"IT'S HARD TO BE EVERYTHING AT ONCE": ISRAELI ARAB WOMEN BALANCING WORK, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ROLES / קשה להיות הכל בכל עת: נשים ערביות ישראליות מגשרות בין קריירה, משפחה וקודים חברתיים
Abstract
This research provides insight into the experiences of employed Arab women living in a traditional, Middle Eastern culture where most women (nearly 65%) are not employed outside the home. 287 Arab Israeli women reported on their personal experiences of balancing a career with family and community responsibilities from within a culture where women’s employment is non-normative and subject to significant social disapproval. Quantitative analyses indicated that the women perceived more benefits (role expansion) than costs (role conflict) related to their employment even within the context of their parenting role. Qualitative data provided a more nuanced account as the women described both benefits and costs associated with possessing multiple roles, some they perceived as unique to their culture, others they perceived as being universal for all women. This work highlights the importance of understanding work-family balance and perceptions of maternal employment within non-Western, traditional cultures where women’s entry into the workforce is more recent and non-normative. Our participants’ voices add to the literature significantly by examining the real-time experiences of women who are actively breaking traditional gender norms from within a traditional society and who are on the front lines of societal change.
מחקר זה מספק תובנה מחוויותיהן של נשים ערביות בעלות קריירה, החיות בתרבות מזרח תיכונית מסורתית שבה רוב הנשים (כמעט 65%) אינן מועסקות מחוץ לבית. 287 נשים ערביות דיווחו על חוויותיהן האישיות שלהן בגישור בין קריירה, אחריות משפחתית ואחריות חברתית מתוך תרבות שבה קריירת נשים אינה נורמטיבית ונתונה לחוסר הסכמה חברתית משמעותית. ניתוחים כמותיים הצביעו על כך שהנשים תפסו יותר תועלת (הרחבת תפקיד) מאשר עלויות (קונפליקט תפקידים) הקשורות לעבודתן גם בהקשר של תפקידן ההורי. נתונים איכותיים סיפקו תיאור שונה במידה מה , שכן הנשים תיארו הן יתרונות והן עלויות הקשורות לבעלי תפקידים מרובים, חלקם נתפסו כייחודיים לתרבותם, אחרים נתפסו כאוניברסליים עבור כל הנשים. מחקר זה מדגיש את החשיבות של הבנת האיזון בין עבודה למשפחה ותפיסות של תעסוקת אימהות בתוך תרבויות מסורתיות לא מערביות שבהן כניסת נשים לשוק העבודה היא דבר חדש ולא נורמטיבי. הקולות של המשתתפים שלנו מוסיפים לספרות באופן משמעותי על ידי בחינת החוויות בזמן אמת של נשים ששוברות ,באופן פעיל, נורמות מגדר מסורתיות מתוך חברה מסורתית ושנמצאות בחזית השינוי החברתי.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v8i3.1396
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