Women, paid-work and the family: In the Islamic Republic of Iran

My focus, in this study, is on female wage and salary earners in the formal sector of the economy in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I base this inquiry on both quantitative and qualitative data. I rely on women's experience to discuss the impact of paid-work on their family lives. My data portray a complex relationship between paid-work and women's position in the family. Working women are disadvantaged and face difficulties, but paid-employment enables them to enhance their position at the micro-level. However,women's ability to negotiate for change is limited when they occupy unequal position within sexual division of labour, face a tension between traditional and modem values, and have to rely on their family and personal relationships to perform their multiple tasks.