Islamic Approach to Gender Equality in Occupations

Occupations in which gender is considered as a condition for employment, alongside other requirements, are known as gendered occupations. The prevailing feminist perspective in today's world, under the slogan of gender equality, strives to make all occupations gender-neutral. The achievement of this perspective has resulted in the disintegration of the family unit, the marginalization of women's identity, sexual harassment, and neglect of the economic and managerial role of men. On the other hand, a conservative approach has replaced gender roles in the environment with gender roles in occupations, portraying all occupations as gendered in Islam. The result of this perspective is the deprivation of women from accessing many social resources and opportunities. This article, using a descriptive-analytical method and employing established rules in the jurisprudential approach, based on the analysis of Islamic verses and narrations, separates gender roles in the environment from gender roles in occupations. It distinguishes between shared and gendered occupations and introduces ten gender principles, along with the primary principle in occupations, as the Islamic policy for the employment of both men and women.