Other data about gender norms, growth oriented women entrepreneurs, and start-up incubators have been gathered during a fieldwork mission financed by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (WEP), a WB project originated by infoDev and managed by MENA FPD. Data gathering methods include consultations with local organizations supporting Women Entrepreneurs (such as AFEM- Association Marocaine des Femmes Chefs d’Enterprise; ESPOD- Espace Point de Départ; MWM- The Association of Morocco Women Mentoring/Network, and Coalition OUM KELTOUM); the governmental agency for SMEs ANPME (Agence Nationale pour la Promotion de la Petite et Moyenne Enterprise); and in- depth interviews with women entrepreneurs. 123 Annex 4.2 Questionnaires for Focus Groups and structured interviews Questions:  Pouvez-vous me dire quand ce quartier/douar a vu le jour ? les circonstances de sa constitution ? l’évolution de l’effectif de sa population.  Comment considérez-vous le niveau de sécurité au niveau de votre communauté ? si des violences sont éventuelles, quelles catégories de la population sont le plus touchées ? Quel est l’impact sur les femmes et sur l’emploi des femmes ?  Pouvez-vous me dire quels sont les événements ou les facteurs les plus importants (ne pas dépasser 6) qui ont marqué ou affecté la vie de la communauté au cours des 10 dernières années ?  Indiquez si ces événements ou facteurs ont eu un impact positif ou négatif sur la communauté ? Combien de temps a duré ces impacts ? Quelles catégories de la population de la communauté qui ont été le plus affectées ? Quels impacts sur les femmes ? Quels impacts sur l’emploi des femmes ?  Pouvez-vous identifier parmi ces événements et/ou facteurs les deux principaux en relation avec l’évolution du statut de la femme dans la communauté et la participation des femmes à l’activité économique ? Pourquoi considérez-vous ces deux événements et/ou facteurs comme étant les plus principaux dans l’évolution de la communauté ?  Pouvez-vous me décrire au cours des 10 dernières années les sources des opportunités de subsistances de la population de la communauté et les opportunités d’emploi et particulièrement en direction des femmes de la communauté ? A la fin de l’entretien on mène un mini recensement des ménages de la communauté (1 heure) pour détecter les femmes salariées, indépendantes et entrepreneures. Des questionnaires seront remplis à travers ces informateurs pour constituer une base de données sur les femmes de la communauté selon leur statut professionnel. Le questionnaire ménage est donné ci-dessous. 124 Questionnaire Ménage Province : ………………………………. Commune : …………………………………………. Quartier/Douar : ……………… N° d’ordre du ménage : ………….…. Nom et Prénom de la personne de référence du ménage : …………………………………………………. N° Nom et Prénom Sexe Age Etat matrimonial Niveau Type d’activité Statut professionnel Profession Secteur d’Education d’activité 1= 1= Célibataire 1= Actif occupé 1= Salarié Masculin 1= Néant 2= Marié 2= Chômeur 2= Indépendant 2= (monogame) 2= Primaire Féminin 3= Inactif 3= Entrepreneur 3= Marié (polygame) 3= Collégial 4= Associé / 4= Veuf (ve) 4= Lycée Coopérant 5= Divorcé (e) 5= Supérieur 5= Aide familial 6= Apprenti 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 125 On rempli également une fiche sur les équipements et services de base disponibles au niveau de la communauté. Existence et en fonctionnement (oui / non) Raccordement au réseau de l’eau potable Raccordement au réseau d’électricité Téléphone Internet Téléboutique Cyber café Epicerie Marché / Souk Mosquée Bain (Hammam) Four collectif Association de développement local Association de microcrédit Distance en km (si moins d’un km on inscrit 000) Et la durée moyenne pour y accéder Route goudronnée Route non goudronnée Chef lieu de la commune Tribunal Poste de police / gendarmerie Bureau de Poste