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Motherhood 2.0: Slow Progress for Career Women and Motherhood within the ‘Finnish Dream’

Author

Listed:
  • Charlotta Niemistö

    (Hanken School of Economics, Finland)

  • Jeff Hearn

    (Hanken School of Economics, Finland)

  • Carolyn Kehn

    (Hanken School of Economics, Finland)

  • Annamari Tuori

    (Hanken School of Economics, Finland)

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’.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotta Niemistö & Jeff Hearn & Carolyn Kehn & Annamari Tuori, 2021. "Motherhood 2.0: Slow Progress for Career Women and Motherhood within the ‘Finnish Dream’," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 696-715, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:35:y:2021:i:4:p:696-715
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017020987392
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Judith K. Pringle & Candice Harris & Katherine Ravenswood & Lynne Giddings & Irene Ryan & Sabina Jaeger, 2017. "Women's Career Progression in Law Firms: Views from the Top, Views From Below," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 435-449, July.
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    3. Dharma Raju Bathini & George Mathew Kandathil, 2019. "An Orchestrated Negotiated Exchange: Trading Home-Based Telework for Intensified Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 411-423, January.
    4. Gracia, Enrique & Merlo, Juan, 2016. "Intimate partner violence against women and the Nordic paradox," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 27-30.
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