Women in the military negotiating work and family conflicts while reproducing gender inequality
APA Citation:
Plummer, C. (2023). Women in the military negotiating work and family conflicts while reproducing gender inequality. SCIENTIA MORALITAS - International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 8(2), 64-87. https://www.scientiamoralitas.com/index.php/sm/article/view/241
Focus:
Parents
Children
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Active duty service member
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Methodology:
Qualitative Study
Authors:
Plummer, Chelli
Abstract:
Through a qualitative study of military women who are mothers, this article examines decision-making processes mothers undergo while negotiating the competing devotions of work and family. Subjective experience and the women’s individual life worlds are often overlooked in research on juggling work and family. The military and family are competing institutions (Segal 1986) and consequently, women confront contradictory expectations of the roles they play. This article addresses the following questions: What is the lived experience of the women interviewed in this study as mothers and soldiers? How do they negotiate the competing demands of work and family, and how do they justify not meeting the demands when compromise is necessary? These questions are important as this segment of the population is both growing and ignored. Research on women in the military as mothers is virtually nonexistent. The limited literature that does exist focuses on gender discrimination (Harris 2009) and ignores mothers all together.
Publication Type:
Article
Keywords:
work and family conflicts, women service members, gender inequality