Dispensaire Hôpital provincial Pharmacie Maison d’accouchement Ecole Collège Lycée Centre de Formation Professionnelle Marché 126 Activité 2. Réunions de groupe : Femmes salariées Les focus group concernent 10 à 12 femmes du même profil en ce qui concerne l’âge (moins de 30 ans exact et les 30 ans et plus) pour séparer les jeunes des adultes. On ne fera pas de séparation pour les femmes salariées qui travaillent dans le secteur public ou privé, le secteur formel ou informel, l’emploi à plein temps ou à temps partiel. Deux focus group seront organisés, l’un pour les jeunes et l’autre pour les adultes. Le temps attendu à consacrer à chacune des réunions de groupe est 2 heures. Guide d’Entretien pour FG. A- Opportunités Economiques et Emploi au niveau de la communauté : accès de la femme  Quelles sont les opportunités économiques offertes dans votre communauté (quartier / douar) ? dans votre commune ou province ?  Ces opportunités contribuent-elles à créer de l’emploi pour la population de la communauté ?  Parmi ces opportunités offertes, quelles sont celles destinées en majorité aux hommes de la communauté, en majorité aux femmes de la communauté, aux hommes et aux femmes de la communauté dans presque les mêmes proportions ?  Peut-on considérer qu’il y a égalité entre les hommes et les femmes actives en matière d’accès au marché de travail ? pourquoi (quelles sont les principales raisons) ? B- Emploi salarial au sein de la communauté  Quelles sont les activités économiques qu’exercent les femmes salariées de la communauté et en contrepartie elles reçoivent des salaires ? (indiquez les métiers / professions, branche d’activité, secteurs public ou privé) (cadres, techniciennes / agents de maîtrise, ouvrières / employées) (emploi à plein temps ou à temps partiel)  Comment considérez-vous l’implication des femmes de la communauté dans l’emploi salarial, (ancien phénomène, relativement récent, très récent, …) ?  Comment jugez-vous l’existence, la persistance des représentations sexuées des métiers et des compétences ou leur inexistence ? Comment contribuent-elles à l’accès des femmes à l’activité économique en tant que salariée? C- Motivation et profil des femmes salariées  Quelles sont les motivations de femmes salariées, en général, pour exercer ces activités en tant que salariées ? (assurer une indépendance financière, se réaliser par l’exercice d’une activité professionnelle, avoir une vie sociale, disposer d’un complément de revenu à celui du mari ou des parents, s’investir dans des projets intéressant, …)  Comment considérez-vous les salaires perçus par les femmes salariées par rapport aux hommes ayant les mêmes qualifications ? (supérieurs, inférieurs, nettement inférieurs, …) (niveau d’instruction : néant, primaire, collégial, secondaire, supérieur) (formation professionnelle : initiation, qualification, technicienne, technicienne supérieure)  L’activité économique que vous exercez nécessite-elle des déplacements (au sein de la communauté, dans la province, hors province) ? quelles sont les contraintes et les problèmes engendrés par ces déplacements sur la vie familiale ? Quelles sont les solutions au sein du ménage pour surmonter les difficultés ? 127 D- Facteurs qui facilitent ou qui entravent l’accès des femmes à l’emploi salarial  Quelles étaient les facteurs facilitant l’accès des femmes de votre communauté à l’emploi salarial ? y a-t-il actuellement de nouveaux facteurs contribuant à l’accès facile des femmes à l’emploi salarial dans votre communauté ? Est-ce que certains des facteurs qui existaient auparavant ne contribuent plus à la facilitation de l’accès ? pourquoi ? comment ?  Quelles étaient les difficultés / contraintes de l’accès des femmes de la communauté à l’emploi salarial ? y a-t-il actuellement de nouvelles difficultés / contraintes ? Est-ce que certaines difficultés / contraintes ont été éliminées ? pourquoi ? comment ?  Quelles sont les freins auxquels vous êtes confrontés durant votre vie professionnelle ? (maternité, temps consacrés aux enfants, retour de la maternité, préjugés des hommes ou préjugés des femmes à l’égard des femmes, dominance des valeurs masculines, attention accordée à la carrière du conjoint, …). Les femmes sont-elles plus lésées que les hommes par rapport à ces freins ? E- Discrimination et qualité de vie sur le lieu de travail  Est-ce que vous étiez (vous ou d’autres femmes salariées de votre communauté) victimes de discrimination sur le lieu de travail pour raison d’être femme ? (si oui, est-ce une réalité ou juste un sentiment ? quelle est son ampleur ? quels types de discrimination ? (Inégalités de salaires à compétences égales, lenteur dans la promotion professionnelle, freins de la carrière après congé de maternité, mentalité des responsables des ressources humaines au niveau de l’entreprise, harcèlement sexuel, violence, …)). Les hommes sont-ils aussi victimes de discrimination ? Est-ce du même type ?  Comment considérez-vous la qualité de votre vie à travers l’emploi salarial exercé ? (avoir de bonnes relations avec les autres salariés et les patrons, absence de stress, niveau de la rémunération perçue, le lieu de travail, le climat social de l’entreprise, emploi formel, emploi à travers un contrat, sécurité sociale, la nature et intérêt des missions confiées, les perspectives d’évolution, le niveau de responsabilité, l’autonomie de décision et l’image et notoriété de l’entreprise, …). Est-ce similaire autant pour les femmes que pour les hommes ?  Comment jugez-vous la pression sur les femmes au travail salarial ? (Arrêt de travailler pour raisons de santé dues au stress au travail, cacher des projets de maternité à son employeur, dissimuler les difficultés personnelles à leur hiérarchie par peur d’être mise à l’écart, avoir un physique avantageux (charme, audace, réseautage), risque de chômage, …). Est-ce que les hommes souffrent du même type de pression au travail ?  Est-ce que les salariés de manière générale et les femmes salariées en particulier sont affiliés aux syndicats et à des réseaux sociaux pour soutenir leurs doléances ? comment ? sont-elles suffisamment impliquées et représentées ? Quels sont les freins à leur représentation et implication ? F- Activité économique des femmes et rôles sociaux  Quels sont vos statuts matrimoniaux (célibataires, fiancées, mariées, veuves, divorcées) ? Nombre d’enfants si concernés (filles et garçons) ?  Y a-t-il un lien entre le statut matrimonial des femmes et l’accès à un emploi salarié ?  Comment jugez-vous la répartition des rôles au sein du ménage (le couple et les enfants) ? la répartition du travail domestique y compris les soins à apporter aux enfants, aux adultes et aux personnes âgées est-elle équitable ? quel est l’impact sur la poursuite de l’activité salariale des femmes ? quel est l’impact sur la santé des femmes ? quel est l’impact sur le niveau de vie et le bien être du ménage ? 128 G- Décisions prises par rapport au salaire  Est-ce que vous disposez de comptes bancaires ou de livrets d’épargne ? Avez-vous de l’épargne à la banque ou à la poste ? Avez-vous demandé des prêts à la banque (pour quelles raisons) ?  Quelle est la part de salaire qu’affectent les femmes salariées directement au ménage et aux membres du ménage (enfants) ? quels postes budgétaires est le plus alimenté par les salaires (alimentation, éducation des enfants, soins aux enfants) ?  Quelle est la part de salaires utilisée pour le bien être des femmes salariées (habillement, loisir, divertissement, …) ?  Qui décide de l’utilisation du salaire de femmes au sein du ménage (elle-même, son mari, son père ou sa mère, ses enfants, …) ? qui gère effectivement ces salaires ? (gérer elles-mêmes une partie, gérer la totalité, aucun pouvoir pour la femme) H- Attitudes à l’égard de l’égalité entre les sexes  Quel est votre avis quant à la mise en place de mécanismes visant l’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes par rapport à l’emploi salarié ? (La procédure de recrutement, la fixation des salaires, les mécanismes de promotion, l’attribution des primes, l’accès à la formation continue, les actions en faveur de la qualification, l’accès à l’information, ….)  Quel est votre avis quant aux mécanismes spécifiques de discrimination positive en faveur des femmes ? (L’aménagement du temps de travail, l’aide à la garde des enfants et crèches d’entreprises, dispositif d’accompagnement de l’enfance, anticipation des départs en congé de maternité, …) I- Perspectives  Comment percevez-vous l’avenir en tant que salariées ? Quels sont vos souhaits ?  Est-ce que vous avez l’ambition de monter votre propre affaire ? Quelles sont les contraintes / difficultés ? (idée, prise de risque, formation, qualification, actifs physiques, financement, …) Activité 3. Réunions de groupe : Femmes indépendantes Les focus group concernent 10 à 12 femmes du même profil en ce qui concerne l’âge (moins de 30 ans exact et les 30 ans et plus) pour séparer les jeunes des adultes. On ne fera pas de séparation pour les femmes indépendantes qui disposent ou pas de local pour exercer leur activité économique, qu’elles l’exercent à plein temps ou à temps partiel. Deux focus group seront organisés, l’un pour les jeunes et l’autre pour les adultes. Le temps attendu à consacrer à chacune des réunions de groupe est 2 heures. Questions. Les questions sont catégorisées en 6 blocs. A- Opportunités Economiques et Emploi au niveau de la communauté : accès de la femme  Quelles sont les opportunités économiques offertes dans votre communauté (quartier / douar) ? dans votre commune ou province ?  Ces opportunités contribuent-elles à créer de l’emploi pour la population de la communauté ?  Parmi ces opportunités offertes, quelles sont celles destinées en majorité aux hommes de la communauté, en majorité aux femmes de la communauté, aux hommes et aux femmes de la communauté dans presque les mêmes proportions ? 129  Peut-on considérer qu’il y a égalité entre les hommes et les femmes actives en matière d’accès au marché de travail ? pourquoi (quelles sont les principales raisons) ? B- Motivation, Profil o Pourquoi et comment avez-vous démarré ce business? o Quel type de formation avez-vous reçu dans ce domaine? o Comment avez-vous appris ce métier? o Qui vous a introduit? o Que faisiez-vous avant? o A-t-il d’autres personnes dans la famille qui vous aident? Sont-elles rémunérées? Comment? o Est-ce que il vous arrive de vous déplacer pour le travail ? Pour combien de temps ? o Si oui, comment vous déplacez-vous ? o Etes-vous mariée ? Quel âge avez-vous ? Et votre mari ? De quoi s’occupe-t-il ? Avez-vous des enfants ? o Est-ce que ça lui arrive de se déplacer pour le travail ? Pour combien de temps ? Pour que type d’activité ? C- Quel est votre activité? o Pourquoi avez-vous décidé de rentrer dans ce type de business? Quels sont ses avantages? Et ses inconvénients? o Chez qui achetez-vous les matières premières? A qui vendez vos produits/services? (A quel prix?) Qui sont vos clients? Sont-ils fidèles? o Quelle est la meilleur période de l’année? Ou de la journée? o Quand vous ne travaillez pas ici, que faites-vous? o Avez-vous essayé d’agrandir votre business ? Comment? o Est-ce que vous pensez que vos enfants seraient intéressés à reprendre ce business ? Pourquoi ? o Est-ce que votre mari ou quelqu’un de la famille travaille avec vous ? De quoi il s’occupe exactement ? Par rapport à vous, est-ce que vous faites le même travail ou vous occupez de choses différentes ? o Utilisez-vous internet? D’autres technologies? o Si vous pouviez améliorer quelque chose dans