Role of Women in Society & The Workplace

One of the major conflicts between feminists involves domestic alternatives versus the maintenance of a career. Even in the West, women are generally expected to eventually get married and have children, but as career and educational opportunities broadened, the age at which women settled down was pushed back.

As primary education is now mandatory in most of the Middle East, and the majority of women pursue further education, such as the High School and University. Many Arab women, even those from wealthier families, have decided to join the workforce and are becoming more independent. This exponential progress can be seen through the ages at which women got married through different generations. For example, my great grandmother, a Christian in Syria, was married at 16, and the grandmother of one of the interviewees was married by 9 years old. Now, most women in Jordan do not get married until at least 20, and usually later.

Despite this liberal movement, people generally hope that a woman will have a “happy ending”, which, in both Arab and Western perceptions, includes marriage and children. Also, most women do not leave home until they get married, which inhibits dating and socially restrains women. Career opportunities are numerous however, In the workplace, women are not treated the same way as their male co-workers. In addition, many are forced to quit their jobs before they can reach high-up positions because they want to have a large, traditional family, or because it is considered shameful for a woman to have a more profitable career than her husband. In modern day, it is more accepted that women maintain their jobs after marriage, especially due to the challenging economy. Women in the Middle East are now facing the same internal conflicts and challenges as those in the West—the balance between maintaining a healthy family and a fulfilling, upwardly-mobile career.