Synopses & Reviews
Moen describes the meshing of work and family roles, not only as the private dilemma of individual women and their families but also as a public dilemma for the nation. This is an issue linked to deep apprehensions about families' and children's well-being, to demands for gender equality, to the outcry of some for a return to the traditional wife-as-homemaker role, and to growing concerns about labor market needs, productivity, and economic competitiveness. An overriding theme is the unevenness of social change: American mothers of young children may be moving into the labor force in unprecedented numbers, but husbands, employers, and public policies are slow to accommodate this emerging reality.
Review
Although numerous books and articles have described the stresses and strains experienced by employed women and their families, this book contains new, relevant information. With a sense of urgency, Moen identifies differences in women's approaches to combining work and family roles by examining, among other issues, the diversity of their work commitment. Moen argues that employed women with families generally fit one of four topologies: "captives," "conflicted," "copers," and "committed." Trend analysis, a technique that receives considerable attention throughout her book, reveals that captives (working women whose family cares make them unwilling employees) are declining while committed workers (well-educated career women whose family plans are often delayed) are increasing. Moen brings new information and insights into the costs for women and for young children of mothers' combining two roles. Finally, this book includes logical arguments for transforming the structure of work and for reconfiguring the patterns of education-work-retirement over women's--as well as men's--life course. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty.Choice
Review
Superb supplementary text ideally suited for courses in the sociology of gender or in women's studies.Cooperative Economics News Service
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [135]-165) and index.
About the Author
PHYLLIS MOEN is Director of the Cornell Life Course Institute and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Sociology at Cornell University.
Table of Contents
The Issue in Context
Introduction
Recent Trends
Consequences
Patterns, Problems, and Payoffs for Women
Implications for Marriages, Families, and Children
Implications for Employers, Unions, and Governments
New Directions
Conclusions and Implications
Bibliography
Index