The influential factors in women's participation in the labor market of Herat city

Abstract

One of the most important criteria for measuring the degree of development in a country is women's degree of importance and prestige. To achieve social development, accelerate the process of economic development, and attain social justice, women must be regarded as an active and constructive force, which will have a great impact on the development process, thereby increasing the quality and quantity of human resources within the community. The role of women in development largely depends on the goals of social and economic development and is fundamental to the evolution of all human societies. The present study aimed to evaluate the influential factors in women's participation in the labor market of Herat. By reviewing the literature and theoretical foundations, the influential factors in women's participation in the labor market were observed to be individual factors (marital status, number of children, number of people with income in the family, age, academic education, type of academic education, monthly expenses), economic factors (environmental/personal), social factors (environmental/personal), cultural factors (environmental/personal), and psychological factors. Moreover, the results of logit regression showed that the variables of marital status, monthly expenses, and social and environmental factors had a negative, significant effect on the probability of the participation to the non-participation of women in the labor market of Herat city. On the other hand, the variables of the number of children, number of people with income in the family, age, and education level had a positive, significant effect on the probability of the participation to the non-participation of women in the labor market of Herat city. The comparison of the total weight elasticities of the influential factors in women's participation in the labor market of Herat city indicated that the variable of education level most significantly affected women's participation, followed by the variables of environmental/social factors and age.