dual career family pattern and...

Dual career family pattern and professionalism

181

DDUUAALL CCAARREEEERR FFAAMMIILLYY PPAATTTTEERRNN AANNDD PPRROOFFEESSSSIIOONNAALLIISSMM

8.1 Nature of Family Responsibility 8.2 Domestic Responsibility 8.3 Self Image 8.4 Career Salience 8.5 Career Line 8.6 Family Life Satisfaction 8.7 Conclusion

Dual-career couples now comprise the most common family type

(Haddock, 2002). Families with working women are referred to as dual

worker or dual career families. Rapoport & Rapoport ( 1969) are credited

with coining the term “dual – career families “to indicate ‘a type of family

structure in which both heads of the household – the husband as well as the

wife – actively pursue careers and family lives simultaneously. In popular

parlance, they are also called DIGs or ‘Double Income Groups’. Dual

career couples are experiencing a renewed attention by researchers for at

least two different reasons. Firstly, the increasing women’s labour force

participation throughout the family formation years, particularly among

well educated women, opens the question whether something has changed

both in gender arrangements within couples and in career patterns in the

labour market and particularly in the impermeability of the “glass ceiling”

that used to block women’s upward mobility. Secondly, when both partners

in a household invest in paid work the question arises concerning who is

going to do all the unpaid work otherwise performed by women, for the

household but also for kin and sometimes community.

MGU LIBRARY

Sticky Note

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182

In this section, the focus is on how the different elements of dual

career pattern are affecting the professionalism of women. The following

characteristics were selected, as given in Dual-Career Family Scale (DCFS,

Pendleton, Poloma, & Garland, Measures For Clinical Practice: A

Sourcebook. 2nd Ed. (2vols), 1994).

1) Nature of Family Responsibility

2) Domestic responsibility

3) Self Image

4) Career Salience

5) Career Line

6) Family life Satisfaction

The items were rated on a five point Likert scale, ranging from 1

(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).

8.1 Nature of Family Responsibility

Table 8.1 shows the respondents’ answers to the question that, if a

child was ill and needed to remain home from school, whether it is the

mother who should take care of the sick child.

Table 8.1 Responsibility of Taking care of a Sick Child

Responses Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree - -

Disagree 22 6.3 No Opinion 36 10.3

Agree 133 38 Strongly Agree 159 45.4

Total 350 100 Source: Primary Data


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The Table 8.1 illustrates that in a dual career family, taking care of

the sick child is ultimately the responsibility of the mother (83.4%). Child

care is a major concern in dual-career families. Families without

relatives or neighbors are often forced to rely on paid child care workers.

Day care is a large part of many family budgets. Major parenting issues for

dual career parents include the consideration of two careers, less available

time and energy, a greater degree of complexity, and less overall flexibility

to meet childhood crises and needs. In this study it showed the children of

dual-career families are the same in other school aged children that come

from a "traditional" family setting. A traditional family is when the mother

stays home and watches the children, as the father goes to work and

supports the whole family. Here, even though the mother is working, she

gets top precedence to be with the child when he/ she are sick.

Table 8.2 shows the responses to the query whether women should

assume the primary responsibility of child care, keeping in mind the

structure of our society

Table 8.2 Primary Responsibility of Child Care

Responses Frequency Percent

Strongly Disagree 6 1.7

Disagree 45 12.9

No Opinion 32 9.1

Agree 138 39.4

Strongly Agree 129 36.9


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184

In this study, respondents strongly agree that women should assume

the primary responsibility of child care (76.3%). This ascertains the fact

that women in dual-career families, who work full time also continue to

juggle between their stereotypic gender roles and a full time professional.

The Table also confirms the fact that, in a traditional society like Kerala,

child care occupies a top ranking position in the family responsibility index

of women. The statistics in Table 8.2 is supported by other studies which

point out that women remain the primary care givers in many households

(Hardill, 2002; Garcia, Molina, & Montuenga, 2011).

