Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Despite major changes over the past thirty years, one dimension of women’s lives that remains complex and problematic is that of balancing domestic and professional roles. This paper will look at examples from women’s everyday conversations to explore the themes that emerge in relation to socialized gender roles. The analysis of the data suggests that the social identity of the ‘good mother’ is a common theme within the discourse practices of the women who took part in this study. Facets of this social role are often raised within the women’s interactions and the data examined here suggests that, for working mothers, balancing the increasingly demanding roles of both their domestic and professional lives creates a dialectical tension that results in feelings of guilt.