Often when discussing the topic of immigration, there’s a discussion of struggle and differences. What does the person miss, what is the person thankful for in their new home, etc. However, it’s important to also look at the gendered discourse associated with this immigration and the difficulties women from the middle east can face when coming to the United States of America.
My aunt, Filiz Uncu, has worked and lived in both the United States and Turkey. She was born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. She received her masters in textile engineering in Turkey. Given her unique experiences, her perspective can potentially provide insight to the comparison of working in Turkey versus working in the United States of America as a middle eastern woman.
“I prefer working in the US. The wages are fair considering the living expenses. In addition, there is code of conduct, better professional work environment, kinder relationships, and more flexible work. In terms of gender my treatment was better in Turkey. I felt I had privilege and support from top management because I was a female engineer.”
Generally, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields are not heavily populated by women. However, there’s been an increase in female engineers within Turkey, more so than the United States. This may potentially correlate with the “privilege and support” mentioned by Filiz. This also brings up an opposing juxtaposition for how the United States values women in the workplace versus how Turkey values women in the workplace.
“I worked both at the east coast at a family run business and at the west coast large corporation However, i felt fine working at both places as a women. My gender didn’t play any adverse role in my professional life in the US.”
On a personal level, Ms. Uncu did not feel any gender related restriction within the United States workplace, but felt more valued within the Turkish workplace as a woman engineer. This perpetuates the question as to whether or not women are more valued in Turkey, the Turkish workplace, or within STEM fields in Turkey.
“It is very complex to compare Turkey to the US. Woman undertake a lot of diverse responsibilities in family and extended families. While men only work professionally. Regarding the prior example, I never seen a woman in my lifetime pick up the sunday paper and read it all morning while men are preparing breakfast and doing laundry.”
Filiz makes obvious connections that stereotypical gender roles permeate throughout both societies and this is not a black and white issue. However, her experiences do bring up important questions of gender related issues. Why there are more female engineers in Turkey and why do they have more support? Are these the result of cultural difference?
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| Filiz visiting New York City while working in the United States |
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| Filiz while working in the United States |
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| Filiz and her sister Deniz with relatives in their apartment in Izmir, Turkey |
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| Filiz and her sister Deniz with relatives in their apartment in Izmir, Turkey |
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| Filiz and relatives having Tukish çay. |
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| Filiz and I in Izmir during August 2016 |
My name is Aylin Uncu. I'm a sophomore at Rutgers University - New Brunswick. I'm majoring Public Health and Genetics and I'm considering a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.
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