ABSTRACT
Both women and men deal with the reality of living in a hectic, post-traditional society; it affects the very fabric of all our lives. However, women also deal with issues that are gender specific. For example, having children has a great impact on women’s lives. Because of long maternity leaves and breastfeeding recommendations that keep women out of the workforce for long periods of time (Ellingsaeter, 2010), coupled with the fact that women continue to carry the brunt of household and care responsibilities (McKie and Callan, 2012), having children invariably affects women’s careers more than it does men’s. Therefore, in a study on opting out, it is vital to also examine what it means to be a woman in contemporary society, and how issues pertaining specifically to women affect their identities.
