Business Environment in Iran

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This chapter starts with a brief historical overview of the status of women in Iran, their right to own property in ancient times and how they are different from their female counterparts in most other Middle Eastern countries. A general overview of Iran’s economic performance is then studied to shed some light on how its economy works. Next, the position of Iranian women in the labor market and the gender gap in unemployment, as well as labor force participation among different age groups in urban and rural areas, are all studied, and the very poor status of young Iranian women in the labor market is discussed. To develop a comparative understanding of the subject at the regional level, the relative position of Iranian women in the labor market is also investigated and compared to their female counterparts in some of Iran’s neighboring countries as well as some countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The findings suggest that Iranian women’s economic participation rate is lower than that of women in all these countries, making it plausible to assume that entrepreneurship may be an alternative for female job seekers who cannot find a job in Iran. Later sections of the chapter discuss “Ease of Doing Business” and the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Iran. Moreover, experts’ perspectives on the female entrepreneurial environment in Iran are examined to obtain a general perspective on the normative support for Iranian female entrepreneurs.