An overview of women’s work and employment in Azerbaijan
Literacy (2.7.1). The adult literacy rate —those age 15 and over that can read and write—in 1999-2006
was 98.7%, with hardly any gender gap: 99.0% for men and 98.3% for women. In 2007 literacy rate for
15-24-year-olds stood at 99.9%; young females even scored 100%.
Education of girls (2.7.2). In 2006 the combined gross enrollment rate in education was 66.2%, divided in
65.3% for females and 67.2% for males. In the 2000s school life for girls has been prolonged substantially.
Net enrollment in primary education was for 2006 set at 83.3% for girls and for boys 86.2% for boys; in
secondary education these rates were 76.4% and 79.2%. Beyond the age of 16, enrollment rates drop off
sharply, with 13% of young adults in tertiary education. In 2006-2007, female students made up 47% of all
tertiary enrolled.
Female skill levels (2.7.3). Gender differences in the country’s education structure are rather small. Women
are less represented at the highest level, but more at the second highest level. Women 25-29 of age are high-
est educated. Especially for women a serious underutilization of skills is at hand. We estimate the size of the
target group of DECISIONS FOR LIFE for Azerbaijan at about 90,000 girls and young women working
in urban areas in commercial services.
Wages (2.8.1). We found for 2008 large differences between wages across industries, as well as a large
gender pay gap, totaling 43% -- fitting in the picture of a highly segmented labour market. Remarkably small
was the gender pay gap in wholesale and retail, where men had quite low earnings.
Working conditions (2.8.2). Overall, gender differences in hours worked are small. Nearly one in four wom-
en works parttime i.e. less than 31 hours per week. In 2008, in eight of 15 industries the average monthly
hours of females were longer than those of males, in four industries even considerably.
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