Stanford Professor Lisa Blaydes: Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in the Muslim World
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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’sequal rightsthatunitesallwomeninternationally. Forexample,westernonlookersmaybe confusedwhenMid dleEasternwomenseemin glyembracefundame ntalistvaluessucha swearing theveil. LisaBlaydes,anexpertintheMiddleEast,wonderedwhysomanyofthe region’swomenseeming ly supportasocialsy stemthatgivesthe mlesspowerthanmen .NotingthatMu slimwomenare distinctlymorelikely toadoptpatria rchalgendernormsif theyliveinap oorcountry,Blaydes reasonedthatecon omicopportunitymustsha pethewaythat individualMuslimwome nrespondto patriarchy. Blaydesarguest hatwhenemployment opportunitiesforwome narescarce,many womenwilllook tomarriageas theirbestroadtoe conomicsecurity.InMu slimcountries,adheren cetopatriarchyis associatedwithpie ty,andpietyis avaluablecommodity onthemarriagema rket.Afterall ,pious womenareperceiv edasbettersuited toraisingchildrena ndinstructingtheminr eligion.Bycontrast, wheneconomicopportunity isplentiful,women willpursueeconomicsecurity throughpaid employment,and theywillbelesslike lytoprofesspatria rchalvalues. Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in the Muslim World by BRENDA D. FRINK on 04/28/11 at 11:00 am Ayounggirlbyt heseainAlexandr iawavesan Egyptianflagd uringtheEgyptian Revolutionof2011. Source:Flickr-Moe--IMG0016.jpg
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Transcript of Stanford Professor Lisa Blaydes: Women, Marriage, and Job Opportunity in the Muslim World
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
