The High Commission for Planning (HCP) made public, on the occasion of National Women’s Day on October 10, its 2023 annual report entitled “Moroccan women in figures”. This document offers a statistical overview of the situation of women in Morocco in various areas such as family, health, education, employment and even violence. According to the HCP report, the marital status of women aged 15 and over saw significant changes between 2020 and 2022. The single rate increased from 28.1% to 40.7%, while the marriage rate decreased slightly from 57.8% to 57.3%. The HCP also emphasizes that women are getting married earlier than before, contrary to popular belief. The average age of first marriage for women fell from 27.2 years in 2004 to 25.5 years in 2018, while it remained stable for men at 31.9 years. Urban women marry later than rural women, with an average of 26.6 years compared to 23.9 years. The HCP report also indicates that women head 17% of the 8,823,000 households in Morocco in 2022, compared to 16.9% in 2021. This proportion is higher in urban areas (19.4%) than in rural areas (11.4%). Most of these women are widows (54.6%), followed by married women (23.7%). Furthermore, 62.5% of women living alone in 2022 are over 60 years old, 30.5% are between 30 and 59 years old and 4.3% are under 30 years old. Women’s health is improving The report from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) reveals an improvement in women’s health in Morocco. Female life expectancy increased from 72.1 years in 2001 to 78.6 years in 2022, with a difference of 4.4 years between urban areas (80.1 years) and rural areas (75.7 years). The HCP also highlights the progress made in prenatal care and maternal mortality. The report indicates that the proportion of women benefiting from prenatal care and medical assistance during childbirth increased from 60.4% in 2004 to 86.1% in 2018. Furthermore, the maternal mortality rate decreased from 227 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2003 to 72.6 in 2018. Finally, the report specifies that 70.8% of women use a contraceptive method in 2018. Schooling of girls, significant progress observed In terms of education, the HCP estimates that the schooling rate of girls aged 15 to 17 has reached 96.1% in urban areas and 47.6% in rural areas in 2022. The report also highlights that 92.7% of girls enrolled in primary school, 66.5% in middle school and 43.2% in high school managed to complete their respective cycle in 2022. The HCP report also shows that the share of women in higher education increased from 49.4% in 2012 to 58.4% in 2022, thanks in particular to the strong presence of women in the educational sciences (72.4%) and paramedical (73.3%) sectors. Furthermore, the report indicates that the rate of women holding a master’s or doctoral degree in higher education increased from 38.8% in 2012 to 48.3% in 2022. Regarding the level of education of the population aged 25, the report reveals that the proportion of women without any level of education increased from 61.9% in 2010 to 50.3% in 2022. Finally, the report highlights that the literacy rate for women rose to 57.7% in 2022 compared to 55% in 2004. Among men, this rate was 77.1% in 2022 compared to 75.5% in 2020, while the literacy rate for the entire population was 67.3% in 2022 compared to 65.1% in 2020. Women’s unemployment rate still on the rise Women’s participation in the country’s economic life has seen a sharp decline over the last decade. Indeed, the activity rate of women aged 15 and over, who measures the proportion of women employed or looking for work compared to the total female population, fell from 26.8% in 2010 to 22.6% in 2022, a drop of 4.2 percentage points. This trend can be explained by several factors, such as the low level of education of women, socio-cultural constraints, salary discrimination and difficult working conditions. The HCP also shows that the age structure of working women has evolved over the years. Thus, the share of women over 45 in the female working population increased from 28.5% in 2010 to 33.7% in 2022, while that of women aged 25 to 34 decreased from 32.9% to 30.3% and that of women aged 35 to 44 from 26.1% to 23.8%. These figures reflect the aging of the female working population and the discouragement of young women faced with the difficulties of professional integration. Furthermore, the HCP report analyzes the sectoral distribution of working women in 2022. It appears that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector remains the leading employer of women, with 30.1% of the workforce, despite a drop of 6.4 percentage points compared to 2010. The industry and craft sector comes in second position, with 26.1% of the workforce, an increase of 2.1 percentage points. The services sector occupies third place, with 19.3% of the workforce, an increase of 1.9 percentage points. These data demonstrate a certain diversification of women’s activities, but also a persistence of inequalities in access to economic opportunities. The HCP report highlights the deterioration in the unemployment rate for women between 2010 and 2022. This increased from 8.9% to 17.2%, an increase of 8.3 percentage points. The unemployment rate for women is thus significantly higher than that for men, which is 9.1% in 2022. The HCP report highlights that unemployment among women particularly affects young people, graduates and city dwellers. It is therefore a complex phenomenon, which requires adapted public policies to promote the employment of women and reduce gender disparities in the labor market. Decision-making positions are becoming more feminized The feminization of