abstract: 'Despite increased access to education, women''s conspicuous absence from

  the labour market in Egypt, and the Arab world in general, has been a

  key issue. Building on the stock of evidence on women''s employment, this

  study provides a qualitative analysis of the torrent of challenges that

  educated married and unmarried women face as they venture into the

  labour market in Egypt. Single women highlight constrained opportunities

  due to job scarcity and compromised job quality. Issues of low pay, long

  hours, informality and workplace suitability to gender propriety norms

  come to the fore in the interview data. Among married working women, the

  conditions of the work domain are compounded by challenges of time

  deprivation and weak family and social support. The article highlights

  women''s calculated and aptly negotiated decisions to work or opt out of

  the labour market in the face of such challenges. The analysis takes

  issue with the culturalist view that reduces women''s employment

  decisions to ideology. It brings to the context of Arab countries three

  global arguments pertaining to the inseparability of work and family for

  women; the role of social policies and labour market conditions in

  defining women''s employment decisions; and the potential disconnect

  between employment and empowerment. By looking at women as jobseekers

  and workers, the analysis particularly highlights the intersectionality

  of different forms of inequality in defining employment opportunities.'
affiliation: 'Barsoum, G (Corresponding Author), Amer Univ Cairo, Publ Policy \& Adm
  Dept, Sch Global Affairs \& Publ Policy, Off 2076 Jameel Ctr, Cairo, Egypt.

  Barsoum, Ghada, Amer Univ Cairo, Publ Policy \& Adm Dept, Cairo, Egypt.'
author: Barsoum, Ghada
author-email: gbarsoum@aucegypt.edu
author_list:
- family: Barsoum
  given: Ghada
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1111/gwao.12285
eissn: 1468-0432
files: []
issn: 0968-6673
journal: GENDER WORK AND ORGANIZATION
keywords: Egypt; family; gender; marriage; qualitative; women's employment
keywords-plus: INTERSECTIONALITY; YOUTH; ORGANIZATIONS; JOBS
language: English
month: JUL
number: '7'
number-of-cited-references: '86'
orcid-numbers: Barsoum, Ghada/0000-0002-1050-0215
pages: 895-914
papis_id: 4d260c47ff2f1fdfcffb5042a80a31fd
ref: Barsoum2019womenwork
times-cited: '20'
title: '``Women, work and family'': Educated women''s employment decisions and social
  policies in Egypt'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000475642500002
usage-count-last-180-days: '3'
usage-count-since-2013: '18'
volume: '26'
web-of-science-categories: Management; Women's Studies
year: '2019'