La primera batalla (Gótica versus romanas)

The above discussion has examined the reasons for significant gender differences, which result in different career patterns for men and women. Historically, married women assumed primary responsibility for the day-to-day work of caring for children (for example, when a child is ill) and maintaining the household (Walker, Tausky, & Oliver, 1982). Therefore, generally, careers were shaped by prevailing societal norms. For men the priorities were ordered – education, work and then family. However, for women the sequence was different – education, family and then work (These priorities are examined with regard to the research participants and observations are presented in the last chapter on conclusion).

Traditionally, masculinity has been associated with an instrumental orientation, a cognitive focus on getting the job done or the problem solved. In contrast, feminity has been associated with an expressive orientation, an affective concern for the welfare of others and harmony of the group (Friedan, 1963). Subsequently, men typically have a homogeneous pattern of career, with the majority of them work-oriented (Hakim, 2000). Men usually view career as a priority, whereas women do not show a definite pattern on their career graph. Hakim further maintained that though the majority of women seek a more equal balance between family work and gainful employ, they are diverse in their preferences and priorities with regard to resolving the conflict between family life

Thus, a more complete explanation of women’s labour market choices after childbirth, and of the outcomes of those choices, depends as much on understanding the constraints that differently affect women as it does on understanding their preferences (Walker et al., 1982). This explains the

existence of a continuum of work-family preferences which comprises women with similar

preferences, but with differing capacities for overcoming constraints, thus leading to very different careers (McRae, 2003). This results in a more heterogeneous pattern for women in employment and their work histories.

In seeking to explain observed patterns of work and motherhood, researchers have suggested that women try a variety of different work-family combinations over the years when their children need full time care. They are likely to move from one combination to another over time. Those who take a break for child-birth and return to work after a few years, do so for various reasons – financial considerations, the need to keep up with the career/skills, a need for intellectual stimulation, adult contact, self-esteem, and so on. These strategies have been examined in the literature, and are further described below.

“Sequencing” refers to a strategy whereby women pursue work or motherhood, typically working before having children, then leaving work in order to focus exclusively on childrearing, and returning to work after children become independent (Goldin, 2006). “Opting out” has also been used to describe the pattern, positioned as a lifestyle choice where a woman will take a prolonged period of time out of the labour force in order to care for her children (Belkin, 2003; Stone, 2007). Others have used the term, “Off ramping” in which women take time off from work, generally for family based reasons, maintain ties with their former employers and re-enter the workforce at a later date (Hewlett & Luce, 2005). Clearly these emphasise switching between roles for extended periods of time.

Based on these behaviours, researchers have identified different career patterns for men and women. The following are some examples of gendered patterns; presented chronologically:

1. Richardson (1974, as cited in Diamond, 1987) argued that the vocational decisions boys and girls face in schools appear to be similar, but as women progress through young adulthood, the meaning of those decisions becomes increasingly divergent with age. He described three career patterns with reference to women:

a. Continuous uninterrupted work: This is characteristic of a woman who may not marry or who might delay marriage or childbearing until she is established in an occupation;

b. Equal priority: Work-oriented women who place equal priority on both aspects of their role development, dropping out of the workforce for limited periods of time; and

c. Homemaking women.

2. Super (1980) argued that the integration of biological, societal and psychological variables influence the development of a self-concept throughout the individual’s life span. By this view, men’s career patterns are essentially applicable to women if modified to take marriage and child bearing into account. Four patterns were described for men: stable, conventional, unstable and multiple trial. After modification, the patterns for women were more

numerous: stable homemaking, conventional (working followed by marriage), stable

working, double track (working while homemaking), interrupted, unstable, and multiple trial. 3. O’Leary, (1997) examined the concept of the “career-ambitious person” proposing a

traditional male “corpocratic” model based on a linear, hierarchical progression, and a female “lifestream” career model depicting an interplay between work, relationships, organisational factors, and various life stages.

4. Hakim’s research (2000) identified three groups of women with regard to work-related preferences. Two minority groups were found; women showing either home-centered or work-centered preferences. The third majority group comprised those who showed adaptive lifestyle preferences, that is, those who wanted to reconcile family life and paid work. 5. O'Neil, Bilimoria and Saatcioglu (2004) identified four career types based on work-related

experiences over the life course and the belief sets directing these work experiences. They termed them creating, achieving, navigating, and accommodating.

6. Burke, Vinnicombe, O'Neil, and Bilimoria (2005) recognised that women’s careers and life responsibilities ebb and flow according to life stage concerns. They proposed three age related phases; idealistic achievement, pragmatic endurance, and reinventive contribution. 7. Huang and Sverke (2007) suggested the use of five career modalities: - upwardly mobile,

stable, downwardly mobile, fluctuation, and outside of labour market.

8. O’Neil, Hopkins and Bilimoria, (2008) noted that women’s careers comprise more than “work”, they are embedded in women’s larger life contexts; and families and careers are central to women’s lives. Thus, women’s career paths reflect a wide range and variety of patterns, termed – downward, lateral, transitory, and static.

9. Whiting (2008) identified a variety of patterns in her study of professional accountants in New Zealand. These were termed traditional men (TM)- breadwinners with non-working or part-time working wives; traditional women (TW)- who worked part time and gave up or reduced work for children; work first women (WFW); family balancers (FB)- balance by both partners in work and family, and stepping stone men (SSM)- who are more involved in the family aiming for a more balanced lifestyle.

10. Lupu (2012) suggested that contrary to the linear progressive model of career ladder leading to the goal of partnership in accounting firms, women seem to follow a labyrinth pattern as a winding trajectory with detours, blind alleys, unusual paths, and early exits.

Though the above summary suggests a large variety of modalities, it can also be argued that the broad categories for women have remained the same – housewives, balancing home and work, and career oriented. However, whilst the categories may not have changed, researchers have observed that, with more women focusing on careers, the relative percentage of women who display each pattern has changed significantly (Hakim, 2000; Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996).

From this variety of conceptualisations, it is possible to synthesise out three main types of gendered orientations:

1. Focus on family – homemaking/family first/stable homemaking/home-centred/ outside of labour market;

2. Focus on career – this category was variously termed as career first/continuous uninterrupted work/work-centred/work-first/stable working/corpocratic/upwardly mobile/achieving; and

3. Focus on work and family – career and family/equal priority to work and

family/adaptive reconciling family life and paid work/family balancers/life-stream/ traditional/double track/accommodating/conventional (working followed by marriage).

These patterns are modified and presented in Chapter 4 (section 4.4) after analysing career pathways described by our participants. The following section discusses the effect of the above patterns on career development of women.