Sociological Analysis of Female Students’ Awareness about Women’s Employment in Islamic Society (Case Study: Female Students at Tehran University)

Introduction: The issue of work and employment has been considered since the beginning of human life. Women's employment is one of the significant issues in different societies. There are pros and cons on women's employment. Hypotheses such as role multiplicity, role conflict, and role pressure suggest that employed women are more likely to be less healthy because of reasons such as greater responsibilities and workload, and the stress of multiple roles. In contrast, hypotheses such as role expansion and role aggregation suggest that employment, which has been added to traditional women's roles is positive and useful, because of increased self-esteem, higher income, and wider social support. Since women in today's society have a very positive effect on the advancement of society and a considerable population of students are now women, this study examines the awareness of female students about women's employment in the Islamic society.
Method: The research is applied and was conducted with a mixed view (quantitative and qualitative). The data for the first phase (qualitative) were collected by interview and the participants were 11 female students of Humanities at the University of Tehran. Based on the findings of this phase and with using the research literature, a questionnaire was developed and as a result, the data of the second (quantitative) phase was collected by survey method. The sample consisted of 132 undergraduate female students studied Humanities at the University of Tehran, using random sampling. After completing the questionnaires, data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Finding: The findings of the qualitative section indicate that the positive effects of women's employment can be categorized in four groups: individual and psychological, economic, knowledge and insight, and cultural and social. Also, negative effects can be classified into three groups: individual, family, and social. According to the findings, the reasons for women's employment can be grouped into three categories: knowledge and psychological, economic, and social. The findings of the quantitative part indicate that the level of awareness of female students about women's employment in the Islamic society is moderate. Significant differences were found between students' awareness of women's employment based on the variables: membership in Islamic student organizations, and use of religious programs of Radio and TV. According to the findings, higher education and religious knowledge and beliefs of family members are the most important factors affecting students' awareness about women's employment in Islamic society. In addition, from the respondents' point of view, the most important positive effects of women's employment is the increase of self-esteem and the most important negative effect is physical and mental fatigue.
Conclusion: This study was undertaken to assess the level of knowledge of female students about women's employment in the Islamic society. In addition, according to the findings, women's employment involves a combination of both positive and negative effects. Therefore, in order to benefit more from the positive effects and reduce the maximum negative effects of women's employment, it is necessary to identify and consider the effective factors. Considering issues such as the nature of the job and the volume and hours of employment of women is important factors that should not be overlooked.