Women facing challenges

From ancient times until the mid-20th century, human societies were accustomed to a socio-economic system that granted men the right to work for wages outside the family, while denying women this right and confining their role to a different type of unpaid work within the family, such as housework, family care, and childcare. This system became known in the social sciences as the "e;male-dependent"e; model. In accordance with this system, men gained significant advantages in social life outside the family, particularly in the fields of education and employment, while women were deprived of their economic and social rights. The gender gap in these two areas persisted, varying in intensity from one society to another depending on the degree of social, economic, and cultural development. As the modern era witnessed significant economic and social transformations in many human societies, the winds of change began to blow toward women's education. Female enrollment rates in various educational levels increased year after year, leading to another development: women entering the workforce and participating economically in the labor market outside the family. This resulted in a major problem facing the family: a disruption in family life unprecedented in traditional human societies. This imbalance is linked to the conflict of roles women face between working outside the home and caring for their families. This reflects a contradiction between the considerations of women's participation in the paid workforce outside the home, on the one hand, and the demands of socialization and caring for their families and children, on the other. This phenomenon is not limited to Arab societies; it has acquired a global character and occupies public opinion in many developed and developing countries alike. However, the way it is presented and perceived varies from one social context to another. In developed societies, the prevailing belief is that the imbalance between work and family is closely related to demographic shifts, which have resulted in a sharp decline in fertility (births), a steady increase in the size of the elderly population (population aging), and a significant decrease in the size of the working-age population (labor force). Consequently, the demands of economic progress impose a major dilemma on Western public opinion: the necessity of women's strong participation in the labor market to achieve maximum economic growth. At the same time, the expansion of women's participation in economic activity comes at the expense of marriage, childbirth, and opportunities to build a cohesive family structure.