The Lebanese woman and the labor market.

Abstract

Between 1972 and 1975, women in Lebanon constituted 48.1% of the population. Economically active women accounted for 17.5% of the female population and 18.4% of the total labor force. The participation of women in the labor force has steadily increased since the 1970s and reached 27.8% in 1990. In nonagricultural sectors, the number of economically active went up 128% between 1970 and 1990, while it increased only 2.9% in the agricultural sector. A study on the occupational distribution of the work force, carried out by ESCWA, indicated that, in 1987, a large portion of the economically active women were holding governmental jobs or working with educational institutions and banks. The overall female labor force in the Beirut region along amounted to over 45% of the total lebanese female labor force. The features of the Lebanese female labor market reveal that 1) the rate of participation of women in the labor force significantly increased during the war period, especially in Beirut; 2) the activity rates of women in all age groups have systematically increased since 1950, except in the 10-14 age bracket; 3) the bulk of the female labor force is engaged in the non-agricultural sectors; and 4) more than half of the economically active women are middle level employees in the public and service sectors. As a consequence of the war, 22.5% of the estimated 1991 resident population has been displaced, and 520,000 Lebanese are said to have emigrated during the period 1975-91. The increase in the activity rates of Lebanese women was substantiated by a limited field survey carried out in 4 of the top 10 Lebanese banks. Between 63.9% and 68.4% of women working in these banks were in the 25-40 age group. A 1992 survey of skilled workers in Lebanon covering 65 businesses with over 100 employees indicated that 81% of skilled workers were men, while 19% were women. However, in textile, paper, and pharmaceutical factories and in hospitals, women sometimes constituted 90% of all employees.