131
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Encumbered: a critical feminist analysis of why mothers want part-time employment

, , , &
Received 09 Oct 2023, Accepted 18 Mar 2024, Published online: 30 Mar 2024

References

  • Allen, K. R. (2023). Feminist theory, method, and praxis: Toward a critical consciousness for family and close relationship scholars. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 40(3), 899–936. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/02654075211065779.
  • Arora, S., & Kumari, N. (2022). Diverging women on the mommy track to the career track. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 23(5), 142–154.
  • Baker, M., Gruber, J., & Milligan, K. (2008). Universal childcare, maternal labor supply, and family well-being. Journal of Political Economy, 116(4), 709–745. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1086/591908.
  • Beach, J., Friendly, M., Nguyen, N., Nogueira, P., Taylor, M., Mohamed, S., Rothman, L., & Forer, B. (2023). Early childhood education and care in Canada 2021. Child Care Resource and Research Unit. https://childcarecanada.org/sites/default/files/Early-Childhood-Education-and-Care-2021-REV-12-23_0.pdf.
  • Beaujout, R., Liu, J., & Ravanera, Z. (2015). The converging gender trends in earning and caring in Canada. Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series, 3(3), 2–10. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pclc/vol3/iss3/2/.
  • Becker, P., & Moen, P. (1999). Scaling back: Dual earner couples’ work-family strategies. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 995–1007.
  • Booth, A. L., & Van Ours, J. C. (2008). Job satisfaction and family happiness: The part-time work puzzle. The Economic Journal, 118(526), F77–F99.
  • Booth, A. L., & Van Ours, J. C. (2013). Part-time jobs: What women want? Journal of Population Economics, 26, 263–283.
  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  • Breitkreuz, R., Colen, K., & Horne, R. (2021). Producing the patchwork: The hidden work of mothers in organizing child care. Journal of Family Studies, 27(3), 436–459. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2019.1635038
  • Budig, M. J., & England, P. (2001). The wage penalty for motherhood. American Sociological Review, 66, 204–225. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2657415.
  • Buehler, C., & O’Brien, M. (2011). Mothers’ part-time employment: Associations with mother and family well-being. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(6), 895–906.
  • Cohen, M. G., & Pulkingham, J. (2009). Going too far? Feminist public policy in Canada. In M. Cohen & J. Pulkingham (Eds.), Public policy for women: The state, income security, and labour market issues (pp. 3–49). University of Toronto Press.
  • Collins, C. (2020). Who to blame and how to solve it: Mothers’ perceptions of work–family conflict across Western policy regimes. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(3), 849–874.
  • Cooke, L. P. (2014). Gendered parenthood penalties and premiums across the earnings distribution in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. European Sociological Review, 30(3), 360–372. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/24480055.
  • Craig, L., & Bittman, M. (2008). The incremental time costs of children: An analysis of children’s impact on adult time use in Australia. Feminist Economics, 14(2), 59–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700701880999
  • Craig, L., & Churchill, B. (2019). Labor force status, transitions, and mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress: Direct and cross-spousal influences. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(2), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12540
  • Craig, L., & Mullan, K. (2010). Parenthood, gender and work-family time in the United States, Australia, Italy, France, and Denmark. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 1344–1361. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/40865614.
  • Crowley, J. E. (2013). Perceiving and responding to maternal workplace discrimination in the United States. Women’s Studies International Forum, 40, 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2013.08.001
  • Damaske, S., & Frech, A. (2016). Women’s work pathways across the life course. Demography, 53(2), 365–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-016-0464-z
  • Daminger, A. (2019). The cognitive dimension to household labour. American Sociological Review, 84(4), 609–633. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/48595780.
  • Dean, L., Churchill, B., & Ruppanner, L. (2022). The mental load: building a deeper theoretical understanding of how cognitive and emotional labor overload women and mothers. Community, Work and Family, 25(1), 13–29. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1080/13668803.2021.2002813.
