Developmental job patterns of working-class women

Abstract

Employment histories culled through in-depth structured interviews with 40 working-class women are analyzed according to a developmental framework that challenges the objectively focused male definition of job/career advancement. In conjunction with institutional criteria for employee mobility, paid work is viewed as a developmental life task. Based on the “morphogenesis” concept, which emphasizes sequential familial adjustment to individual role expansion, a subjective career path describes how respondents negotiate dual roles and subsequently instill order into generally chaotic employment patterns. This article discusses stage-specific personal, domestic, and occupational concerns pertinent to maximizing paid work potential.