votre business, que changeriez-vous ? De quoi avez-vous besoin pour améliorer votre produit/service ? D- Finances o Avez-vous un compte bancaire ? (Non, pourquoi ?) Avez-vous jamais demandé un prêt ? L’avez-vous obtenu ? Si non, quel est le motif du refus ? o Avez-vous de l’épargne ? A la banque ou à la poste ? Qui sont les titulaires ? Sinon, sur quelle forme ? Combien arrivez-vous à épargner en un an ? Le faites-vous régulièrement ? o Connaissez-vous des associations qui prêtent de l’argent aux femmes ? Connaissez-vous quelqu’un qui a emprunté de l’argent chez eux ? Etaient-ils contents de leur service ? o Avez-vous jamais emprunté de l’argent ? Chez qui ? Combien ? Pour quelle raison ? o Si oui, est-ce que vous pensez de le refaire dans le futur ? A quel propos ? 130 o Avez-vous des propriétés à votre nom, par exemple une maison, un terrain, ou un commerce ? Qui gère ces propriétés ? Comment les avez-vous obtenues ? Pensez-vous de les garder ou de le vendre ? Oui sinon, pensez-vous d’en acheter ? o Avez-vous des projets sur comment améliorer votre travail ? o De combien d’argent auriez-vous besoin ? Avez-vous essayé de le demander, soit à la banque soit en famille ? Si oui, comment s’est-il passé ? 131 E- Décisions en matière d’argent o Si vous voulez agrandir votre business, pensez-vous nécessaire de consulter votre mari, le reste de la famille ? o Si vous voulez-vous acheter quelque chose pour vous ou les enfants de quel argent pouvez- vous disposer ? Avez-vous de l’argent à vous pour cela ? F- Business Networks o Si vous voulez employer quelqu’un pour un petit travail, avec qui devriez-vous en parler ? A des amis, quelqu’un de la famille, ou des collègues, ou d’autres employés ? o Est-ce vous exportez vos produits (ou vendez dans un plus grand centre) ? Comment avez- vous démarré cela ? Ou sinon, ça vous arrive d’y penser ? Savez-vous comment faire ? Quel sont les empêchements principaux ? o Comment fonctionne-t-il le bouche-à-oreille dans votre business ? Faites-vous de la publicité ? Comment ? o Est-ce ça vous arrive de participer à des réunions avec d’autres entrepreneurs ? Sont-ils des hommes ou des femmes ? De quel type de réunions s’agit-il ? o Avez-vous reçu des informations sur comment agrandir votre business, recevoir du crédit, ou améliorer votre produit ? Qu’avez-vous appris grâce à ça ? Activité 4. Entretien individuel approfondi : Femme Entrepreneure Un seul entretien concernera une seule femme entrepreneure de la communauté âgée de 30 ans et plus, sinon moins de 30 ans, abstraction faite du type de son entreprise :  Micro-entreprise  Très petite entreprise  Petite ou moyenne entreprise  Grande entreprise Abstraction du statut juridique : • SARL (société à responsabilité limitée) • SA (société anonyme) • Autres La durée d’entretien ne doit pas dépasser 1 heure 30. Guide d’Entretien A) Motivation, Profil o Pourquoi et comment avez-vous démarré ce business? o Quel type de formation avez-vous reçu dans ce domaine? o Comment avez-vous appris le métier? o Qui vous a introduit? o Que faisiez-vous avant? o Quel était le lieu d'exercice de votre activité à son démarrage? et actuellement ? o Est-ce que votre business a un numéro de la patente ? 132 o Y a-t-il d’autres personnes dans la famille qui vous aident? Sont-elles rémunérées? Comment? o Est-ce que il vous arrive de vous déplacer pour le travail ? Pour combien de temps ? o Si oui, comment vous déplacez-vous ? o Etes-vous mariée ? Quel âge avez-vous ? Et votre mari ? De quoi s’occupe-t-il ? Avez-vous des enfants ? o Est-ce que ça lui arrive de se déplacer pour le travail ? Pour combien de temps ? Pour que type d’activité ? o Quel type de soutien votre mari vous a t-il apporté lors du démarrage de votre activité ? Son approbation était obligatoire pour démarrer et continuer votre activité ? Est-ce qu’il vous a posé des conditions ? si