Ammon News - A recent study has revealed a relation between women's low salaries and their health, given that most women are deprived of their health insurance and social protection when they accept salaries less than the minimum wage of JD260.

The study, conducted by the Phenix Centre for Economics & Informatics Studies, estimated that more than 46 per cent of the study sample of over 380 women working in the governorates of Tafileh, Madaba, Karak and Maan receive wages less than the minimum amount, according to a centre statement.

Researcher Ola Bader, during a session to discuss the outcomes of the study, said that violence against women in various organised and non-organised sectors contributes to women's reluctance to join the labour market.

During the virtual session that was held in cooperation with Oxfam under the Arab-Danish Partnership Programme, Bader said that 50 per cent of women in the study do not have health insurance and 36.6 per cent do not have social security insurance.

The study also shows that more than half of women are subject to work injuries of various types.

The study revealed that financial rights, such as loans and saving funds, only apply to 13 per cent of the sample, while 77.5 per cent of women confessed to being subject to one or more types of sexual violence.

The survey said that among the top factors that contribute to gender-based violence in the workplace is the stereotype of the “weak woman in the labour market” and not assuming leadership positions, despite the fact that more than 13 per cent of working women are the heads of more than 300,000 families.

The study recommended revisiting laws and regulations related to protecting women from job violence and monitoring these laws by specialised agencies to conform them to international agreements and conventions.