Doctoral Dissertation Research: Work-Family Policies and Working Mothers: A Cross-National Comparative Study

在所有的工业化国家，在过去的半个世纪里，女性以前所未有的数量加入了有报酬的劳动力大军，同时仍然承担着抚养孩子的主要责任。今天，大多数带孩子的母亲都是有报酬的劳动力。这项研究调查了西方世界的职业母亲如何平衡她们的工作和家庭责任。调查人员将对来自德国、瑞典、意大利和美国四个国家的100名职业母亲进行深入访谈。他们将研究这四个国家不同的母性理想和性别平等是如何嵌入到工作家庭政策制度中的。鉴于她们不同的政策制度，该研究考察了职业母亲在平衡母亲身份和就业时，如何协调她们每天面临的限制和机会。访谈主题包括：工作场所与主管和同事的互动，就业历史和未来计划，向父母的过渡，各种工作-家庭政策的使用和看法，工作和家庭责任之间的冲突，与伴侣分担家庭照顾，对养育子女的看法，对其职业和家庭的解释和理解，个人成功和遗憾，以及对各自国家职业母亲状况的一般看法。这项研究可能是第一个将母亲的声音纳入全球关于工作-家庭政策的学术辩论的比较研究。了解女性的观点，了解什么能（和什么阻碍）她们实现工作与家庭的平衡，应该是任何学术努力的核心，以制定、倡导和实施作为社会变革力量的工作与家庭政策。该项目的研究结果将有助于促进有关改善21世纪西方工业化国家母亲工作和家庭生活的政策辩论。由于许多国家将其国内生产总值的相当大一部分用于工作家庭政策，这项研究将为这些支出的最有效目标提供关键见解，使母亲和政府都受益。鉴于当今绝大多数母亲在抚养子女的同时参与了全球化经济，该项目将为有关如何更好地支持母亲的职业和家庭的政策辩论提供至关重要的知识。

SES-1434863Jennifer GlassCaitlyn CollinsThe University of Texas at AustinIn all industrialized countries, women have entered the paid labor force in unprecedented numbers over the past half-century while still maintaining primary responsibility for childrearing. Today, the majority of mothers with children are in the paid labor force. This study investigates how working mothers in the western world balance their work and family obligations. The investigators will conduct 100 in-depth interviews with working mothers from four countries: Germany, Sweden, Italy, and the United States¬. They will examine how different ideals of motherhood and gender equality are embedded in the work-family policy regimes of these four countries. Given their different policy regimes, the research examines how working mothers negotiate the constraints and opportunities facing them daily as they balance motherhood and employment. Interview topics include: workplace interactions with supervisors and colleagues, employment history and future plans, the transition to parenthood, use and perceptions of various work-family policies, conflict between work and home responsibilities, dividing family care with a partner, opinions about parenting, interpretations and understandings of their careers and families, personal successes and regrets, and general views on the status of working mothers in their respective countries. This research is potentially the first comparative study to incorporate mothers' voices into the scholarly debates about work-family policy around the world. Understanding women's perspectives about what works (and what hinders) their achievement of work-family balance should be central to any scholarly endeavor to craft, advocate for, and implement work-family policy as a force for social change. Findings from this project will contribute to policy debates about improving mothers' work and family lives in 21st century Western industrialized countries. With many countries spending a sizeable portion of their GDP on work-family policies, this study will provide crucial insight into the most effective targets for these expenditures, benefitting both mothers and governments. This project will provide vital knowledge for policy debates about how to better support mothers in their careers and families given that the vast majority of mothers participate in the globalized economy while raising children today.