ABSTRACT

Women’s participation in paid employment has increased substantially in the United States over the past fifty years, particularly among married women and mothers of young children. This occurred without a substantial reorganization of work or family life. Although men perform more housework and child care than in the past, they still spend on average far less time engaged in these activities than women do, leaving the gendered nature of family life and childrearing essentially intact. The nature of paid work also remains fundamentally unchanged. Despite the expansion of maternity leave policies and flexible work schedules, the organization of most workplaces is still predicated on a concept of workers as “male” and free of personal responsibilities (Acker 1990). Many working women with children consequently experience significant difficulties because of the competing demands of work and family life. This has prompted questions about the sustainability of high employment rates for women. In this chapter I consider whether recent cohorts of women in professional and managerial occupations are increasing or maintaining high employment rates or are “opting out” of professional employment to stay at home with children.