Using data from a U.S. midwestern sample of mothers and fathers, the authors examine whether using workplace flexibility policies alters time spent in housework and child care. They hypothesize that an individual's policy use will lead to more time in domestic labor and that his or her spouse's policy use will lead to less time in domestic labor.…

Explores the relationship between wife's employment, sex-role traditionalism, and reported division of household tasks and decisions. Findings suggest that despite differences among women in sex-role traditionalism and employment status, most women say that they and their spouses divide tasks in a traditional sex-role fashion. (Author)

While professional women may experience their "dual careers" at home and at work as a source of inner fragmentation, this fragmentation can be a vehicle for developing a greater sense of personhood. Recent data show that women who combine work, marriage, and motherhood are experiencing more general psychological well being than are other women.…

Changes in the workplace that would provide flexibility for working parents are slowly developing and receiving government, business, and societal attention. A sidebar, "Mother, Professional, Volunteer: One Woman's Balancing Act," presents an account of how one woman rearranged her professional life to enable her to do full-time…

Women and men medical students' (N=192) intended commitments to profession and family were explored at three times during their training. Over time all students' intended hours in profession increased and hours in family decreased. Global-level measures suggested change in division of domestic labor among women and men, but specific-level measures…

Discusses the findings of studies of how parents' work experiences affect children, pointing out methodological problems as well as areas for further research and emphasizing the need for a shift from studies of parents' work status per se to investigations of coping strategies in a time of dual-earner families. (RH)

Inspite of the tremendous increase in the burden of market work faced by married American women in the last decade, the differential in household work time between husbands and wives still persists. The results of this study assert that the differences in socioeconomic characteristics between husbands and wives explain only part of that…

Among 745 physicians graduated from the University of Calgary (Canada) women were more likely to take parental leave, but gender differences in breaks taken for other reasons were less. Women worked fewer hours in direct patient care. Female parents under 35 spent fewer hours on patient care than all male parents. (Author/MSE)

This study explored the effects of maternal employment status on 63 adolescent girls in the areas of: (1) academic achievement; (2) satisfaction with family life and with emotional support from peers and adults; (3) mother-child communication; and (4) mothers' and daughters' perception of family adaptability and cohesion. A brief review of the…

A study was made of approximately 100 college students' attitudes toward two-paycheck families, using a questionnaire. The study found no support for "working mother" guilt and anxiety; for example, there was no overall family conflict effect evident. When compared with students from families with nonemployed mothers, students from two-paycheck…

Women's increased labor force participation and continued responsibility for most household work and child care have resulted in "time crunch." This strain results from assuming multiple roles within a fixed time period. The existence of an egalitarian family has been assumed by family researchers and writers but has never been verified. Time…

Examines the salient features of families with employed women and young children in India. Found that the majority of the mothers worked due to economic necessity, felt guilty of neglecting their children and family, and were dissatisfied over lack of alternative childcare facilities available. Reexamining the father's role has been stressed as a…

Articles collected in this book address issues arising from the fact that the American workforce is increasingly composed of parents. Included in the collection are short newspaper and magazine selections as well as longer magazine articles and book chapters. These materials provide primary sources documenting an historical movement of social…

A two-year longitudinal study of 200 working women in California urban areas represents an effort to understand the processes by which specific interests and commitments to paid employment develop. Data from intensive personal interviews with women in traditional and nontraditional occupations should indicate factors which facilitate the entry of…

This is the first of a series of working papers and reports on aspects of modern American families. It investigates the issues and problems facing families with preschool children, when both of the parents are employed. The composite portrait of family styles within a sample of 14 young families begins with a project history. The literature is…