  • Dinh, H., Strazdins, L., & Welsh, J. (2017). Hour-glass ceilings: Work-hour thresholds, gendered health inequities. Social Science and Medicine, 176, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.024
  • Edlund, J. (2007). The work–family time squeeze: Conflicting demands of paid and unpaid work among working couples in 29 countries. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 48(6), 451–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715207083338
  • Ehrlich, U., Möhring, K., & Drobnič, S. (2020). What comes after caring? The impact of family care on women’s employment. Journal of Family Issues, 41(9), 1387–1419.
  • Ellingsæter, A. L., & Jensen, R. S. (2019). Politicising women’s part-time work in Norway: A longitudinal study of ideas. Work, Employment & Society, 33(3), 444–461. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/26970064.
  • Fagan, C., O’Reilly, J., & Rubery, J. (2018). Part-time work: Challenging the “breadwinner” gender contract. In J. Jenson, J. Laufer, M. Maruani, & H. Arnold (Eds.), The gendering of inequalities: Women, men and work (pp. 174–186). Routledge.
  • Fernandez-Kranz, D., & Rodriguez-Planas, N. (2013). Can parents’ right to work part-time hurt childbearing-aged women? A natural experiment with administrative data. Institute for the Study of Labour, discussion paper No. 7509. https://ssrn.com/abstract = 2314804.
  • Ferrao, V. (2010). Paid work. women in Canada: A gender-based statistical report. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no: 89-503-X. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11387-eng.htm.
  • Fox, D., & Moyser, M. (2018). The economic well-being of women in Canada. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no: 89-503-X.
  • Gangl, M., & Ziefle, A. (2009). Motherhood, labour force behaviours, and women’s careers: An empirical assessment of the wage penalty for motherhood in Britain, Germany, and the United States. Demography, 46(2), 341–369. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0056
  • Gash, V. (2008). Preference or constraint? Part-time workers’ transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom. Work, Employment, & Society, 22(4), 655–674. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/23749172.
  • Ginn, J., Arber, S., Brannen, J., Dale, A., Dex, S., Elias, P., Moss, P., Pahl, J., Roberts, C., & Rubery, J. (1996). Feminist fallacies: A reply to Hakim on women’s employment. British Journal of Sociology, 7(1), 167–174. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/591122.
  • Glauber, R. (2012). Women’s work and working conditions: Are mothers compensated for lost wages? Work and Occupations, 39(2), 115–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888411422948
  • Government of Canada. (2017). Multilateral early learning and childcare framework. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/programs/early-learning-child-care/reports/2017-multilateral-framework/MEL_and_CCF-EN.pdf.
  • Government of Canada. (2021). Budget 2021: A Canada-wide early learning and childcare plan. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html.
  • Government of Canada. (2023a). EI maternity and parental benefits. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html.
  • Gregory, M., & Connolly, S. (2008). Feature: The price of reconciliation: Part-time work, families and women’s satisfaction. The Economic Journal, 118(526), F1–F7. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02113.x
  • Haas, L. (2003). Parental leave and gender equality: Lessons from the European Union. Review of Policy Research, 20(1), 89–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-1338.d01-6
  • Hakim, C. (2002). Life style preferences as determinants of women’s differentiated labour market careers. Work and Occupations, 29(4), 428–459.
  • Hennink, M. M., Kaiser, B. N., & Weber, M. B. (2019). What influences saturation? Estimating sample sizes in focus group research. Qualitative Health Research, 29(10), 1483–1496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732318821692
  • Hill, E. J., Märtinson, V., & Ferris, M. (2004a). New-concept part-time employment as a work-family adaptive strategy for women professionals with small children. Family Relations, 53(3), 282–292. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/3700346.
  • Hill, E. J., Märtinson, V. K., Ferris, M., & Baker, R. Z. (2004b). Beyond the mommy track: The influence of new-concept part-time work for professional women on work and family. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 25(1), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jeei.0000016726.06264.91
  • Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift: Working families and the revolution at home. Penguin.
  • Hochschild, A. (2003). The commercialization of intimate life: Notes from home and work. University of California Press.
  • Horne, R., & Breitkreuz, R. (2018). The motherhood sacrifice: Maternal experiences of child care in the Canadian context. Journal of Family Studies, 24(2), 126–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2015.1109540
  • Houle, P., Turcotte, M., & Wendt, M. (2017). Changes in parents’ participation in domestic tasks and care for children from 1986 to 2015. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 89-652-x.
