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Primary Submission Category: Migration
Labor, Gender and Mental Health: Arab American Women’s Lived Experiences of Wellbeing, Power and Resistance
Authors: Sima Bou Jawde, Carmel Salhi, Danielle Crookes, Alisa Lincoln,
Presenting Author: Sima Bou Jawde*
Background Increasing violence in foreign policies and imperialism abroad, as in the “War on Terror,” has impacted the racialization of Arab Americans’ in the US along religious and gendered lines. This has implications on Arab American women’s engagement in the labor market and their gender roles within families, yet, their health experiences remain unexplored in population health. This study asks: How do Arab American migrant women navigate gendered labor and family functioning, and how do these experiences shape their and their families’ health?
Methods This qualitative study recruits Arab American migrant women in the greater Boston area. Following years of volunteering and key interviews with community leaders in Center for Arab Culture, World Lebanese Cultural Union, and Muslim Justice League, I designed a complex sampling strategy across three settings (churches, mosques, and cultural venues) and two migration periods (pre- and post-9/11), to capture the plurality of populations’ experiences. I aim to recruit 40–50 participants who have both held paid work and have family caregiving responsibilities. Semi-structured interviews on the themes of labor, gender and migration are conducted in Arabic, English, or French, audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using NVivo.
Preliminary Results Recruitment and interviews are currently underway through Spring and Summer of 2026. Early themes include tensions between workplace exploitation and caregiving burdens, experiences of discrimination shaping employment, and community-based activism as power reclaimant countering collective psychological distress.
Significance This study fills a critical gap in migration health scholarship while directly serving Arab American communities. By centering women’s accounts of paid/unpaid labor and their role in Arab American families, findings will equip communities with evidence to support labor organizing and community building strategies impacting health of population. Awarded the Philip Kayal Grant for Arab American Research, this work exemplifies IAPHS’s 2026 theme: Rigorous research building trust across communities and driving change through praxis.