Table 8.3 shows the responses to the query whether the respondents

consider the husband to be the main breadwinner of the family

Table 8.3 The Main Breadwinner of the Family



Disagree 63 18

No Opinion 47 13.4

Agree 123 35.1



The figures from Table 8.3, is quite interesting as it shows that even

though women earn from their profession (especially high income in

accordance with UGC pay scale) and contribute to family resources, they

still consider their husbands as the main breadwinners of the family (64.8

%). This, once again, reveals the pivotal role of socialisation experiences

which creates their conventional mind-set which is tailored to the socio-

cultural norms of our society. The patriarchal and patri-focal family system,


185

which predominates in our society, weighs the contributions made by men

more than that of women. Hence, even if the wife earns more than the

husband, ultimately the resource base is evaluated on the basis of the

husband’s earnings. Other studies have also pointed out that just as

women’s family responsibilities shape their employment decisions, men

retain the responsibility and the recognition as the family breadwinner

(Gerson, 1985; Thompson & Walker, 1989). The social expectations of

homemaker-wife/mother and breadwinner husband/ father exert a powerful

normative influence today although they are a fairly recent social

construction (Blau & Ferber, 1992). While women might be educated for

reasons of gentility or to be better wives and mothers, the primary purpose

of the educational system in our society is to produce the next generation of

male breadwinners.


would continue to work if their husbands do not approve-

Table 8.4 Wives would Continue to Work if their Husbands do Not Approve



Disagree 96 27.4

No Opinion 89 25.4

Agree 99 28.3


Total 350 100

Source: Primary Data

It is shocking to see that majority of the respondents (39.4%) said that

they would quit their promising profession if their husbands disapprove it.

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186

The data shows a strong mindset enmeshed in a normative typecast which

always make decisions based on the family as a unit rather than on

individual identity. However, there is also a significant percentage (27.4%)

who disagrees with such a prospect, which implies a slight element of

‘deviance’ from the social norms. This deviance may have resulted from

the re-socialisation experiences which generated counter norms

predisposing the respondents to act in a way which validates individual

identity and achievement.


would attend a professional convention if their husbands did not approve-

Table 8.5 Wives would Not Attend a Professional Convention if their Husbands Disapproved


Strongly Disagree 14 4

Disagree 84 24

No Opinion 94 26.9

Agree 115 32.9


Total 350 100


Table 8.5 illustrates that majority of respondents (45.2%) will not

attend a professional convention if their husbands will not allow. What is

seen again is a repetition of the previous statistics where women give more

importance to their familial requirements rather than on professional

attributes. It is also showing the highly submissive attitude of women with

regard to the patriarchal ideology. The decisions made by the male

members are all embracing, where women are left with no options to fulfill


187

their desires, whether familial or professional. The depressing facet with

the statistics above is that even highly educated and professional women

are subservient to the asymmetrical patriarchal ideology existing in our

society. The data agrees with the finding that combining dual careers with

the home may require the (short term) prioritization of one partner’s career

at the expense of the other partner’s career (Wheatley, 2009).


Figure 8.1. Nature of Family Responsibility

Figure 8.1. point out that even though they are employed full time,

the respondents are also absolutely family oriented and devoted to its

needs, that is, the nature of family responsibility is predisposed towards

women sharing the maximum burden of responsibilities (66%). The figure

above represents the notion that, society's perceptions of work is more

important for men, and family is the main domain for women. This has

prevented the redistribution of family responsibilities causing employed

women to become overburdened. Other studies like that of Bharat (1995)

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188

and Wagner, Kirchler, Clack, Tekarslan, & Verma (1990) have also found

that in societies that are more traditional, such as India or Turkey, there is a

greater segregation of gender roles with women fulfilling the homemaker

role even if they are employed full time.

Table 8.6 Summated Scores and Categories of Nature of Family Responsibility

Score Category

Less than 10.8 Low

10.9-15.7 Moderate

Greater than 15.7 High Source: Primary Data

Low score in nature of family responsibility implies there is minimal

sharing of family responsibility between husband and wife. Moderate

implies a greater degree of involvement of husband in the responsibility

and High score means there is a striking balance in sharing of tasks

between husband and wife.