oui, quelles étaient ces conditions ? o Quel type de compromis vous avez trouvé avec votre conjoint pour que vous conciliez entre votre vie familiale et votre business ? B) Quel est votre activité? o Pourquoi avez-vous décidé de rentrer dans ce type de business? Quels sont ses avantages? Et ses inconvénients? o Chez qui achetez-vous les matières premières? A qui vendez vos produits/services? (A quel prix?) Qui sont vos clients? Sont-ils fidèles? o Quelle est la meilleur période de l’année? Ou de la journée? o Quand vous ne travaillez pas ici, que faites-vous? o Avez-vous essayé d’agrandir votre business ? Comment? o Avez-vous des employés? Combien? Hommes et/ou Femmes? o Sont-ils employés à mi-temps or plein-temps? Sont-ils toujours les mêmes ou changez-vous souvent? o Est-ce que vous pensez que vos enfants seraient intéressés à reprendre ce business ? Pourquoi ? o Est-ce que votre mari ou quelqu’un de la famille travaille avec vous ? De quoi il s’occupe exactement ? Par rapport à vous, est-ce que vous faites le même travail ou vous occupez de choses différentes ? o Utilisez-vous internet? D’autres technologies? o Si vous pouviez améliorer quelque chose dans votre business, que changeriez-vous ? De quoi avez-vous besoin pour améliorer votre produit/service ? C) Finances o Avez-vous un compte bancaire ? (Non, pourquoi ?) Avez-vous jamais demandé un prêt ? L’avez-vous obtenu ? Si non, quel est le motif du refus ? o Avez-vous de l’épargne ? A la banque ou à la poste ? Qui sont les titulaires ? Sinon, sur quelle forme ? Combien arrivez-vous à épargner en un an ? Le faites-vous régulièrement ? o Connaissez-vous des associations qui prêtent de l’argent aux femmes ? Connaissez-vous quelqu’un qui a emprunté de l’argent chez eux ? Etaient-ils contents de leur service ? o Avez-vous jamais emprunté de l’argent ? Chez qui ? Combien ? Pour quelle raison ? o Si oui, est-ce que vous pensez de le refaire dans le futur ? A quel propos ? 133 o Avez-vous des propriétés à votre nom, par exemple une maison, un terrain, ou un commerce ? Qui gère ces propriétés ? Comment les avez-vous obtenues ? Pensez-vous de les garder ou de le vendre ? Oui sinon, pensez-vous d’en acheter ? o Avez-vous des projets sur comment améliorer votre travail ? o De combien d’argent auriez-vous besoin ? Avez-vous essayé de le demander, soit à la banque soit en famille ? Si oui, comment s’est-il passé ? D) Décisions en matière d’argent o Si vous voulez agrandir votre business, pensez-vous nécessaire de consulter votre mari, le reste de la famille ? o Si vous voulez-vous acheter quelque chose pour vous ou les enfants de quel argent pouvez- vous disposer ? Avez-vous de l’argent à vous pour cela ? o Est-ce que votre ménage possède des biens mobiliers et immobiliers constitués lors du mariage ? si oui en quel nom sont ils enregistrés (uniquement le mari, la femme, le couple) ? E) Business Networks o Si vous voulez employer quelqu’un pour un petit travail, avec qui devriez-vous en parler ? A des amis, quelqu’un de la famille, ou des collègues, ou d’autres employés ? o Est-ce vous exportez vos produits (ou vendez dans un plus grand centre) ? Comment avez- vous démarré cela ? Ou sinon, ça vous arrive d’y penser ? Savez-vous comment faire ? Quel sont les empêchements principaux ? o Comment fonctionne-t-il le bouche-à-oreille dans votre business ? Faites-vous de la publicité ? Comment ? o Est-ce ça vous arrive de participer à des réunions avec d’autres entrepreneurs ? Sont-ils des hommes ou des femmes ? De quel type de réunions s’agit-il ? o Avez-vous reçu des informations sur comment agrandir votre business, recevoir du crédit, ou améliorer votre produit ? Qu’avez-vous appris grâce à ça ? Activité 5. Récits de vie Au niveau de chaque communauté, on effectuera 3 entretiens pour construire des récits de vie. Les profils ciblés sont : 1) Une entrepreneure (autre