  • International Labour Organization. (n.d.). What is part-time work? https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—travail/documents/publication/wcms_170717.pdf.
  • Jacobs, J. A., & Gerson, K. (2006). The time divide: Work, family, and gender inequality. Harvard University Press.
  • Jenson, J. (2015). The fading goal of gender equality: Three policy directions that underpin the resilience of gendered socio-economic inequalities. Social Politics, 22(4), 539–560.
  • Jenson, J. (2018). A comparative perspective on work and gender. In J. Jenson, J. Laufer, & M. Maruani (Eds.), The gendering of inequalities: Women, men and work (pp. 3–160). New Routledge.
  • Kapp Howe, L. (1978). Pink collar workers. Avon Books.
  • Kitterød, R. H., & Pettersen, S. V. (2006). Making up for mothers’ employed working hours? Housework and childcare among Norwegian fathers. Work, Employment and Society, 20(3), 473–492.
  • Lamar, M. R., Forbes, L. K., & Capasso, L. A. (2019). Helping working mothers face the challenges of an intensive mothering culture. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 41(3), 203–220.
  • Lambert, B., & Mcinturff, K. (2016). Making women count: the unequal economics of women’s work. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Oxfam Canada. https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/making-women-count-0
  • Lauri, M. A. (2019). WASP (write a scientific paper): Collecting qualitative data using focus groups. Early Human Development, 133, 65–68.
  • Lefebvre, P., & Merrigan, P. (2008). Child-care policy and the labor supply of mothers with young children: A natural experiment from Canada. Journal of Labor Economics, 26(3), 519–548. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1086/587760.
  • Lewis, J. (2000). Gender and welfare regimes. In G. Lewis, S. Gewirtz, & J. Clarke (Eds.), Rethinking social policy (pp. 37–51). Sage.
  • Lewis, J. (2002). Gender and welfare state change. European Societies, 4(4), 331–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461669022000022324
  • Lewis, P., & Simpson, R. (2017). Hakim revisited: Preference, choice and the postfeminist gender regime. Gender, Work & Organization, 24(2), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12150
  • Macdonald, D., & Friendly, M. (2014). The parent trap: Childcare fees in Canada’s big cities. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2014/11/Parent_Trap.pdf.
  • MacPhail, F., & Bowles, P. (2008). From casual work to economic security: The case of British Columbia. Social Indicators Research, 88(1), 97–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9208-1
  • Mahon, R., Anttonen, A., Bergqvist, C., Brennan, D., & Hobson, B. (2012). Convergent care regimes? Childcare arrangements in Australia, Canada, Finland and Sweden. Journal of European Social Policy, 22(4), 419–431. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/0958928712449776.
  • Marshall, K. (2006). Converging gender roles. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE.
  • McCoy, L. (2006). Keeping the institution in view: Working with interview accounts of everyday experience. In D. Smith (Ed.), Institutional ethnography as practice (pp. 91–108). Rowman & Littlefield.
  • McKay, L., Mathieu, S., & Doucet, A. (2016). Parental-leave rich and parental-leave poor: Inequality in Canadian labour market based leave policies. Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(4), 543–562. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/0022185616643558.
  • McRae, S. (2003). Constraints and choices in mothers’ employment careers: A consideration of Hakim’s preference theory. British Journal of Sociology, 54(3), 317–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/0007131032000111848
  • Meiksins, P., & Whalley, P. (2002). Putting work in its place: A quiet revolution. Cornell University Press.
  • Milan, A., Keown, L., & Urquijo, C. (2011). Families, living arrangements and unpaid work. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 89-503-X.
  • Morse, J., Barret, M., Mayan, M., Olson, K., & Spiers, J. (2002). Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3125QH05
  • Moyser, M. (2017). Women and paid work. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 89-503-X.
  • Moyser, M., & Burlock, B. (2018). Time use: Total work burden, unpaid work, and leisure. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 89-503-X.
  • Nomaguchi, K., & Fettro, M. N. (2019). Childrearing stages and work–family conflict: The role of job demands and resources. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(2), 289–307. https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1111/jomf.12521.
  • O’Connor, J., Orloff, A., & Shaver, S. (1999). States, markets, families: Gender, liberalism and social policy in Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Cambridge University Press.
  • OECD. (2023). Maternal employment rates. OECD Social Policy Division. https://www.oecd.org/els/family/LMF1_2_Maternal_Employment.pdf.
  • OECD Social Policy Division. (2010). Gender brief. https://www.oecd.org/els/family/44720649.pdf.
  • Patterson, M. (2018). Who works part time and why? Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 71-222-X.
  • Pilkauskas, N., Waldfogel, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2016). Maternal labor force participation and differences by education in an urban birth cohort study–1998-2010. Demographic Research, 34(14), 407–419. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2016.34.14
  • Polanyi, K. (1944; 2001). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. Beacon Press.
  • Reich-Stiebert, N., Froehlich, L., & Voltmer, J. B. (2023). Gendered mental labor: A systematic literature review on the cognitive dimension of unpaid work within the household and childcare. Sex Roles, 88, 475–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-023-01362-0
  • Richardson, B., Prentice, S., & Lero, D. (2023). I’m kind of in a dilemma’: The challenges of non-standard work schedules and childcare. Community, Work & Family, 26(4), 428–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2021.2007048
  • Rubery, J. (2015). Change at work: Feminisation, flexibilisation, fragmentation and financialization. Employee Relations, 37(6), 633–644. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2015-0067
  • Sayer, L. C., & Gornick, J. C. (2012). Cross-national variation in the influence of employment hours on childcare time. European Sociological Review, 28(4), 421–442.
  • Shor, J. (1991). The overworked American: The unexpected decline of leisure. Basic Books.
  • Smith, D. E. (1987). The everyday world as problematic: A feminist sociology. Northeastern University Press.
  • Statistics Canada. (2023). Child care arrangements, 2023. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231205/dq231205a-eng.htm.
  • Statistics Canada. (2024). Proportion of workers in full-time and part-time jobs by sex, annual. Table 14-10-0327-03. https://doi.org/10.25318/1410032701-eng
  • Stone, P. (2007). Opting out? Why women really quit careers and head home. University of California Press.
  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.) Sage: Thousand Oaks.
  • Taylor, P., Funk, C., & Clark, A. (2007). Fewer mothers prefer full-time work. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2007/07/12/fewer-mothers-prefer-full-time-work/.
  • Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01067.x
  • Vosko, L. F. (2009). Precarious employment and the challenges for employment policy. In M. Griffin Cohen & J. Pulkingham (Eds.), Public policy for women in Canada: The state, income security, and labour market issues (pp. 374–395). University of Toronto Press.
  • Vosko, L. F., & Clark, L. (2009). Gendered precarious and social reproduction. In L. F. Vosko, M. MacDonald, & I. Campbell (Eds.), Gender and the contours of precarious employment (pp. 26–42). Routledge.
  • Wattis, L., Standing, K., & Yerkes, M. A. (2013). Mothers and work–life balance: Exploring the contradictions and complexities involved in work–family negotiation. Community, Work & Family, 16(1), 1–19.
  • Webber, G., & Williams, C. (2008). Mothers in “good” and “bad” part-time jobs: Different problems, same results. Gender & Society, 22(6), 752–777. https://www-jstor-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/stable/27821693.
  • Wheatley, D., Lawton, C., & Hardill, I. (2018). Gender differences in paid and unpaid work. In V. Caven & S. Nachmias (Eds.), Hidden inequalities in the workplace (pp. 181–214). Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Williams, J. (2000). Unbending gender: Why family and work conflict and what to do about it. Oxford University Press.
  • Wray, D. (2020). Paternity leave and fathers’ responsibility: Evidence from a natural experiment in Canada. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(2), 534–549.
  • Yerkes, M. (2009). Part-time work in the Dutch welfare state: The ideal combination of work and care? Policy and Politics, 37(4), 535–552. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557309X435510
  • Yu, A. (2022, June 1). How a four-day workweek could benefit women. The Globe and Mail, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-how-a-four-day-workweek-could-benefit-women/

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.