Review by Booklist Review
In the past several decades, Muslim-majority countries across the world have seen a dramatic economic shift with the entrance of women into the workforce. Economist Zahidi examines the origins of women's economic participation and the structures that have supported its growth in recent generations, balancing analysis with interviews that give a personal face to the statistics. She speaks with ambitious women across 30 countries about their education, family structures, childcare systems, expectations, and barriers. Zahidi outlines the third path that many women choose, by which they pursue both careers and traditional family life while relying on nannies or extended family. Technology has enabled women to start businesses while staying within gendered boundaries. Other women are the primary breadwinners through informal businesses, such as selling toys from home. Zahidi also examines the structures necessary to support working women, including access to affordable childcare and safe public transportation. In this fascinating look at a monumental shift, Zahidi elevates the voices of women across the world who speak about their motivations, successes, and challenges in forging new paths.--Chanoux, Laura Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Economist Zahidi offers an enthusiastic report on the paradigms shifting across Muslim-majority countries as women enter the workforce in droves, creating massive social and economic change. Acknowledging that the Muslim world "covers a vast spread of geographies, cultures, and economies," Zahidi finds common ground in the positive effects of women joining the workforce, including the availability of disposable income and growing independence for women-aided by the "virtuous cycle" of shrinking education gaps between men and women. Though she excerpts interviews with fascinating women including CEOs, doctors, Islamic scholars, and domestic workers, Zahidi shows more comfort with the number crunching of economic indicators such as wages, GDPs, and employment percentages than with a nuanced exploration of the everyday lives of women, such as the persistent challenge of trying to balance feminism and tradition. Optimistic about women's "widening set of choices" and the capacity for businesses and governments to initiate societal change in efforts such as recruitment and retention, Zahidi's report provides a valuable baseline for measuring future progress and helps to debunk Western myths about Muslim women. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Drawing on statistics and interviews with women in 30 Muslim-majority countries, Zahidi chronicles the varied work experiences of women workers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs, along with male advocates. Zahidi is a member of the World Economic Forum and head of the nonprofit's Gender and Work System Initiative. First, she looks at the rise of Muslim women in the workplace throughout the world, linking it to an overall increase in women's education as well as the need for a second income in many families. The women profiled deftly navigate a patriarchal culture, which strongly discourages women from working, and often struggle to obtain approval from family members. The Internet plays a significant role in these women's lives, as it allows them to operate their own businesses while adhering to cultural norms, which helps their efforts gain acceptance. Additionally, the author notices that working women provide more opportunities for lower-class women. Zahidi acknowledges that barriers to further workplace engagement exist, and she provides suggestions for governments to improve the situation; she closes by predicting future trends. VERDICT A celebration of Muslim women's accomplishments in the workplace. Recommended for all readers interested in women's issues, especially in the Muslim world.-Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
How an influx of working women is changing the Muslim world.Head of Education, Gender, and Work at the World Economic Forum, Zahidi makes her literary debut with an informative and revealing look at the work life of Muslim women throughout the Middle East and South, Central, and East Asia. Drawing from interviews in 16 countries with 200 women from different classes and professions, the author paints an optimistic picture of women's increasing participation in the economies and politics of their communities. With policymakers and business leaders in mind, she bolsters her profiles of individual women with persuasive statistics about women's work and its impact on family dynamics, businesses, and education. Since 2000, 50 million women have joined the workforce throughout the Muslim region, an unprecedented increase in less than a generation. Zahidi points to several reasons for this astonishing change: an expansion of girls' education, with some governments, such as the United Arab Emirates, making "deliberate efforts" to bring educated women into the workforce; a decline in fertility, freeing women from prolonged infant care; increased funding for women-owned businesses; and technology, which allows women to work flexibly, connect with customers easily, and become exposed "to the aspirations of women around the world." Crucial to women's ability to work is the cooperation of husbands, brothers, and fathers; one woman, allowed to go to university, was held back from working by her father, who insisted "that she observe the strictest rules of female seclusion." Zahidi was heartened to learn that educated women are seen as good marriage prospects, and the dual-career family is acceptedand even desiredby younger women and men who "have lost interest in reliving the traditional breadwinner and caregiving model of their own fathers and mothers." Despite some legal and societal challenges that still exist to impede women's agency, Zahidi looks forward to a "prosperous, dynamic" future for Muslim women.A well-documented and fresh perspective on Muslim society. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
