Gender Roles

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31 May 2007

Gender Roles

In the United States it 's not uncommon to find women in a wide range of roles in society . Women can be found at home taking care of children or at work as a CEO of a multinational corporation . However , in the Arab world the role of gender plays a large factor in one 's position in society

During World War Two women were called upon to help the war effort . As men travel to the European and

Pacific Theaters , women stepped up and fill in jobs that men vacated . This was a complete shift in the perceived role of women who where thought to stay at home and tend to the children . Throughout the next half century women continued to gain influence in the business and political world . Women went from homemakers , to part-time workers , to full-time contributors to business Today it 's not uncommon to find working households where both the man and women work full-time positions

Many countries in the Arab World consider the role of women to be that of tending to the house and the children . In the 1970s in Bahrain less then three thousand women worked in any paying position . Even today only around thirty thousand women are working outside the home (Clark 2002 ) Many conservative Arab governments are hesitant to the changes occurring inside their bs

In recent years many Arab women have begun networking worldwide to gain support for working in businesses in Arab countries . In July 2005 the United States State Department sponsored the Middle East and North Africa Business Women 's Summit in Tunis , Tunisia . At the summit Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky reinforced the position of the West . A priority of U .S . policy is to foster the participation of women in all forms of public life - be it the political world or the work force (Dept . of State , 2005

Women in the Arab World are finding it more difficult to break down the barriers that were faced here in America . But women are determined to prove their male counterparts wrong and show the strength of women worldwide . In a recent interview Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of Arab women .the women of the Middle East are going to country by country and region by region find the appropriate balance between tradition and women 's empowerment . But the key that I continue to emphasize when I go to the Middle East is these have to be matters of choice , and I emphasize particularly political rights because without political rights you can 't possibly express choice (Dept . of State 2007

As worldwide support for Arab women in business and politics increases we can be sure to see similarities between the struggles of women in the United States over the past fifty years . The role of women in society in Arab countries is slowly shifting , it 's a process that will not happen overnight , but it is happening . Looking to the future , it 's not unlikely to see female Arab politicians leading their respective countries into the future

Works Cited

Arab Business Women Are Leaders in Reform of the Middle East and North Africa ' 2005 . U .S . Dept of State . 29 May 2007 http /mepi .state .gov /mepi /infoshts /57199 .htm

Clark , Emma . Arab women lift the veil on business ' 2002 . BBC Online . 29 May 2007 http /news .bbc .co .uk /2 /hi /business /2356895 .stm

Remarks With Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik ' 2007 U .S Dept of State . 31 May 2007 http /www .state .gov /secretary /rm /2007 /may /85827 .htm ...