Women’s salaries in Azerbaijan equal 69.1% of men’s wages

In Azerbaijan, the average monthly salary of women amounts to 69.1% of men’s average wages, Azerbaijani lawmaker Vugar Bayramov said.

According to Bayramov, the global average stands at around 77-80%.

He noted that women currently account for 2.414 million of the employed population in the country, while men account for 2.615 million. The number of women in the labor force has reached 2.571 million.

Bayramov said the education sector employs the largest number of women. Of the 722,147 women working under labor contracts, 242,801 are employed in education, accounting for 33.6% of all female salaried workers.

The second-largest sector for female employment is healthcare and social services, where 116,976 women are employed.

He added that the highest average monthly salaries for women are recorded in the mining industry, where women earn an average of 2,915 manats. In the finance and insurance sector, the figure stands at 1,813 manats, while in information and communication it is 1,353 manats.

According to the lawmaker, women working in the education sector earn an average monthly salary of 731 manats.

Bayramov proposed introducing quotas to increase women entrepreneurs’ access to concessional loans provided by the Entrepreneurship Development Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He also said it would be appropriate to apply special coefficients to women’s pension capital and grant single women the right to retire earlier.

Bayramov stressed that amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, expanding women’s economic opportunities remains one of the key priorities of gender policy.

Gulnar Nazimgizi