Women's Employment - United Nations Research Institute for Social ...

Gender and employment in Moroccan textile industries
3Gender and employment in
Moroccan textile industries
Rahma Bourqia
I. Introduction
Within the urban labour market, gender discrimination tends
to take the form of occupational segregation, with women
concentrated in poorly-paid, unskilled jobs, and of disparity in
earnings, with women earning less than men (Anker, 1997; Birdsall
and Sabot, 1991). Studies on female employment in Morocco have
demonstrated the existence of wage discrimination against women
(Joekes, 1985; Belghazi, 1995; Belghazi and Baden, this volume).
Labour market discrimination against women is legitimized by
stereotypes and social discourse surrounding female work. Employers
reflect social attitudes about women’s work, for example, when they
argue that “women are only working to buy lipstick”(Joekes, 1985).
In other words, a woman’s work is not considered to be an important
source of revenue for the family.
However, social discourse surrounding women’s employment
stands in stark contrast to labour market trends. The increase in the
rate of female employment in Morocco, especially in the textile sector,
suggests that women’s work is becoming more and more a necessity
for family livelihood strategies. The overall rate of women’s
employment in all sectors is now 35.5 per cent, but it has reached 42
per cent in the carpet sector, 71 per cent in knitwear and 79 per cent
in garment manufacturing (Belghazi, 1995). On the basis of estimates
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