Table 8.7 Age and Nature of Family Responsibility

Age Nature of Family

Responsibility <30 31 - 40 41 - 50 >51 Total

Low 1 (6.3%)

9 (56.3%)

5 (31.3%)

1 (6.3%)

16 (100%)

Moderate 77 (36.5%)

69 (32.7%)

41 (19.4%)

24 (11.4%)

211 (100%)

High 32 (26%)

51 (41.5%)

28 (22.8%)

12 (9.8%)

123 (100%)

Total 110 (31.4%)

129 (36.9%)

74 (21.1%)

37 (10.6%)

350 (100%)



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From Table 8.7 we can see that high score in the nature of family

is shown by the 31-40 age groups (41.5%). This means that the

respondents belonging to this age group are involved more in their

responsibility of taking care of the children and other familial matters, at

the same time assigning pivotal roles also to their husbands in decision

making, even related to their professional matters. When we look at this

particular age category, it projects us with a picture of where the age

between 31-40 years connotes a settling down period for men as well as

women. Hence, it is a period when the family responsibility tends to be

high in all aspects, including taking care of young children at home.

Therefore, it becomes inevitable for both partners to share the

responsibilities to avoid conflicts and create a satisfying home life. At

the same time, we can also see in the Table that this age category

projects highest score in the low level of nature of family also (56.3%).

The only reason that can be cited for this is that these respondents are

the prisoners of the patriarchal system, wherein the sharing of

responsibility by the male members is not entertained, sometimes even

by the females themselves. Table 8.7 can, thus, be seen as an example

for a paradoxical portrait of a typical Kerala family, where necessity

inevitably leads to sharing of tasks, at the same time being in the

shackles of patriarchal way of living.

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Table 8.8 Number of Children and Nature of Family Responsibility

No. of Children Nature of Family

Responsibility 0 1 2 3 >3 Total

Low 4

(25%)

6

(37.5%)

4

(25%)

2

(12.5%)

0

-

16

(100%)

Moderate 44

(20.9%)

72

(34.1%)

81

(38.4%)

12

(5.7%)

2

(0.9%)

211

(100%)

High 19

(15.4%)

43

(35%)

55

(44.7%)

6

(4.9%)

0

-

123

(100%)

Total 67

(19.1%)

121

(34.6%)

140

(40%)

20

(5.7%)

2

(0.6%)

350

(100%) Source: Primary Data

Table 8.8 gives us the idea that the number of children has an

ameliorating effect on the responsibility of respondents in the sense that the

contribution of partners with regard to sharing of the responsibilities is

high. The high score in nature of family responsibility is greater for those

respondents having two children (44.7%), followed by respondents having

one child (35%). These figures become easy to interpret when we compare

it to the respondents with no children (15.4%). This means that children

play a key role in initiating a scenario where partners cross the traditional

role stereotypes, and enter into a more or less egalitarian setup in the

household. The responsibilities with regard to children have always a

pivotal position in the Kerala households, which in the current scenario, is

shared by both partners.

Among the respondents, the small family norm remains, yet for a

minority we can see that there are three children and more. The scores for


191

nature of family responsibility remain low for them when compared to

other categories of respondents. This implies that, even though the

responsibility is shared in many household, the primary care takers are still

women.

Table 8.9 Type of Family and Nature of Family Responsibility

Type of Family Nature of Family

Responsibility Nuclear Joint Extended

Total

Low 12

(75%) 4

(25%) 0 -

16 (100%)

Moderate 142

(67.3%) 62

(29.4%) 7

(3.3%) 211

(100%)

High 89

(72.4%) 32

(26%) 2

(1.6%) 123

(100%)

Total 243

(69.4%) 98

(28%) 9

(2.6%) 350


In Table 8.9, the lowest score in nature of family responsibility is

shown by respondents in the nuclear family (75%). This means that the

primary responsibility within the family is vested on the shoulders of the

respondents. The nuclear family, which is the predominant family type in

the modern society, is often idealized as democratic and egalitarian where

there can be maximum sharing of duties and responsibilities by the

partners. However, the figures in Table 8.9 speak of a situation where the

greater amount of responsibility is taken up by women themselves.

However, the respondents in the nuclear family also comparatively show a

high score in the nature of family responsibility when compared to other

categories (72.4%). This can be explained by using the notion provided by

Giddens, who describes a post traditional society in which men and women,

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192

progressively freed from the roles and constraints associated with traditional

social ties, are compelled reflexively to create their selves through day-to-

day decisions (Giddens, 1991, 1992). We can deduce that the respondents

are gradually predisposing themselves to a family scenario which goes

beyond the traditional stereotypic images, and works in an egalitarian

manner to establish a good work- life balance.

