ABSTRACT
Given the fact that women are working more in addition to (rather than instead of) getting married and having a family, the issue of reconciling work and family life becomes increasingly acute. Participation by women in responsible jobs in contemporary society requires an organization of effort, and commitment to work that can be characterized as a 'career-orientation', rather than an orientation that allows for working without expectations of development and/or advancement. The probability of a career-orientation as distinct from other orientations to work and to family life is higher for a population of graduate women than for one that is randomly selected, although even here, as already indicated, there is a range of orientations among both women and men. In addition, it is expected that most of the patterns and processes that have been found for graduate women hold as well for a wide range of highly qualified women as they attempt to reconcile work and family life.
