When I was growing up my biggest fear was that I would end up having a brother because then my parents, justifiably so, would probably end up spending more on giving him more opportunity.

在我的成長過程，我最大的恐懼就是有一個兄弟，因為這樣一來，我爸媽按道理大概會花費更多心力在他身上。

For many women like Saadia in Muslim-majority countries, parents prioritized economic opportunities for boys, who were expected to earn a living and ultimately provide for their own parents.

對於許多和 Saadia 一樣在穆斯林國家的女性，父母會將經濟優勢讓給男生，因為男生被期許將來要賺錢供養父母。

Now that's starting to change.

現在，情況開始不一樣了。

In the last 15 years, there's been a major transformation when it comes to women's integration into the labor force.

在近 15 年，女性在職場上的加入有了重大的轉變。

Back in the year 2000, across the entire Muslim world, so more than a billion people, only 100 million adult women were working.

回到 2000 年，在整個涵蓋超過 10 億人口的穆斯林世界中，只有 1 億位成年女性工作者。

And today that number is 155 million.

而在今日，數字來到 1 億 5500 萬。

It's those 50 million-plus women who are the subject of Saadia's book, which was published earlier this year.

這 5000 萬名女性正是 Saadia 書寫的主題，這本書在今年稍早才剛出版，

She came up with the idea while working on the World Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap Index.

她在研究世界經濟論壇的年度全球性別差距指數時，想到了寫這本書的點子。

The country that has closed its economic gender gap the most, in the last decade or so, compared to anywhere else in the world, is Saudi Arabia.

在近幾十年來，相較於世界上其他任何地方，沙烏地阿拉伯是縮短了經濟性別差距最大的國家。

And so I wanted to try to understand what exactly is happening in these countries.

所以我想試著理解在這些國家中究竟在發生什麼事。

Saadia visited more than a dozen Muslim-majority countries over three years to speak with this new generation of workers.

Saadia 在過去三年走訪了超過 12 個穆斯林國家，和新一代的勞動人口談話。

She found investment in education is one big driver behind the changing workforce.

她發現，在教育上的投資是職場轉變的一大幕後推手。

Take Egypt, where 34% of university students who graduate with a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, called STEM, are women.

以埃及為例， 持有科學、科技、工程學或是數學 (這四項稱為 STEM) 大學文憑的畢業生中，有 34% 是女性。

Egypt, like many majority-Muslim countries, has a higher percentage of women entering STEM fields than the U.S. or Europe.

如同許多穆斯林國家，埃及比美國或是歐洲擁有更多投身 STEM 領域的女性。

Young women, who've got the right kinds of technology skill sets, are the new wave of technology entrepreneurs in these countries and trying to solve really specific problems, economic and social problems.

掌握這些科技的年輕女性正是這些國家中新一波的科技企業家，她們也試著解決特定的問題，如經濟和社會問題。

Nafisa Bakkar is the founder of London-based Media company Amaliah.

Nafisa Bakkar 是傳媒公司 Amaliah 的創辦人，總部設於倫敦。

She's part of a new generation of entrepreneurs tailoring content and products for a female Muslim audience.

她屬於新一代的企業家，專門製作迎合女性穆斯林聽眾的內容和商品。

We have different categories, everything from the latest style trends, to how to live an ethical life, to commentary on world events and things that are happening with a Muslim lens.

我們有不同的分類，從最新時尚潮流到倫理生活指引，還有以穆斯林的角度評論國際事件。

What was that journey like for you in starting this company?

開創這間公司的過程對你來說像什麼？

Really it was born out of a personal struggle. We just realized there was so much to be done in order to make the lives of Muslim women easier.

可以說是出自於一個人經歷的苦難。我們才剛認知到，為了改善穆斯林女性的生活，有太多的事情要做。

And I guess it was one of those things where for a lot of people who run a business, it's "I can either complain about these things or I can do something about it."

我想對於很多開創事業的人來說，這就是那種「我要嘛抱怨，或者我能改變這些事」的狀況。

More women entering the workforce translates into big economic gains.

更多的女性投入職場意味著更多的經濟獲利。

Saadia estimated equal labor force participation would add $1.6 trillion to Indonesia's economy, $1.3 trillion to both Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and $500 billion to both Iran and Pakistan.

Saadia 估算，同樣的勞動力若是投入到印尼，將會帶來 1.6 兆美金的經濟成長，在沙烏地阿拉伯和土耳其是 1.3 兆，在伊朗和巴基斯坦則是 5000 億。

One study found the sectors that will benefit from women's extra buying power include: food, healthcare, education, child care, apparel, consumer durables, and financial services.

一項研究指出，獲益於女性額外購買力的區塊包含 : 食物、醫療保健、教育、兒童照護、服裝、耐久財 (可長期使用、不易耗損的商品，如汽車) 和金融服務。

In many ways, it's the economic movement that is then going to lead to societal changes.

從各方面來說，正是經濟的轉變會帶來社會上的改變。

There's still a long way to go in this economic and societal transformation.

經濟和社會的轉型都還有一大段路要走。

The 155 million women working in Muslim-majority countries she studied only represent 30% of adult women that could be working.

在穆斯林國家工作的 1.55 億女性，也就是她研究到的，僅代表可勞動女性人口的 30%。

In many countries, certain jobs like mining, metalworking or construction, are off-limits for women.

在許多國家，如礦業、冶金或是建設業這些特定工作，對於女性來說都有太多的限制。

And married women in some countries are not eligible for the same jobs as men.

在一些國家中，已婚女性則被視為無法勝任和男性做同樣的職位。

Saudi Arabia officially lifted its ban on women driving in June, but women there are still subject to legal guardianship by husbands or male relatives.

沙烏地阿拉伯在六月正式解除女性開車的限制，但女性依然受制於丈夫或是男性親屬的合法監護權。

Still, Saadia said the factors that encouraged many women to have a voice in the workforce are only getting louder.

儘管如此，Saadia 說那些鼓勵更多女性在職場發聲的言論只會越來越發揚光大。

If you look at just the projections of the data at the moment, the last 50 million took the last 15 years.

如果你看看數據在當時的浮動，會發現最後 5000 萬發生在過去 15 年間，

The next 50 million will take only another seven years.

下一個 5000 萬則只需要另外七年。

So the rate of change is also increasing and I think there's a lot more to come.

所以，改變的速率也在增快，我想未來也還會有更多。

Hey everyone, it's Elizabeth. Thanks so much for watching our video.

哈囉大家，我是 Elizabeth。謝謝收看我們的影片。

Be sure to check out more over here.

記得點這邊看更多的影片。

And leave us any other ideas in the comments section. See you later!

也歡迎在留言區告訴我們任何的想法。下次見！