que l’entrepreneure avec qui l’entretien individuel approfondi serait effectué) 2) Une femme indépendante ciblée parmi les femmes ayant participé au focus group, selon l’appréciation de l’animateur (animatrice) 3) Une femme salariée ciblée parmi les femmes ayant participé au focus group, selon l’appréciation de l’animateur (animatrice) Guide d’Entretien. Votre âge, état matrimonial, niveau d’instruction, activité économique 134 Historique professionnel Posez des questions pour que l’interviewée vous citent les différents emplois qu’elle a exercés. (Ne pas oublier les stages, les jobs et petits boulots aussi) On insiste sur comment la femme a décroché l’emploi (démarches, relations, les facilités, les difficultés,…. ) ? en quelle année ? quelle activité économique (profession / métier, branche d’activité, secteur, permanence de l’activité, formel/informel, statut professionnel dans l’emploi, activité avec contrat ou pas, bénéfice de la sécurité sociale et de l’assurance maladie,… ? raison principale pour l’acceptation de l’emploi ? quelles sont les raisons propres au fait que vous êtes femme ? Quels étaient pour chaque emploi les qualifications requises ? Quelles étaient les conditions de votre travail et la qualité de vie ? aimer le travail, aimer les collègues au travail, aimer le chef ? pourquoi ? Etiez-vous affiliés à un syndicat ou une fédération ? quel était ton rôle ? quelle importance de ce genre de structure ? Est-ce que l’expérience dans cet emploi vous a aidé dans votre carrière professionnelle ? Quand avez-vous arrêté cette activité ? pourquoi ? quand avez-vous trouvé l’emploi suivant ? Historique de migration Posez des questions pour que l’interviewée vous citent les lieux où elle a vécu, les moments où elle a déménagé, les raisons de déménagement, les surprises rencontrées dans le lieu d’arrivée, les actions entreprises, … pourquoi ? Pour chaque lieu de résidence prenez le temps qu’il faut pour mieux comprendre le contexte de migration. (ne considérez pas les déménagements effectués au sein de la même commune de résidence, ce ne sont pas des migrations) Quelles interactions avec l’historique professionnelle ? Historique économique Citez l’évolution des actifs physiques et financiers dont vous disposez vous, vos parents, votre mari ou vos enfants. Quelle évolution avec le temps ? quelle part avez-vous durant votre parcours ? Quelles interactions avec les autres historiques et notamment l’historique professionnelle ? Historique éducative Posez des questions pour que l’interviewée vous citent les différents niveaux éducatifs qu’elle a suivis. Ceci inclut également le préscolaire moderne ou traditionnel, la formation professionnelle, les formations techniques. Quand avez-vous commencé le préscolaire ? le primaire, le collègue, le lycée, l’université (si la femme interviewée est concernée) ? si elle a arrêté, merci de citer les raisons principales ? Quand avez-vous fait la formation professionnelle ? pourquoi avez-vous eu recours à la formation professionnelle ? quel niveau accompli ? Aviez-vous besoin d’une formation technique (langues, informatique, comptabilité, secrétariat, …) ? quand l’avez-vous fait ? pourquoi ? quelle utilité ? Quelles interactions avec les autres historiques notamment l’historique professionnelle ? Historique socioculturel Citez les événements vécus : les fiançailles, mariages, divorces, veuvages, accouchement, décès de parents ? date et impact sur la vie ? Quelles sont les contraintes socioculturelles dans votre vie ? comment ont été surmonté ? Quels interactions avec les autres historiques notamment l’historique professionnelle ? Est-ce que vous pouvez citer la personne et l’évènement qui ont eu le plus important impact sur votre vie professionnelle ? Activité 6. Focus Group « Femmes inactives et Femmes au chômage » 135 A- Opportunités Economiques et Emploi au niveau de la communauté : accès de la femme  Quelles sont les opportunités économiques offertes dans votre communauté (quartier / douar) ? dans votre commune ou province ?  