Choice and Constraint in paid work: Women from low-income households in Tehran

Based on interviews and participant observation conducted in 2009–10 in Tehran among women living in low-income communities, this contribution examines the complex ways in which women experience paid work. Most low-income Iranian women interviewed had conflicted views about paid employment. Some held up the male breadwinner as ideal, occasionally invoking Islam to limit their engagement in work they viewed as socially stigmatizing, physically difficult, or low paying. Others, particularly younger and unmarried women, had more positive views of work. Class, age, type of employment, and marital status all played roles in shaping women's experiences; but among women with similar characteristics, considerable differences were also apparent. Building off previous work that rejects simplistic dualisms such as choice versus constraint or exploitation versus empowerment, this contribution argues for more nuanced categories that allow for an emphasis on the conflicted ways women experience paid work.