Women's Role in the Creative Economy : Commentary in the S

6/8/2009

Women's Roles in the Creative Economy

All eyes these days are on Michelle Obama as she continues to shape her role as First Lady in the White House.

One area of focus that is emerging is the important role of women in the new creative economy, and the balancing of work and home life. The timing is right as finding solutions to these issues, and removing barriers to the full and equal social and economic participation of women in today's global innovation economy is critical to our nation's success ... indeed, every nation in the world.

Progress is being made. This spring, for example, the King of Saudi Arabia dismissed his chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, moves that signal an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment. More to the point, the shake-up - King Abdullah's first since coming to power in August 2005 -included the appointment of a female Deputy Minister, Noura al-Fayez, as deputy for girls' education, the highest government position a Saudi woman has ever attained.

In Jordan, Queen Rania, like Michelle Obama and Deputy Minister al-Fayez, also cares about the advancement of women. The queen has championed transforming preschool and K-12 education as well as opening opportunities in Jordan's universities for people of all color, race, creed and religion, especially young women.

Common Thread

The common thread for these powerful women is their concern about the obstacles to women's participation in the work force, and in government; the opportunities for education, and their role in society.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should be added to the list.

During her confirmation hearings Clinton acknowledged, "Of particular concern is the plight of women and girls who comprise the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled, underfed and unpaid."

The Arab world has the lowest proportion of working women in the world. Women represent less than a quarter of the Gulf's national work force, according to a recent United Nations report. They comprise just 29 percent of the labor force in the Arab Mediterranean rim countries, which excludes female casual labor, agricultural production and domestic work.

While close to 50 percent of women already work in the Western world, they are paid only 60 percent to 75 percent of what their male counterparts earn. Further, while we can applaud the Meg Whitmans and Nancy Pelosis of the U.S., women occupy only a small number of CEO and government leadership positions. They are woefully underrepresented on the boards of directors of major corporations. According to a 2007 Catalyst census, women represent only 13 percent of corporate board seats in the Fortune 500, an increase of only 1 percent since 2005.

When it comes to positions in the new so-called creative economy - a new global economy every nation must be part of - a study by Professor Sally M. Reis of the University of Connecticut discovered a myriad of barriers to otherwise creative women.

Pursuing Talents

Reis found that "pursuing one's creative talents was misconstrued as selfish consideration;" that there was an expectation that women had a unique nurturing role that contradicted a life of creativity; too, that many otherwise creative or productive women felt a "sense of guilt;" and women with religious backgrounds and beliefs grappled with the idea that developing their own talents might be construed as "a selfish, immodest occupation."

This backward looking attitude is not helpful to the social, political, or economic health of the nation, let alone the world.

As we look to knowledge as the new wealth in this age of creativity and innovation, the costs of discrimination are simply not affordable by any community or nation hoping to participate in this new economy.

During the course of years women have organized themselves to push for increased rights both in the workplace and in the body politic. According to Nicholas Kristof, columnist for The New York Times, "a notable share of great leaders in history has been women Š and, compared with men, tend to excel in consensus building and certain other skills useful in leadership," according to scholars.

Yet meaningful change has been slow in coming.

Given their unique bully pulpit in the world, hopefully Mrs. Obama and Clinton, Queen Rania and Deputy Minister al-Fayez will forge alliances with others in similar positions of influence in the world and end the discrimination that persists in every society against equality for women in the work force.

John M. Eger, Van Deerlin endowed chair of communications and public policy in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University, is also director of the Creative Economy Initiative.

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John M. Eger
Van Deerlin Chair of Communication and Public Policy
School of Journalism and Media Studies
Director, Program on the Creative Economy
Director, Smart Communities Program
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
PFSA 361E
San Diego, CA
92182-4522
telephone 6195946910