“A High-Tech Job Is a Dream”: Pious Druze Women with High-Tech Careers Bridge Between Their Religious and Professional Identities
摘要
The chapter examines the Lotus initiative which aims to develop a high-quality, professional workspace for pious Druze women within their villages. Based on observations, group discussions and semi-structured interviews with female high-tech employees, religious leaders, and employers, I argue that this NGO’s initiative created a high-quality workspace, that enables women the opportunity to integrate into the labor market while preserving religious identity. The establishment of the Lotus workspace was made possible through negotiations led by the initiative’s female leader with four key stakeholder groups: civil society, high-tech companies, Druze religious leadership, and the women employed in this venture. One of the insights from this study is that while adapting the workspace to the needs of pious Druze women such as gender segregation and geographic proximity facilitates their entry into the labor market, it also creates a glass ceiling that limits their professional advancement.