Submission call

Working Women: Stories of Strife, Struggles and Survival

Should women work? Why should women work? What kind of work should women do? These are only a few of the many issues that society and women continue to wrestle with on a global front. ‘Women in the workplace’ is a notion that continues to be challenged over many decades, in fact, over centuries. Even in the twenty-first century it is especially interesting to note that while professional women in some cultures excel, they continue to struggle for survival and dignity in the workplace in other cultures. This book, “Working Women: Stories of Strife, Struggles and Survival” critically examines the socio-economic and political struggles of professional women across the globe and across cultures. The underlying goal of the book is to identify some of the struggles of professional women who continue to be marginalized in the workplace, who fight for survival, for recognition, for respect, and dignity. These women spend their lives carrying the burdens of their families and their children into and out of the workplace, expending energies and time that are often several fold more than that of their male colleagues. Working women across cultures globally are often short-changed in one way or another. Yet, they succeed. This book gives women an opportunity to share their stories of hardship, struggles, indignity, pain, and suffering. It is an attempt to record the struggles of women in the workplace, and to celebrate their successes. Readers will, not only be educated and informed about women’s struggles, but will be able to critically analyze policies and practices that create barriers for women, ostracize women and marginalize them. It will also provide hope to women struggling against all odds to care for themselves, their families and to balance these roles with the demands of their work.

Women have a right to education and to fair and just employment. Cultural norms and traditions, religion, disease, and poverty have often created barriers to women’s advancement. It is time that women reclaimed what are rightfully theirs. The right to participate in a free and fair democracy must be equivalent with the right to be employed and be treated with dignity and respect. A workplace that is free of sexual harassment, racism, abuse, violence, and indignity must become a reality for those who have struggled and for those who continue the struggle.

This book will be a collection of women’s stories through various forms of expression such as narratives and academic papers that allow women to share their stories on any of the following themes, among others:
• Struggles in the workplace:
o Glass ceiling
o Assertiveness
o Bullying
o Favouritism
o Sexism
o Harassment
o Work-life balance
• Society and stereotyping:
o Barriers of caste, race, class and ethnicity
o Poverty
o Education as a privilege
o Moral Choices
o Family roles and responsibilities
• Health and wellness:
o Challenges of illnesses and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer
o Loss of family and friends
o Sexual and reproductive health and wellness
o Access to health care services and information

We invite women from across cultures and around the globe to share their stories and to help create an understanding of why women should no longer remain on the periphery of human progress. Until you speak and present your story, the world will continue to ignore women’s struggles and to trivialize women’s pain and suffering.

Submission guidelines:–
Submissions must be received by August 15, 2006
– Minimum 3000 to 5000 words
– English is preferred, but any language of your choice along with a reasonable translation will be considered.
– Short biography to be included (200 words maximum)
– A pseudonym will be accepted and this must be clearly indicated in the biography
– Electronic submissions to be made in rich text format. Subject line must state – Second call – Submission for WW
– All submissions must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point Ariel font
– Submit the title, abstract, full paper, and a brief biography as a SINGLE DOCUMENT

Send one copy of your submission on or before August 15, 2006 as an e-mail attachment to:
Kogi Naidoo and Fay Patel (Co-editors)
Email: K.Naidoo@massey.ac.nz and F.Patel@massey.ac.nz