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The number of Algerian women in the workforce is six times greater than it was four decades ago, a new government study reported Thursday.
Nearly one-fifth of Algerian women were active in professional life in 2005, compared with just three percent in 1966, the study said.
The findings were the result of a special government session devoted to women's issues and family life.
According to the study, the sectors employing the highest number of women include teaching, healthcare and law, with women accounting for more than 58 percent of the country's healthcare workers.
Along with being more active in the workforce, the study reported that a growing number of women are obtaining higher levels of education, presently outnumbering men in universities.
More women are also holding top government positions, with four women having served as ambassadors since 1999, the study said.
Currently, three of Algeria's 40 ministers are women, and women occupy 26 seats in Algeria's 389-seat parliament.
Algeria has come under fire in the past from liberals and rights groups who have criticized the country over its poor treatment of women.
Last year, the rights group Amnesty International presented a report to the United Nations outlining what it described as "the Algerian government's failure to protect women against rape, beatings, and widespread legal and economic discrimination."
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AFP 271738 GMT 10 06
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