| Description |
xiv, 255 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
The many dimensions of "having it all" -- The Diana penalty: professions against the family -- Careers and children: not a perfect fit -- Superwoman: myth or reality? -- Tempering the fast-track: part-time careers -- Off the beaten path: the new entrepreneurs -- Putting ambition on hold: full-time moms -- On the home front: choose the right partner -- The hungry god of success -- Voices of the new revolution -- Survey background |
| Summary |
Despite increasing numbers of professional women entering the work force...despite proving themseives as capable and talented in their professions as the men who sit next to them in their offices...women still assume all the public blame and experience the private anguish when it comes to the potential collision between their careers and their children. Today, more than ever before, women with strong career ambitions who also want to be successful parents face a disturbing dilemma: how to reconcile these two critical goals without compromising the quality of either one. Women and the Work/Family Dilemma shows emphatically that you don't have to choose between playing the male rules of the game or risk suffering career-threatening penalties. In this welcome new book, 902 highly competent, dedicated professional women - all graduates of Harvard's Business, Law, and Medical schools - speak out candidly about their conflicts, successes, and defeats in trying to strike the best possible balance between their careers and their children. They share real solutions to real work/family dilemmas: from sequencing career and family, job sharing and part-time work, to striking out on your own, and finding a more "parent friendly" work culture. Dramatic stories, based on an in-depth survey and follow-up personal interviews highlight a new awareness that the work/family dilemma doesn't have to be an either/or choice between work and home. The authors share a wide range of options for managing the complex agenda of career, children, spouses, and personal life, including:. How to avoid hitting the "maternal wall." This very powerful, though invisible, barrier hinders a mother's ability to balance successfully work and family. This book offers strategies for sidestepping this obstacle, and regrouping if you do strike it. How fast-trackers make career decisions. Even women who have broken through the glass ceiling do not go it alone. They have negotiated support and real help at home and are determined to work at companies that acknowledge family needs. How to assess the pros and cons of a part-time job. Many of the women surveyed agreed that it is possible to have a challenging job and a reasonable work week. Learn how professional women who are working From 5 to 50 hours a week on a "reduced" schedule are developing creative strategies for merging profession and family. How to evaluate if self-employment is for you. You'll discover what motivates today's entrepreneurs, and what it takes to develop control over schedule and the balance needed to combine a rewarding career along with time to enjoy a family. Why women leave the work force. The authors reveal why many professionally-trained career women are opting to stay at home full-time, and raises the important issues of sequencing and work reentry. Women and the Work/Family Dilemma demonstrates in vivid detail how the culture of work impacts women's life choices; how family life influences career patterns; and how careers affect decisions about family life. Moreover, this landmark study examines workable, satisfying solutions for achieving success as a mother and as a professional |
| Analysis |
Mothers Employment |
|
United States |
| Notes |
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-250) and index |
| Notes |
Also issued online |
| Subject |
Women in the professions -- United States.
|
|
Work and family -- United States.
|
|
Working mothers -- United States.
|
| Author |
Walker, Judith P.
|
| LC no. |
92036038 |
| ISBN |
0471533181 (alk. paper) |
|
