Content area
Abstract
This dissertation examines the relationship between occupational choice and the transition to motherhood among a group of women who graduated from the University of Alberta in 1985. Aggregate data from a larger study in which the women participated had shown clear occupational differences in the timing of motherhood, and, among women with children, in participation in paid employment after childbirth. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 45 of the women, and shorter telephone interviews with 19 others, allowed the relationship to be explored interpretively.
The research was oriented by two theoretical perspectives. The life course approach, particularly as informed by Giddens' structuration theory, invited a view of motherhood as a significant transition in the life course, and of women as actors, constructing their own biographies in a social context of considerable constraint. Feminist theory suggested the centrality of motherhood, both as an ideological definition of "true" femininity, and of mothering as a set of socially constrained practices for which women are positioned to be responsible. Both theoretical perspectives raised the problem of theorizing a life course which bridges paid work and family work, or public and private domains.
The interview data suggested that, though career choice and work history had somewhat contradictory effects on the timing of the transition to motherhood, family decisions were clearly affected by workplace issues. In general, successful career establishment--most easily achieved by the teachers in the sample--appeared to be the most important prerequisite in the timing of the first pregnancy. In terms of employment decisions after childbirth, the possibility of maintaining an ongoing connection to the original occupation was much easier for women in traditional occupations, at least in part because they were readily able to convert to part-time work.
The data also generated a possible theoretical explanation for the strong commitment to motherhood as a career demonstrated by many of the women in the well-educated, predominantly middle-class sample. It was suggested that the possibility of choosing a pregnancy might increase women's feelings of responsibility, both for the initial decision to have a baby, and then for subsequent child care.
This research has implications for policy formulation in the areas of women's career choices, gender equity in the workplace, and work-family integration.
