Underpaid and unskilled, Moroccan women behind in the work...
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November 23, 2015 10:59 pm
Underpaid and unskilled, Moroccan women behind in the workplace Aida Alami
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Women tend to be in low-paid employment
Standing at the entrance of the Amal Women’s Training Center, in the centre of Marrakesh, Hayat Aamer is thankful she has the chance to have a career. “I started at the bottom and worked my way up,” says the 37-year-old, who works at the non-profit culinary school and restaurant as a cashier. “This place has given women like me hope for a better life.” Opportunities to rise above entry-level jobs are scarce for unskilled
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Underpaid and unskilled, Moroccan women behind in the work...
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women in Morocco. Last month, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concerns about the low participation of women in the Moroccan workforce and noted that employed women often hold “more precarious and less paid jobs” than men. Women make up for less than 30 per cent of the labour force in the country, according to the country’s statistics agency, the High Commission of Planning. Many earn less than the minimum wage of around $250 a month. Around half of Moroccan women older than 15 are illiterate. Nora Fitzgerald, 35, a freelance translator and founder of the Amal Center, decided three years ago to empower Moroccan women by teaching them to cook. Following a six-month course, she then helps them to find jobs. Her organisation, which first was created with friends’ donations, recently won the Orange Foundation’s Women for Change prize of €25,000. The centre used the money to hold a two-week training workshop to help women start companies, such as catering businesses. “We work with women who make less than the minimum wage and worked within no legal framework,” she says. “After their training here, they can take care of their families and also be proud and valued at their jobs.” The training is part of a slow revolution that has been taking place in the country over the past decade. In 2004, the government adopted reforms to its Moroccan Family Code that were hailed by women’s rights organisations as a significant step forward for the country. The amendments redefined divorce and raised the minimum legal age for marriage from 15 to 18. In 2011, the country also amended its constitution to uphold gender equality. Women have gained jobs in politics and government, but similar gains have yet to be made in the private sector. “Women tend to be stuck with those long, hard, low-paying jobs,“ says Ms Fitzgerald. The low number of women in the workforce also reflects other general economic trends, says Mehdi Lahlou, an economist and professor at the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics in Rabat. Unemployment is high and sectors that used to welcome women, such as textiles, are among the most threatened. “Every year there are over 200,000 new job seekers with less than 50,000 jobs [available],” he says.
Women don’t even find time to get married, to be mothers or to educate their children - Abdelilah Benkirane
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Mr Lahlou accepts that Morocco is leaving many women behind. The
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Underpaid and unskilled, Moroccan women behind in the work...
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conservative government, led by the Justice and Development Party, has not encouraged women to become more involved in the workplace. “There is a need for better and more adequate training, and for more women to be placed in unions and political parties in order to advocate for their rights.” Last year, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane caused outrage when he said women belong at home. “Women don’t even find time to get married, to be mothers or to educate their children,” he said. “Why don’t we embrace this sacred status that God gave to women?” And in 2012, Mohamed El Ouafa, the former minister of education, was caught on camera telling a 12-year-old girl to find a husband. “These politicians encourage men and at the same time discourage women to enter the same market,” says Mr Lahlou. “There needs to be easier conditions, like better laws regarding maternity leave, to integrate more women in the labour force. They need to be able to work while raising their children.” Stephanie Willman Bordat, a founding partner of Mobilising for Rights Associates — a Rabat-based organisation that advocates for women’s rights — adds that sexual harassment is also a problem in Moroccan business. Laws punishing perpetrators are weak and discrimination needs to be outlawed, she says. Khadija Rouissi, a member of the opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party and campaigns for gender equality, has been pushing for the government to uphold the equality guaranteed by the 2011 constitution. “This government is making calls for women to go back home when the country badly needs its men and women to develop itself,” she says. “Women need to be independent financially to stop being victims.” At the Amal Center, where tourists and locals enjoy Moroccan and international food, Ms Fitzgerald hopes to welcome more women in the future. “There is a Morocco with lots of educated young women but also a whole part that we don’t see,” she says. “The idea is to train women to be in control of their lives, to apply for jobs with confidence.” RELATED TOPICS
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11/24/15, 10:41 AM
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