Ces opportunités contribuent-elles à créer de l’emploi pour la population de la communauté ?  Au cours des 10 dernières années y a t-il eu amélioration ou dégradation des opportunités économiques pour les hommes/ femmes? B-Accès au marché du travail : Dans votre communauté savez vous comment un homme /une femme puisse avoir accès à une activité économique qui lui procure un revenu ? y a t-il une relation entre la formation ou la qualification et l'accès à une opportunité économique ? si oui cette relation est elle identique pour l'homme et pour la femme ? y a t-il un lien entre le statut matrimonial de la femme et son accès au marché de travail ? Peut-on considérer qu’il y a égalité entre les hommes et les femmes en matière d’accès au marché de travail ? pourquoi (quelles sont les principales raisons) ? C-accès aux ressources : Que représente le travail rémunéré pour un homme, femme ? Que représente le travail non rémunéré pour un homme, femme ? Les hommes et les femmes ont ils un même accès aux ressources familiales pour exercer une activité économique ?pourquoi? Les hommes et les femmes ont ils un même accès au crédit /microcrédit pour exercer une activité économique ? pourquoi? comment ? B- Attitudes à l’égard de l’égalité entre les sexes:  Que signifie qu'une personne est libre ?  Que signifie la liberté pour exercer une activité économique ?  Les hommes et les femmes ont t-il la même liberté économique ? prise de décision, chercher un emploi, accepter un emploi, exercer une activité, contracter un crédit, utilisation de son revenu, investir....  Par rapport à il y a 10 ans comment a évolué cette liberté économique pour les hommes et pour les femmes ?  y a t-il un lien entre l'amélioration du statut de la femme (ex: Le code de la famille de 2004 et la nouvelle constitution de 2011) et son accès au marché d'emploi ? C- Perspectives 136  De quoi la femme a elle réellement besoin pour accéder au marché de travail ?  comment percevez vous l'avenir quand à l'accès des hommes / femmes au marché de travail ?  Quels sont vos souhaits ? Activité 7. Focus group « Hommes » G- Opportunités Economiques et Emploi au niveau de la communauté : accès de la femme  Quelles sont les opportunités économiques offertes dans votre communauté (quartier / douar) ? dans votre commune ou province ?  Ces opportunités contribuent-elles à créer de l’emploi pour la population de la communauté ?  selon vos quels sont les catégories d'hommes/ femmes qui ont un plus grand accès ou un moindre accès au marché d'emploi? (poser deux questions séparées).  Au cours des 10 dernières années y a t-il eu amélioration ou dégradation des opportunités économiques pour les hommes/ femmes?  selon vous quel est le meilleur statut économique pour un homme/ une femme au sein de votre communauté ? pourquoi ?  Que représente le travail rémunéré pour un homme ? et pour une femme? B- Attitudes à l’égard de l’égalité entre les sexes  Que signifie qu'une personne est libre ?  Que signifie être libre pour exercer une activité économique ?  Les hommes et les femmes ont-ils (elles) la même liberté économique ? (chercher un emploi, accepter un emploi, exercer une activité, contracter un crédit, utilisation de son revenu, investir....) pourquoi? et comment?  Par rapport à il y a 10 ans comment a évolué cette liberté économique pour les hommes et pour les femmes ?  y a t-il une relation entre la qualification/formation et l'accès à une activité économique ? si oui Cette relation est elle identique pour les femmes et les hommes  Selon vous le nouveau code de la famille de 2004 a t-il eu un effet sur l'accès des femmes à l'emploi ? Comment ? 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