Zeina Yazbeck Awwad: Striking an ideal balance between work and family is impossible

The Daily Star newspaper, published last Monday an interview conducted with entrepreneur Zeina Yazbeck Awwad, as part of its weekly articles on pioneer Lebanese women.  Awwad talked about the lifelong dilemma of striking a work-life balance that women have faced ever since entering the workforce.  According to Awwad, all attempts to strike “the ideal balance” are impossible to achieve and that a woman who tells you otherwise is not being truthful".  Awwad further added that all talk about quality time and super women is nonsense.”
Awwad is originally an optometrist, and she introduced the renowned French eyewear chain Alain Afflelou to the Lebanese market back in 1999 when she was already married and had her first child. She admits though that she had to renounce top posts she occupied during her long career every time she felt her kids needed her. Awwad was the general manager at Obegi Better Home.  She also occupied the role of director in Asia and the Middle East of Medica, a cosmetic and aesthetic pharmaceutical firm, until she recently opened her own beauty parlor and nail care center, Emak Urban Spa, right before she earned a degree in management from Beirut’s Ecole Superieure des Affaires.
Awwad believes that in a patriarchal society like in Lebanon, where the law does not protect women, being financially independent is an obligation rather than a choice.  She concludes that she has no recipe for success for other women, adding that what worked for her might not work for others.
Source: The Daily Star 11 June 2014