Rural and Urban Women, Employment, Spatial Analysis, Major Economic Activities, Formula of Location Quotient (FLQ)

The study aimed at identifying the basic and non- basic employment activities of rural women in major economically active sectors of rural districts of Iran and their spatial distribution in the country. The statistical population included 394 counties. Required data were extracted from the 2011 General Population and Housing Census. The basic sources of active human workforce were determined by using Formula if Location Quotient (FLQ) spatial cluster analysis. The results indicated that in the agricultural sector, northern, central and north-east areas were considered as basic areas for the employment of rural women; and some parts Qom, Lorestan, Ilam, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Yazd, Kerman, South Khorasan were Known as urban labor force exporting areas; in addition, the industry in north-west, central and north-east areas were found to be the base areas for the employment of rural women, and the north and north-east areas were considered as the basic areas for the employment of urban women; in the services sector, the employment of women in rural base areas was observed in the north and north-west of the country while the northern areas were found to be the basic areas for the employment of urban women.