C oser, R ose L aub

Abstract

Rose Laub Coser's (1916–1994) work addressed various aspects of role and status theory. She utilized concepts of status‐sets and role‐sets (defined by Robert K. Merton) to show how, in modern society, people take on multiple statuses and roles giving them a social repertoire that not only provides flexibility but gives them multiple bases for connection. She noted, however, that structural accumulation could be constraining or emancipating, observing how women have been (and are) more restricted than men and thus limited in their political and occupational opportunities. In particular (with Lewis Coser), she showed how the “greedy institution” of the family has limited women's participation in public life. Coser noted that although women constitute at least half of most societies' workforce, they are often socially invisible as workers and typically have few institutional resources to help them manage their multiple roles.