WP 92 - An overview of women's work and employment in Azerbaijan



An overview of women’s work and employment in Azerbaijan

(wikipedia ilham Aliyev). In the October 2008 presidential elections, ilham Aliyev was re-elected with 87%
of the votes. Several major political parties boycotted the vote because of alleged poll-fixing and oppres-
sion of political opponents. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said that
there was progress in the elections compared to past ones, however it did not meet international standards
(wikipedia Azerbaijani presidential election, 2008; US Dept of State 2009).

Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas, as well as in gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium,
manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, and antimony. The country’s economy continued to improve in the 2000s,
capitalizing on its mineral resources, in particular on the exploitations of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field
and the Shah Deniz gas field. After the troublesome period of the 1990s, with negative yearly GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) growth per person employed of on average 20.1% between 1992 and 1995, followed by
yearly average growth rates increasing from 3.5% in 1996-1999 to 7.5% in 2000-2004, especially from 2005-
2007 the Azerbaijani economy showed spectacular growth. GDP per person employed increaded by 8.2%
in 2003, 5.3% in 2004, 24.7% in 2005, 31.0% in 2006, 14.0% in 2007, and 9.3% in 2008, thus averaging for
2003-2008 15.4% and 19.8% for 2005-2008 (website UN Data). This boom is largely attributable to large
and growing oil exports coupled with very high oil prices. And though the non-energy sector also featured
double-digit growth in 2008, spurred by growth in the construction, banking, and real estate sectors, the
dominance of the oil sector has increased, in 2007 accounting for 59% of GDP. As already envisaged by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2008 the economy showed signs of over-heating, with inflation —in
2007 already over 19%-- accelerating to 21% (CIA World Factbook; wikipedia Azerbaijan; IMF 2008).

In a global perspective, Azerbaijan is located in the middle ranks of medium human development, in
2006 ranking no. 97 on the Human Development Index (HDI) with a rating of 0.758, with an increase be-
tween 2000 and 2006 of 0.053. In 2006 its GDP per capita reached USD (PPP) 6,178, ranking no. 100 in the
world. The estimated earned income for men was USD 7,495, and for women USD 4,915 (UNDP 2008),
implying a women to men parity rate of 65.5%. As we will see, this moderately low rate is indicative for the
position of Azerbaijani women in the field of work and employment.

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