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Aspirations of and Challenges for Educated Working Women in Arabian Peninsula Societies
Abstract
An interesting development in the past few years has been the number of articles and books focusing on women and work in Middle Eastern countries. This is a welcomed trend in view of the dearth of such studies as recently as 2000. Some of the recent literature not only provides fresh insights about the role of Middle Eastern women in the work force but also compels us to revise and even reject many long-accepted assumptions about women’s work outside the private sphere of the domestic family household. Unfortunately, this new research tends to concern working women in the most populous countries, particularly Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, and there is a need for more research about working in women in other MENA (Middle East and North Africa region) countries. One region of the Middle East where scholarship about working women has remained notably deficient is the oil-producing countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet, these countries have been experiencing similar gendered-related social changes as are occurring elsewhere within MENA: rapidly expanding educational opportunities for girls at the secondary and tertiary levels; delayed age of marriage for girls; and young women with high school and college degrees seeking employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors of their countries’ economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze data on working women in the United Arab Emirates. The data includes statistics compiled by the Women for Sustainable Growth initiative, which is based at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University (Sweden) but has links with several university research centers and non-governmental organizations the in aforementioned countries, interviews with working women, and case studies carried out by scholars interested in women’s employment. It will seek to answers such questions, among others, as: What is the relationship between higher education and type of employment; what is the process by which women find jobs in the government and private sectors; what percentage of working women are self-employed entrepreneurs; what is the level of job satisfaction among working women, how do working women manage work and family responsibilities; and in what ways do women integrate their practice of Islam with their work environments? Answers to these queries can help us understand the degree to which the status of working women, particularly educated women, in Arabian Peninsula societies may be similar to or deviate from the status of working women in the rest of MENA.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Gulf
Sub Area
Gender/Women's Studies