Considering gendered careers: the influence of resilient mothers and sisters upon white working-class young women

Abstract

This article explores the identity development of a group of white working-class adolescent girls as they consider their futures after high school. Attention is paid to themes of gender and social class as well as the impact of a deindustrialised economy. Despite the fact that few of their parents graduated from college, the girls expressed a strong desire to attend college, viewing college education as an economic necessity. The girls were reconceptualising gender in new ways and, at the same time, were discussing careers, some of which step outside of typical working-class jobs because of the level of education they require. Furthermore, the girls discussed their future plans as stemming from, and informed by, life lessons they had learned from witnessing their mothers' struggles with family, employment and education.