Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript
Authors
1
PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In recent years, the privatization of public education and the expansion of private (non-governmental) schools in Iran have reshaped employment relations, intensifying precarious work—particularly among women teachers. The present study aimed to explore the characteristics, dimensions, and consequences of precarity from the perspective of women teachers in Tehran’s non-governmental and “special” schools. Using a qualitative design and thematic analysis, we analyzed 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. The analysis yielded an overarching theme—an entangled, multilayered experience of precarity—supported by three core themes: precarity as a tool of domination and the reproduction of inequality; precarity and the postponement of life; and women teachers’ experiences of precarity and exclusion. Participants reported temporary and fragile contracts, incomplete or absent social insurance, job insecurity, and unequal power relations, all of which produced burnout, anxiety, diminished social status, and an inability to plan for long-term life trajectories. For these women, precarity extends beyond employment insecurity to shape identity, social status, and future prospects. Importantly, the findings reveal that precarity is deeply entangled with the dominant gender ideology that governs educational institutions. This ideology is reflected in restrictive hiring and selection processes, strict dress codes, reinforcement of traditional female roles, and constant monitoring of women’s agency, which reproduce structural inequalities, restrict professional autonomy, and exacerbate women teachers’ vulnerability in both their working lives and personal trajectories. Overall, the findings indicate that women teachers’ precarity is not merely a temporary or individual issue but a structural, multilayered phenomenon, arising from the intersection of macroeconomic policies, weak state regulation, and the dominant gender order. Ultimately, these dynamics threaten not only the quality of public education and the preservation of cultural capital in society but also women teachers’ well-being.
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