The Working Family: Helping Women Balance the Roles of Wife, Mother, and Career Woman

Abstract

This article reviews research literature of the past 15 years to assess the impact of four factors on women's career continuity: (a) husband's attitude toward his wife's paid employment, ( b ) financial considerations, (c) household responsibilities, and ( d ) wife's personality variables. Particular issues relevant to career counselors are highlighted throughout this review and a variety of career related strategies are presented that can be used to assist clients in achieving this balance. As the number of women in the labor force continues to increase, women's ability to effectively balance family and career concerns will be essential to successful and continuous employment.Over the last two decades couples have redefined marital norms with respect to work and family life, The "typical" American family no longer consists of employed father and homemaker mother, but more often consists of couples where both spouses are employed. Women are coming to career counselors for help in finding jobs, to learn new and more effective ways to work and to master a variety of work-relevant behaviors. Yet, the ability to effectively balance the roles of wife, mother, and employed woman can be one of the most complex and difficult challenges to career success and continuity.The goals of this review article are twofold: first, to review and integrate the literature on working families so that counselors will be better able to define and understand the factors that affect women's performance, advancement, a n d continuity i n t h e workforce; second, to review and propose to counselors some Marian Stoltz-Loike is a family and career consultant for Stoltz-Loike Associate, Flushing, New York. 244THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY / MARCH 1992 / VOL. 40

Paid employment of mothers and fathers of an adult child with multiple disabilities

“…Nevertheless, it would appear that women experience more career interruptions and greater participation in part‐time work than men (Bryson 1993; Mackay 1999). Men generally exhibit a pattern of consistent employment and progression in their chosen field with the rate levelling off just before retirement (Stoltz‐Loike 1992). For women, participation rates ebb and flow, reflecting changes to their child care responsibilities (Bryson 1993).…”

Work–Family Balance Self‐Efficacy's Relationship With STEM Commitment: Unexpected Gender Moderation

“…Because of the challenges associated with balancing work and family domains, there have been calls to support preparation for these future roles through early intervention (i.e., among college students; Cinamon, ; Weitzman, ). University initiatives can include seminars, workshops, courses, programs, or mentoring (Cinamon & Rich, ) specifically tailored to providing students with skills to help prevent work–family conflict, create greater integration between work and family (Stoltz‐Loike, ; Tajlili, ), and help identify ways to experience work–family enrichment (i.e., “the extent to which experiences in one role improve quality of life in the other role”; Greenhaus & Powell, , p. 73).…”

“…However, work-family considerations remain understudied as a contributor to students' decisions to leave STEM majors. Although some research has examined the effects of work-family dynamics on individuals in the STEM workforce, minimal research has examined the degree to which work and family considerations affect career-related STEM decisions prior to entering the workforce, despite calls for research in this area (Sullivan, 1992). Specific to STEM careers, Xie and Shauman (2003) aptly asserted that "past research is mainly individual-centered and overlooks the role of the family, whereas gender differences in family expectations and the demands of familial roles may have a significant impact on the timing and sequencing of women's science careers" (p. 9).…”

Career Assessment for Couples

“…According to Hazard and Koslow (1 992), 'The dual-career life style is a complex one that demands a more complex career counseling approach" (p. 21 9). Interestingly, the career development and choice literature has not embraced a systems perspective (Stoltz-hike, 1992) as has the larger counseling literature. Similarly, the family systems theorists have not focused on or integrated the role of work into their theories.…”

“…Equally so, work commitments and responsibilities influence and affect family relationships (Barnett & Baruch, 1987;Yogev, 1981). These studies suggest that, at a minimum, counselors should use assessment strategies that acknowledge the work-family linkage (Stoltz-hike, 1992) and its significance for clients' employment decisions.…”