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 f ormal sector of the economy in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I base th is 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 diffi culties, but paid-employment enables them to enhance their position at the micro-level. However,women's ability to negotiate for change is l imited when they occupy unequal position within sexual division of lab our, face a tension between traditional and modem values, and have to rely on their family and personal relationships to perform their multi ple tasks.