Abstract
This article investigates the gendered dynamics of motherhood and careers, as voiced by professionals in the knowledge-intensive business sector in Finland. It is informed by the CIAR method through 81 iterative, in-depth interviews with 23 women and 19 men. Among the women respondents with no children, one child, or two children, three dominant forms of discursive talk emerge: ‘It takes two to tango’, ‘It’s all about time management’ and ‘Good motherhood 2.0’. Though Finland provides a seemingly egalitarian Nordic welfare state context, with the ‘Finnish Dream’, women face contradictions between expectations of women as full-time ideal workers pursuing masculinist careers and continuing responsibilities at home, performing ‘good motherhood’. The women’s double strivings meet the double constraining demands of these ideals. The gendered pressures are imposed on the women by themselves, male colleagues, the organisation more broadly and society, leading the women to enact a form of ‘bounded individualism’.
Highlights
The social relations of care, home and work constitute fundamental aspects of gender relations
The empirical analysis is framed at the intersection of career aspirations of the knowledge professionals and how they talked about having or wanting to have a family, for the women about the construction of motherhood, while acknowledging the persistent gendered structures of organisations and contextual effects for contemporary neo-liberal and post-industrial service economy organisations operating in the Finnish welfare state context
This study identified three dominant forms of discursive talk in the women’s interviews, responding to and compensating for competing pressures around work and motherhood
Summary
The social relations of care, home and work constitute fundamental aspects of gender relations. The empirical analysis is framed at the intersection of career aspirations of the knowledge professionals and how they talked about having or wanting to have a family, for the women about the construction of motherhood, while acknowledging the persistent gendered structures of organisations and contextual effects for contemporary neo-liberal and post-industrial service economy organisations operating in the Finnish welfare state context.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
