Professional or Gender Identity: A Study onEducated Women Older than 35 Years of Age Working in Tehran

Nowadays, many women are occupied in professional positions. Such roles have enabled them to achieve authority and independence. Access to higher education and professional occupations may delay their age of marriage. This reality illustrates what is known as “identity paradox”. The question here is how an educated, employed Iranian woman (age 35+) defines her identity. This research is focused on the influence of structural factors, such as educational status as well as employment and marital status (celibacy or late marriage) on women’s social identity. The theoretical framework adopted in this research is based on the ideas of Richard Jenkins and Anthony Giddens and also partly on Goffman’s demonstrational theory. According to such theoretical approaches, gender has a determining role in forming the ‘self’. To answer this question, mixed method was designed. Based on the findings, the educated women older than 35 years of age are experiencing tension gaps, paradoxes, and contradictions within the context of their public and private life. Independence is the main motivation in their interactions within the family and society.However, the majority of them have not managed to choose between their professional and gender identity. In spite of the paradoxes between these two forms of identity, they are struggling to preserve both professional and gender identity in their lives.