Beyond 'Juggling' and 'Flexibility
Classed and Gendered Experiences of Combining Employment and Motherhood
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2642274 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jo Armstrong (0000-0002-6485-2689, Lancaster University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 94-106 |
| Publication date | 2006-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Research Online (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5153/sro.1277 |
| OpenAlex | W2108599310 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
| References cited | 46 |
This paper proposes that there is a need to push beyond the popular discourses of 'flexibility' and 'work-life balance'. Developing a feminist-Bourdieuian approach and drawing on three illustrative case studies from my interview research with 27 mothers in the UK, I show the importance of maintaining a focus on class and gender inequalities. In the first part of the paper the concepts of capitals, dependencies and habitus which shaped, and were shaped by, this interview research are discussed. An analysis of three women's accounts of their experiences across work and family life is then used to illustrate that although these women all used terms such as 'flexibility' and 'juggling' in describing their work, the experience of that work was crucially influenced by their histories and current positioning. Tracing each of these women's trajectories from school, attention is focused on the influence of differential access to capitals and relations of dependency in the emergence of their dispositions toward work. Overall, the paper points to the significance of examining the classed and gendered dimensions of women's experiences of employment and motherhood
Cultural capital · Disadvantage · Habitus · Inequality · Life course approach · Management · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Work–life balance · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
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| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,11 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2025 (18) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |