Glass-Ceiling in a Single Mother’s Life

Abstract

Single mothers face problems not only because of their own status so they have to struggle hard to meet their needs, but also because of patriarchal social construction that presents many challenges to women. This qualitative research is aimed at revealing: the form of glass-ceiling for single mother and their strategies taken to deal with that. This research was conducted in Sidoarjo on five single mothers. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. The theory used is symbolic interaction because it allows researchers to identify research subjects. The results of this study reveal that the glass-ceiling faced by women are domestic responsibilities, sosial control, and underestimation of women. Strategies for dealing with it are sharing work and ignorant of negative responses. The response to the glass-ceiling depends very much on the way of thinking (mind) of women in seeing themselves. When women put themselves away as objects (me) that are powerless against the values that apply, then the choice of action to face the challenges of their lives (glass-ceiling) tends to be compromising and accommodating, whereas if the means adopted are based more on how to see themselves as subjects (I), then the method adopted tends to be uncompromising.

The Single Mother Entrepreneurs Business Growth Conundrum: What Matters?

“…They are often unaware of training opportunities and are less likely to afford the training cost provided by the private sectors. Another intriguing factor that impedes women's business achievements is the glass-ceiling phenomenon, which refers to an invisible barrier that impedes the advancement of the talented women professionals in corporate entities, especially in the Asian region (Han & Noland, 2020;Jatiningsih, Sarmini, & Habibah, 2020). Furthermore, the glass ceiling metaphor has recently expanded into the context of women entrepreneurs, described as the "second glass ceiling" (Bosse & Taylor, 2012).…”

“…As far as single mother is concerned, the barriers are expected to be more intense compared to other groups of women entrepreneurs. The problem is due to their status, which may impose extra burden such as increased household duties and a wider scope of family responsibilities (Abd Hamid & Salleh, 2013;Jatiningsih et al, 2020;Kotwal & Prabhakar, 2009;Mahat et al, 2019;Rahman, Abdullah, Darus, & Mansor, 2017). Hence, single mother entrepreneurs are expose to more obstacles compared to other group of women entrepreneurs.…”