ABSTRACT
This chapter explores in depth the experience of the working women, looking particularly at how women balance the demands of caring and paid work. It examines their particular experience of services, facilities, programs and professional support of whatever kind and from whichever sector and the support or lack of it in the workplace itself. Work might at times present real difficulties but it was the more predictable and, in essence, more manageable area of their life. By and large the literature developed in the context of a feminist concern for the lack of recognition accorded to women’s unpaid work and its importance to the social and economic life. For women who work and care the experience is quite different. Most of the women held professional or managerial positions or were working in a skilled trade or secretarial job. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
