8/6/2019 Stanford Professor Lisa Blaydes: Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in the Muslim World
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/stanford-professor-lisa-blaydes-women-marriage-and-job-opportunity-in-the 1/2
RevolutionhasshakentheMiddleEast,
sendingunrestthroughouttheregion.The
rhetoricofrevolutionproclaimedoutwiththe
oldandinwiththenew,butonlytimewilltell
howdeepthesocialandpoliticalchangesin
EgyptandTunisiawillbe.Forwestern
onlookers,oneburningquestioniswhat
rightsthenewgovernmentswillaccordto
women.Willwomenbeincludedinanew
democracy,orwilltherebearevivalofstrict
fundamentalistlaw?
Thequestionofwomen’srightsisnotso
straight-forwardassimplyintroducing
western-stylereforms.Afterall,thereisno
single,unitarymovementforwomen’sequalrightsthatunitesallwomeninternationally.
Forexample,westernonlookersmaybeconfusedwhenMiddleEasternwomenseeminglyembracefundamentalistvaluessuchaswearing
theveil.
LisaBlaydes,anexpertintheMiddleEast,wonderedwhysomanyoftheregion’swomenseemingly
supportasocialsystemthatgivesthemlesspowerthanmen.NotingthatMuslimwomenare
distinctlymorelikelytoadoptpatriarchalgendernormsiftheyliveinapoorcountry,Blaydes
reasonedthateconomicopportunitymustshapethewaythatindividualMuslimwomenrespondto
patriarchy.
Blaydesarguesthatwhenemploymentopportunitiesforwomenarescarce,manywomenwilllook
tomarriageastheirbestroadtoeconomicsecurity.InMuslimcountries,adherencetopatriarchyis
associatedwithpiety,andpietyisavaluablecommodityonthemarriagemarket.Afterall,pious
womenareperceivedasbettersuitedtoraisingchildrenandinstructingtheminreligion.Bycontrast,
wheneconomicopportunityisplentiful,womenwillpursueeconomicsecuritythroughpaid
employment,andtheywillbelesslikelytoprofesspatriarchalvalues.
Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in
the Muslim Worldby BRENDA D. FRINK on 04/28/11 at 11:00 am
AyounggirlbytheseainAlexandriawavesan
EgyptianflagduringtheEgyptianRevolutionof2011.Source:Flickr-Moe--IMG0016.jpg
8/6/2019 Stanford Professor Lisa Blaydes: Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in the Muslim World
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/stanford-professor-lisa-blaydes-women-marriage-and-job-opportunity-in-the 2/2
Copyright©2010BoardofTrusteesofLelandStanfordJuniorUniversity.Allrightsreserved.
Inherresearch,Blaydeslookedateighteencountrieswith
significantMuslimpopulations,analyzingrawdatafrom
theWorldValuesSurvey.Inthissurvey,22,000individualMuslimrespondentsansweredsuchquestionsas“Musta
wifealwaysobeyherhusband?,”“Isauniversityeducation
moreimportantforaboyoragirl?,”and“Iswearingaveil
inpublicplacesanimportanttraitforawoman?”
Blaydesthencomparedthisculturaldatatoeconomic
data.Shediscoveredthatwomenincountriesthathavea
lowGDPpercapitaandahighmale-femalewagegap—for
example,Nigeria,Egypt,andJordan—arethemostlikelyto
adoptfundamentalistgendernorms.Womenincountries
withsomewhatbettereconomicopportunities—for
example,TurkeyandSingapore—arelesslikelytoidentify
withfundamentalism.
BlaydesemphasizesthattheMuslimwomenshestudies
areinadoublebind.Toalargeextent,theyareforcedto
makeachoicebetweentwomutuallyexclusiveoptions.
Securingafavorablemarriagerequiresoutwarddisplaysoffundamentalism.Butsecuringagoodjob
requiresoutwarddisplaysofsecularism.FormanyMuslimwomen,then,thechoiceofwhetherto
adoptfundamentalistgendernormsrepresentsacarefulcalculationofeconomicrisk.
InEgypt,forexample,themostsought-afterpositionsintelevisedmedia,advertising,hospitality,and
tourism,alongwithjobsformultinationalcorporations,oftenhaveanunwrittenpolicyagainsthiring
thereligiouslyobservant.Tosecureoneofthesejobs,awomanwouldneedtodis-identifywith
fundamentalism,forexamplebynotwearingtheveil.Butoncesheadoptedbehaviorsidentifiedwithsecularism,suchas“unveiling,”shewouldfindhermarriageoptionsinherowncommunitylimited.By
reservingthebestjobsforsecularwomen,employerswhopromotewesternvaluescontributetothe
tug-of-warbetweenemploymentandmarriage.
ForwesternerswhowanttohelpwomenintheMiddleEast,Blaydeshasasimplemessage.The
answer,shesays,isnottofocusnarrowlyonculturalpracticessuchasveilingbutinsteadtoprovide
economicopportunitiesforwomen.Overthecourseofthetwentiethcentury,countriesthathad
strongjobmarketsectorsintraditionallyfemaleemploymentareassuchastextilemanufacturemade
gradualgainsingenderequity.Womenenteredthelaborforcethroughtheselow-payingpositions
andgraduallymovedintomorelucrativeemployment.Aswomengainedeconomicpower,theyalso
gainedsocialrights.
Inthemeantime,adiversifiedeconomywithgreaterjobpossibilitieswouldprovidewelcome
opportunitiesformanypeopleintheMiddleEast,secularandfundamentalist,maleandfemale.
—————————LisaBlaydesinanassistantprofessorofpoliticalscienceanda facultyfellowattheMichelleR.
ClaymanInstituteforGenderResearch.
ProfessorLisaBlaydes
