The dual‐career phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent worldwide. This lifestyle often generates stresses and strains, at home and at work, for couples juggling multiple demands, which can have negative consequences for organisations. While most empirical research into this lifestyle has been conducted in the United States and Britain, very little has been carried out in Australia. This particular study, based on data from an Australian sample of 121 lawyers and accountants, was therefore aimed at analysing the levels of stress, work‐family conflict and overload among dual‐career and single‐career couples. The results confirm that dual‐career couples experience higher levels of stress, work‐family conflict and overload than single‐career couples. To enhance labour productivity and organisational effectiveness, human resource managers therefore need to take account of the potential for dual‐career stress, overload and conflict, and respond flexibly to dual‐career employee status.

The UN-designated International Year of the Family 1994 highlighted the need for legislative and employer initiatives in response to the delicate balancing act experienced by workers with family responsibilities, and especially women (Smith and Pike, 1994). Despite subsequent organizational initiatives to bring about a more``family-friendly'' working environment, many employees remain dissatisfied with corporate life, and are seeking a better balance between their career and home responsibilities (Marshall, 1995;Stroh et al., 1996;Greenhaus et al., 1997). This disenchantment is prompting growing numbers of employees to consider small business as an alternative livelihood.Small business creation has been encouraged by governments worldwide as a catalyst for economic growth. Studies in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Norway and the USA have consistently shown that, for a third of people starting a small business venture, the primary reason is to achieve greater control over their lives, with their control preferences influencing every aspect of business management (Holmes, 1999). However, Gerber (1986) contends that most novice small business owners end up enslaved rather than liberated by the move to career independence.Women have increasingly been attracted to entrepreneurship, not merely for selffulfilment but also as a vehicle for greater flexibility in managing family responsibilities (Still and Chia, 1995). Many are establishing small enterprises with their spouses or life partners. Such enterprising couples who work in and share ownership of, commitment to, and responsibility for their business, have been termed``copreneurs'' (Barnett and Barnett, 1989). While Australian statistics are available on small business and women in small business (Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business, 1998), it is difficult to estimate the number of`c opreneurial'' business partnerships. Nevertheless, they are believed to represent a rapidly growing segment of the business population. Due to comparable economic and social forces, the Australian trend is likely to mirror that of the USA, where it has been estimated that the number of businesses run by husbands and wives working together full

Presents findings from a study investigating the career transitions of a sample of dual‐career managerial couples within Australian organizations. Results confirm that job changes are complex processes, which are determined by biographical factors such as sex, age, parental status, stakeholder influence and career salience. However, they are very much influenced by work factors such as the culture of the employing organization. Recommends more flexible career paths, employment practices and managerial conventions, to facilitate the career development of the growing numbers of dual‐career couples, and to enhance labour retention and organizational productivity.

Discusses the gendered culture of management education and its role in perpetuating a gendered culture of management, which in turn inhibits the equitable progression of women through the ranks of management. Reports findings from a recent Australian survey which revealed a masculine bias in management education, which disadvantages both female and male learners. Perceived gender paradigms of male educators may result in women learners being more disadvantaged than men, and issues of concern to male students can cause much greater concern to their female counterparts. The research led to the production of an award-winning video, Gender Issues in Management: Capitalising on Awareness of Diversity. This constitutes an additional teaching resource for management educators, trainers, consultants and others working on diversity issues.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

A major Australian report recently criticized the relationship between the gendered culture of management education and business management practices, in an effort to reduce impediments to equal representation of women in management. It recommended a major overhaul of university management education, whereby institutions would review their own role in shaping corporate management cultures and practices, and raise awareness of gender issues in the classroom. This article reports on a subsequent survey that explored postgraduate business students' perceptions of gender issues in the management curriculum, and their effects on learning experiences. It suggests that a masculine ethos is perceptible in management education, which can disadvantage female and male students in different ways. The study suggests that greater awareness of gender issues should be a major consideration for management educators, to enable future managers to recognize and harness gender diversity in the workplace.

IntroductionA rapidly expanding female workforce is one of the key features of the changing Australian business environment. Consistent with trends in the US and UK, the last two decades have seen a steady increase in women's participation in paid employment in Australia, and women now constitute 42.5 per cent of the current workforce (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1995). Future projections indicate that by the year 2010 women will constitute half of all Australian workers (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1988), and a multicultural labour force is fast becoming the norm.Despite employment support in the form of affirmative action legislation, women in Australia still face entrenched cultural barriers to their participation in management, particularly at the more senior levels (Still, 1993). Reflecting the significance of demographic changes, however, a diversity of management perspectives makes good business sense (Smith and Hutchinson, 1995). Yet extensive literature confirms that gender diversity is an issue which many Australian organisations have yet to address or accommodate effectively (Burton and Ryall, 1995; Kaplan, 1996).In 1992 the federal government appointed an industry task force on leadership and management skills, to review Australia's management and leadership capabilities and advise on measures to strengthen management practices, in an effort to improve economic performance. An international leadership expert advising the task force alleged that "corporate Australia's Achilles' heel" was its all-male monoculture, whose "rugby-scrum mentality" made it difficult for women -and men who did not fit this particular image -to break in (Mant, 1994, p. 3). Mant emphasised that, because new ideas arise from diversity, Australian management culture needs to embrace a variety of differing perspectives.The final report of the task force (Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills, 1995) -or Karpin Report as it became known, after the name of its chairperson -identified the need for capitalising on the benefits of gender diversity, as one of five key levers for improving business competitiveness. The report also highlighted the strong inter-relationship between the highly gendered nature of both management education and

Describes trends in the dual‐career research literature, which shows that conflicting demands of home and work are exacerbated when both partners strive for upward career progression, disadvantaging women more than men, and adversely affecting their work performance. Directions for future work in the area are indicated, including more studies of women managers. Employers have a key role to play in enhancing both organizational and individual benefits, by acknowledging the interrelationship between home and work, and the conflicting demands and loyalties facing dual‐career couples, and adopting innovative and flexible work options.