decision-making positions has accelerated over the last decade, according to the HCP report. The percentage of women ministers within the government increased from 12.8% in 2011 to 24% in 2022, which represents an increase of almost 100%. At the same time, the percentage of male ministers decreased from 87.2% in 2011 to 76% in 2022. The presence of women in legislative bodies has also seen a significant increase: the number of seats occupied by women in Parliament increased from 67 in 2011 to 96 in 2021, and in the House of Advisors, from 6 in 2011 to 15 in 2021. The share of women elected at regional and local levels has also evolved favorably. The percentage of women elected to regional councils increased from 2.21% in 2009 to 38.5% in 2021, and to prefectural and provincial councils, from 2.25% in 2009 to 35.6% in 2021. In addition, the HCP report indicates that the rate of feminization of judicial positions and the legal profession increased by 22.3% and 21.2% in 2012 to 25.5% and 22.3% in 2022, respectively. The rate of feminization of senior positions in the media has also increased, from 10.5% in 2010 to 27.3% in 2022. Finally, the HCP report highlights that the share of companies run by women reached 12.8% in 2022. These are mainly small companies. They are most active in the services sector (17.3%), followed by commerce (13.8%), industry (12.6%) and c construction (2.6%). The prevalence of economic violence is increasing The HCP revealed that violence against women was a persistent and worrying phenomenon in Morocco. In fact, more than half of women (57%) suffered an act of violence during 2019. Among the different forms of violence, those which have seen the greatest increase are economic violence and sexual violence. The first increased from 8% in 2009 to 15% in 2019, while the second increased from 9% to 14% over the same period. These figures demonstrate the vulnerability of women to financial exploitation and sexual assault, which can have serious consequences on their physical and mental health. The report also analyzed places where violence against women is most common. It appears that the marital and family space is the main scene of violence, with a prevalence of 52.1%. This means that more than one in two women experience violence from their partner or family. The educational environment comes in second place, with a rate of 18.9%, followed by the professional environment, with a rate of 15.4%. These two environments are supposed to be spaces of training, development and emancipation for women, but they are also places of discrimination, harassment and violence. Finally, public spaces are not spared, with a prevalence of 12.6%. Women are exposed to insults, touching, theft or assault. The activity rate of women in free fall The activity rate of Moroccan women has been in constant decline for two decades. It is one of the weakest in the world, which constitutes a major problem for the economy and society. Despite the numerous reforms, programs and actions undertaken or underway to improve the situation of women, both economically and socially, and in urban and rural areas, results are still awaited. In his Speech from the Throne of July 30, 2022, His Majesty the King underlined the importance of the contribution of Moroccan women to the development of the country, in all sectors of activity. He called on women to take their rightful place and participate fully in the various development sectors. These questions are at the heart of the concerns of our society, which finds itself confronted with socio-economic transformations and technological upheavals. Progress made so far has not closed the gaps in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those relating to the empowerment of women. Indeed, in 2022, according to statistics from the High Commission for Planning (HCP), the activity rate of women was 19.8%, with a drop of almost 30% between 2004 and 2022. Furthermore, according to the ranking of “Global Gender Gap Report, 2022”, Morocco is in 139th place out of 146 countries for the criterion of participation and economic opportunity for women. Several studies and analyzes have attributed this regression to factors such as the low level of education of women, territorial inequalities, family economic conditions, the legal and regulatory framework as well as the stereotypes that persist in our society. However, the initiatives identified and implemented on the basis of these diagnoses, in particular through programs and public policies, have not produced significant progress, to the point of fearing each year the announcement of official statistics of the activity rate of women in Morocco. Is this a problem of time, where the positive effects of the various initiatives would only be perceptible? in the medium or long term? Or is it a question of an inadequacy of the policies and programs put in place, which do not make it possible to reverse the downward trend? The National Integrated Program for Women’s Economic Empowerment by 2030 has, among other things, highlighted the synergy of programs by the different stakeholders, the integrated vision, the consolidation which are, certainly, approaches which can bring improvement, but not effective solutions to deeply rooted problems. It must be recognized that the economic context, which has been marked by several difficult circumstances over the past twenty years (notably the financial crisis and COVID-19), has certainly accentuated vulnerabilities in terms of women’s access to economic opportunities. Therefore, approaches and programs for the empowerment of women must be reviewed and adapted to the realities on the ground.
