Women, Work, and Families: Balancing and Weaving (Understanding Families (Hardcover))

This study of 30 mothers looks at the varying ways women balance work and family life. It is carried out through intensive interviews and the data is examined from several theoretical standpoints, including structural theory, motherhood theory, and feminist theory. A supplemental text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in Family Studies Programs and Women's Studies programs. Booknews A study of working mothers who juggle obligations to both work and family, seeking to understand the decision-making process these women go through. Interviews with 30 married women, all with children under two years of age, reveal a range of ways in which women weave together the strands of their lives. Information is examined from a number of theoretical standpoints, including structural theory, motherhood theory, and feminist theory. A key variable that runs through the study is economic need and its effect on work patterns. Hattery teaches sociology at Wake Forest University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) 'Hattery′s book is an important contribution to this literature. The book is engaging and is well written. I would recommend this book and encourage Hattery to continue examination of this construct.'- Psychology of Women Quarterly Women, Work, and Family: Balancing and Weaving is a fascinating examination of the extraordinary juggling skills of working mothers who balance their obligations to both work and family. Angela Hattery goes beyond a mere description of women′s conflicts of interest and seeks to understand the decision-making process through which they accomplish this balancing. Through intensive interviews with 30 married women, all with children under 2 years of age, Hattery uncovers a remarkable range of ways in which these women weave together the complex strands of their lives. The data in the volume are examined from a number of theoretical standpoints, including structural theory, motherhood theory, and feminist theory. A key variable that runs through the data is economic need, which has an obvious effect on work patterns. Women, Work, and Family will make a major contribution to family studies and will illuminate the difficult choices that women make within the family/work context. Many challenges face U.S. families in the beginning of the 21st century.