Coping with Work and Family Role Conflict: Career Counselling Considerations for Women

Abstract

This chapter investigates the issue of role conflict in women’s life-career development experience. Specifically, it looks at the interaction between women’s work and family roles within the context of a traditional ‘dual-working’ family, that is where both partners are in paid work outside the home and share childcare and other household responsibilities. The key aspects of the role conflict are examined and, based on a clearer understanding of these aspects, several career counselling considerations are proposed that could help women to cope more effectively with this conflict.