Mentor/s
Dr. Chelsea King
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Historically, women have been regarded as the primary caregivers in a family unit, while men have been deemed the financial providers. These norms in the heteronormative nuclear family have been assumed for centuries. With the integration of women in the workforce in the twentieth century, this ideology is presumed to have shifted in society. Scholars have found that “The population of working mothers has greatly increased over the past few decades, yet cultural norms and standards for women have not progressed at the same rate” (Forbes et al., 2019). This cultural shift – or a lack thereof – has burdened employed mothers to feel a need to juggle a career and their family life. This perceived conflict afflicts employed mothers, which is referred to as the work-family conflict (WFC) by various academics (Heilman, Forbes, Borgogna, etc.). With this in mind, it is essential to note that male counterparts are less likely to feel the pressure of maintaining a work-family balance. Could this all be chalked up to age-old sexism? In research, it is revealed that employed mothers have encountered a fallacy that requires them to “do it all” to maintain a career while still being the primary caregiver in the home. In recent history, women were taught to be self-sufficient and work, whereas men were not told to refine their role in society – so who was left to be the caregivers? This paper discusses how societal norms influence what it means to be an employed parent and possibly how these norms are more selective toward employed mothers. These norms hold the possibility to be why employed mothers hold a fair share of guilt in terms of their work-family balance. This conflict has inflicted psychological damage on employed mothers, and it is a crisis that affects society and the overall health of mothers to this day. Using sociological, historical, and psychological lenses, it is revealed that employed mothers experience work-family conflict (WFC) more than their male counterparts.
College and Major available
Accounting
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Creative, Best Writing
Poster for AF
Ferrero, An Interdisciplinary Study on the Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Employed Mothers.pdf (195 kB)
Revised Thesis
An Interdisciplinary Study on the Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Employed Mothers
Digital Commons & West Campus 2nd Floor University Commons
Historically, women have been regarded as the primary caregivers in a family unit, while men have been deemed the financial providers. These norms in the heteronormative nuclear family have been assumed for centuries. With the integration of women in the workforce in the twentieth century, this ideology is presumed to have shifted in society. Scholars have found that “The population of working mothers has greatly increased over the past few decades, yet cultural norms and standards for women have not progressed at the same rate” (Forbes et al., 2019). This cultural shift – or a lack thereof – has burdened employed mothers to feel a need to juggle a career and their family life. This perceived conflict afflicts employed mothers, which is referred to as the work-family conflict (WFC) by various academics (Heilman, Forbes, Borgogna, etc.). With this in mind, it is essential to note that male counterparts are less likely to feel the pressure of maintaining a work-family balance. Could this all be chalked up to age-old sexism? In research, it is revealed that employed mothers have encountered a fallacy that requires them to “do it all” to maintain a career while still being the primary caregiver in the home. In recent history, women were taught to be self-sufficient and work, whereas men were not told to refine their role in society – so who was left to be the caregivers? This paper discusses how societal norms influence what it means to be an employed parent and possibly how these norms are more selective toward employed mothers. These norms hold the possibility to be why employed mothers hold a fair share of guilt in terms of their work-family balance. This conflict has inflicted psychological damage on employed mothers, and it is a crisis that affects society and the overall health of mothers to this day. Using sociological, historical, and psychological lenses, it is revealed that employed mothers experience work-family conflict (WFC) more than their male counterparts.
Students' Information
Nicole Ferrero, Accounting, Honors student, May 2023