A Micro-Macro Theory of Young Women’s Transition to Adulthood

In this chapter we develop a general theoretical framework for understanding young women’s early life courses and the chances and barriers they face in MENA countries. This framework builds on the life course approach, which is a helpful framework for integrating differing macro- and micro-level perspectives into a single micro-macro theory of young women’s transition to adulthood. The life course approach can be understood more as a set of theoretical and methodological heuristics or orientations rather than a specific theory (Mayer, 2004). An individual’s life course is defined by central individual transitions and trajectories such as processes of educational attainment, labor market attainment, career processes, retirement processes, and processes of family formation (Dhillon et al., 2009: 12).