A Study on Factors Influencing Educational and Occupational Migration of Iranian Young Women during 2006-2011

Gender is one of the most important social contexts of migration. Until recent decades, migration was considered mostly as a male phenomenon, whereas nowadays, women make up half of migration movements. The structural and attitudinal changes regarding the position of the women and their contributions in the social activities led to increasing economic-social expectations of young women and their intention to migration. Due to the increasing role of women in migration processes in Iran, and also research gaps in this area, this paper using 2011 micro-census data examine the young women’s educational and occupational migrations and the associated factors in Iran. During 2006 to 2011, about 5/5 million have been migrated in Iran that 48 percent of them were female. The results showed that about one fifth of the young women have migrated due to educational and occupational reasons. Multivariate analysis indicated being single, female head of household, internet use, university education, and economic participation, significantly are determinant factors on educational and Occupational Migration of Iranian Young Women. Thus, the increasing of academic education among the young women, social mobility and high tendency to participants in labor force led to increasing of female migration in the future.