From the streets of Tehran to boardrooms across the globe, Iranian women’s courage reflects a fundamental lesson of negotiation: you can create leverage even when formal power is lacking.

On International Women’s Day, global discourse about women in leadership often focuses on representation in boardrooms, pay gaps, or paths to corporate advancement. These discussions are important.

But sometimes the most impactful lessons about negotiation come not from business schools or executive seminars – but from women negotiating for their basic rights.

Few examples make this clearer than the women of Iran.

There Is No Fancy Table To Negotiate At

In September 2022, the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating its compulsory hijab law, led to nationwide protests. The Women, Life, Freedom movement that followed soon became a global phenomenon, challenging systemic discrimination against women.

What followed was no ordinary negotiation. There was no official table, no mediator, and no agenda. Yet the struggle that unfolded became one of the most complex negotiation dynamics imaginable.

Women across Iran removed their headscarves in the streets, cut their hair openly as acts of defiance, and drew worldwide attention through social media and grassroots networks. These acts were not random expressions of dissent. They were tactical signals intended to shift the balance of power.

Negotiation Without Power. Or With a Different Kind of Power.

In classical negotiation theory, parties weigh leverage through formal resources: money, authority, political influence, or alternatives. Iranian women had virtually none of these.

The state controlled the institutions, the laws, the police forces, and the media. Protesters faced arrests, violence, and surveillance. Yet the movement still influenced global dialogue – because negotiating power is rarely only structural.

It is also perceptual and narrative-based.

By framing the conflict around universal values: dignity, autonomy, and freedom – women transformed a domestic policy dispute into a question of international legitimacy.

In negotiation terms, they shifted the battlefield.

The Strategic Use of Visibility

Visibility became one of the most striking tactics of the movement. Walking without hijabs in public spaces sent a powerful signal not only to authorities but also to society itself: the status quo was no longer uncontested. In business negotiation terms, this represents a powerful act of reframing.

Rather than negotiating behind closed doors with formal power holders, the movement expanded the negotiation to a broader audience: the global public.

Reputational costs suddenly became part of the equation.

Expanding the Negotiation Table

Another principle reflected in the movement is coalition building.

While the protests began around women’s rights, they soon drew students, workers, and activists from across Iranian society and beyond.

Successful negotiations often expand beyond the direct counterpart and engage stakeholders who can shape incentives and outcomes.

The movement did exactly that. Transforming an issue framed as “dress code enforcement” into a broader question of civil rights and political legitimacy.

A Lesson for Business Leaders

At first glance, connecting these events to business negotiation may seem counterintuitive. But the underlying dynamics are strikingly similar.

In corporate negotiations – particularly with dominant clients, powerful suppliers, or hierarchical organizations – many professionals assume the side with formal power will gain more.

Real leverage often comes from reframing the conversation, expanding the audience, building coalitions, and shifting perceptions of legitimacy.

These are precisely the dynamics Iranian women demonstrated in one of the most restrictive environments imaginable.

Negotiation Is Also About Courage

Negotiation literature often focuses on frameworks, tactics, and strategies.But the Iranian experience highlights something deeper. Negotiation also requires courage.

Sometimes the most powerful move is simply refusing to accept the status quo.

When thousands of women openly defy a rule designed to control them, they send a message every negotiator understands: The current deal is no longer acceptable.

International Women’s Day is often presented as a celebration.

It should also be a reminder.

Women negotiate every day around the world – in boardrooms, governments, families, and societies. Some negotiations are about salaries or contracts. Others are about freedom.

And sometimes the most powerful negotiation strategy does not begin with an offer at all, but with a small act of defiance that changes the conversation.

The Hard Truth: The Regime Still Holds the Table

It is important to acknowledge an uncomfortable reality.

For now, the Iranian regime retains control over the formal levers of power. The protests were met with arrests, repression, and increased control. Institutional change has proved elusive, and the legal framework governing women’s rights remains largely unchanged. In traditional power terms, the stronger party has not relented.

But negotiation processes are rarely settled in one round.

What the movement has already changed is the perception of legitimacy and the boundaries of what can be publicly contested. International scrutiny has intensified, and a new generation has publicly redefined what it considers acceptable.

In negotiation strategy, this is known as shifting the reference point. The deal on the table may not have changed yet. But the terms of the future negotiation have.

And as negotiators, and as witnesses to courage, many around the world will be watching the next round. And as a woman, I sincerely hope that very soon, this negotiation will lead to the freedom these women have so bravely fought for.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)