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Fast-Track Women and the “Choice†to Stay Home

Author

Listed:
  • Pamela Stone

    (Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.)

  • Meg Lovejoy

Abstract

Increasing attention has been given to high-achieving women who appear to be leaving their careers in favor of staying home full-time to raise children. Some commentators interpret this trend as reflecting these women’s embrace of a “new traditionalism,†a rejection of feminist goals in favor of more traditional gender roles. Based on intensive interviews with forty-three women, the authors find that participants’ decisions to interrupt careers are highly conflicted and not grounded in a return to traditional roles. Although family concerns figure prominently, they are not the major reason behind most women’s decisions. Work-based factors play a primary role, with characteristics of husbands playing an important secondary role. The authors conclude that by virtue of their occupational status and class membership, professional women are caught in a double bind between the competing models of the ideal worker and ideal parent. The authors discuss the policy implications for the organization of work-family life.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Stone & Meg Lovejoy, 2004. "Fast-Track Women and the “Choice†to Stay Home," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 596(1), pages 62-83, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:596:y:2004:i:1:p:62-83
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716204268552
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Preston, Anne E, 1994. "Why Have All the Women Gone? A Study of Exit of Women from the Science and Engineering Professions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1446-1462, December.
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