ABSTRACT
We develop an intersectional model of the gendered life course, the ways women and men in different social locations confront constrained choices around work and family, shaping inequalities across the life course. We argue that institutionalized policies and practices, predicated on the White middle-class male model of continuous and full-time investment in careers, are key drivers of gender inequalities exacerbated by other disadvantaged social identities. This career mystique is obsolete in the face of multilayered demographic, economic, technological, and social transformations in jobs, occupations, families, gender expectations, and career – as well as life course paths. These social changes are producing uncertainties, ambiguities, and risks, but also possibilities for shifting mindsets, policies, and practices in ways that embrace families, care provision, coupled careers, and greater equity across the life course. We develop an intersectional theoretical model using key life course concepts – strategic selection, linked lives, contexts, and constrained choices – to capture both micro- and macro-level forces compounding disparities in paid and unpaid work.
