Preferences, constraints or schemas of devotion? Exploring Norwegian mothers' withdrawals from high‐commitment careers¹

Abstract

Despite decades of focus on gender equality and work-family balance, parenthood still affects mothers' and fathers' careers differently. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Norwegian mothers who are relinquishing high-commitment careers of law and consultancy, this paper questions the adequacy of established explanations emphasizing constraints vs. individual preferences. Our sample of female professionals living in a well-developed welfare state is particularly apt to explore the processes and mechanisms upholding the statistically gendered pattern of women reducing their work commitment after childbirth. These doubly privileged mothers might be considered to have the best odds for combining career and work commitment with motherhood. Thus, we argue that the approach emphasizing practical constraints does not sufficiently account for the withdrawal from high-commitment careers among these female professionals. Nevertheless, we are not content with the claim of Preference Theory that this shift in commitment is merely a matter of 'not-so-dedicated' women discovering their 'genuine' preferences. Rather, in order to understand why and how this shift occurs, we explore the culturally constructed rationalities and schemas of both work and family devotions. We specifically examine the circumstances, mechanisms and steps in a seemingly individual process of making the shift in commitment from a promising career to a family-friendly job. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates how generous parental leave arrangements designed to enhance gender equality and work-family balance by simply reducing practical constraints may have limited--or even counterproductive--impact within high-commitment occupations where the 'irreplaceability' of workers is taken for granted. Our findings indicate that unless the culturally (re)produced discourses, demands and expectations of both work and family are exposed and challenged, even intentionally gender neutral work-family policies will continue to facilitate mothers' career withdrawals, expressed as modified individual preferences.

A Tale of Two Majors: Explaining the Gender Gap in STEM Employment among Computer Science and Engineering Degree Holders

“…Some scholars argue that persistent gender differences in labor market retention can be attributed to the discrepancy between women's and men's willingness to prioritize work demands over family obligations (Ceci and Williams 2011;Ferriman et al 2009;Hakim 2000;Hakim 2002), though attributing differential behavior to preferences is strongly critiqued by feminist scholars as essentialist (Halrynjo and Lyng 2009;Stähli et al 2009). The relational and family care obligations of marriage, for example, appear to be greater for women than men; perhaps as a result, women with STEM degrees are less likely than their male counterparts to be married (Mason et al 2013).…”

Earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1995-2010

“…For women, the expected direction of the anticipatory effects is less clear: On one hand, the setup of the Norwegian parental leave system encourages women to increase their efforts in paid work before having a child. On the other hand, qualitative studies show that Norwegian women shift to jobs with higher family compatibility (sometimes implying lower earnings) when planning a first child (Halrynjo and Lyng 2009;Pedersen 2014). In sum, anticipatory effects are likely to make the correlation more positive for men, while they could push the correlation for women in either direction.…”

„Másoknak ez munka, nekem szívügyem” Az etnicitás szerepe a diplomás roma nők munka-család konstrukcióinak alakulásában

“…Mindkettő arra igyekszik magyarázatot adni, hogy miért van az, hogy a nyugati társadalmakban az utóbbi évtizedben tapasztalható nemi esélyegyenlősé-gi és családbarát munkaerő-piaci és állami politikák ellenére továbbra is fennáll az, hogy az anyák karrierjét jobban hátráltatja a gyermekvállalás, mint az apákét (Halrynjo-Lyng 2009, Crompton-Lewis-Lyonette 2007.…”

“…De még a magas státuszú munkakörökre képzett és ott alkalmazott nőkre is igaz, Európa több orszá-gában is, hogy az anyaság társadalmi hátrányt jelent számukra (Crompton-Harris 1999, Halrynjo-Lyng 2009, Glass-Fodor 2011.…”

“…A családbarát norvég szociálpolitika nem várt következményeinek, mint például a magasan kvalifikált állásokban dolgozó, korábban karrierorientált anyák munkapreferenciái gyerekszülést követő átalakulásának okait magyarázó kutatók pedig azt hangsúlyozzák (Halrynjo-Lyng 2009), hogy a munka és a család szférájára vonatkozó, egymást kizáró morális racionalitások feszültsége okozza a professzionális munkakörökben dolgozó anyák karrierének leváltását "gyerekbarát" állásokra. Ahogy a norvég kutatók interjúalanyai megfogalmazták munkaorientációik átalakulásának okát, abból világosan kiderült, hogy a váltás oka az volt, hogy úgy érezték, gyerek mellett már nem tudnak és nem is akarnak megfelelni a munkájukkal járó maximális elköteleződés elvárásának.…”