Table 8.10 Educational Qualification of Spouse and Nature of Family Responsibility

Education Qualification of Spouse Nature of

Family Responsibility

Up to Graduation

Post Graduate and above

Other Professiona

l Degrees

Total

Low 4 (25%)

9 (56.3%)

3 (18.8%)

16 (100%)

Moderate 65 (30.8%)

102 (48.3%)

44 (20.9%)

211 (100%)

High 29 (23.6%)

54 (43.9%)

40 (32.5%)

123 (100%)

Total 98 (28%)

165 (47.1%)

87 (24.9%)

350 (100%)


In Table 8.10, the lowest score in nature of family responsibility are

shown by those respondents who are highly qualified, i.e., spouses who

have professional degrees (18.8%). This provides us with the idea that

spouse’s education need not be a contributory factor in bringing about

change in the stereotypic images in the household. The socialization

experiences are so much embedded in the mind set of the spouses that they

are reluctant to change it even after going through a barrage of novel

experiences through their education.


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Table 8.11 Job Satisfaction and Nature of Family Responsibility

Job Satisfaction Nature of Family

Responsibility Highly Satisfied

Moderately Satisfied

Undecided Unsatisfied Total

Low 5 (31.3%)

10 (62.5%)

1 (6.3%)

0 -

16 (100%)

Moderate 100 (47.4%)

101 (47.9%)

8 (3.8%)

2 (0.9%)

211 (100%)

High 58 (47.2%)

60 (48.8%)

5 (4.1%)

0 -

123 (100%)

Total 163 (46.6%)

171 (48.9%)

14 (4%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)


It can be seen from Table 8.11 that, majority of respondents who

show high score in family responsibility belong to the moderately satisfied

group (48.8%). This means that even though they get assistance from home

to share the family responsibility to a considerable extent, their professional

life is not fulfilling. Tables 8.11 also show that even among those

respondents among whom the burden of family responsibility is high, they

are highly satisfied with the profession (31.3%). This projects the reality

that a highly professional mind set cannot be deterred by family

responsibilities, and a true professional can, indeed, strike a good work-life

balance.

Research also substantiates this notion that women in families are

generally less satisfied with their personal growth and their careers than

men (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000). Research often shows that women’s

careers tend to take a back seat to their husbands’ careers while they focus

their primary energies on the home and family (Moen & Yu, 2000).

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194

Table 8.12 Nature of Family Responsibility and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Nature of Family Responsibility Moderate High

Total

Low 22 (91.7%)

2 (8.3%)

24 (100%)


11 (4.6%)

241 (100%)

High 79 (92.9%)

6 (7.1%)

85 (100%)

Total 331 (94.6%)

19 (5.4%)

350 (100%)


The data from the Table 8.12 gives the portrait of the women who

skillfully manages the professional and home maker role. The respondents

who do not get much assistance from their counterparts is showing a high

level of professionalism (8.3%), while those respondents who get modest

help from their husbands show highest score for moderate level of

professionalism (95.4%). Just like it was observed in the analysis of gender

division of labour at home, this data compels us to think the un-relatedness

between the familial and professional spheres of women. These two spheres

are always kept as miniature social worlds distinct from each other, with

unique characteristics of its own. This ultimately helps women to avoid

conflicts and strains resulting from multiple role sets.

However, it is also interesting to note that even those respondents

who show high score for their nature of family responsibility, is lagging

behind in numbers both in high (7.1%) and moderate level (92.9%) of

professionalism. This induces us also to think that for some respondents the

family realm takes highest priority than the work domain. This is in


195

accordance with the social construction of gender which emphasis on

shared norms rather than individual autonomy. The value orientation

provided by these norms compels women to take up choices based on

collective interests of the primary group, and therefore, we find majority of

women in our society are contented with the ‘traditional housewife’ role

rather than the dynamic and revolutionary professional role . They are not

yet ready to relinquish the customary image for the sake of profession.

8.2 Domestic Responsibility

Table 8.13 Responsibility for Homemaking Tasks



Disagree 33 9.4

No Opinion 23 6.6

Agree 156 44.6



The statistics from Table 8.13 substantiates the reality that majority

of the respondents (82.9%) consider themselves primarily responsible for

home making tasks. This means that even professional women are culture

dominated and follow a traditional ideology. The patriarchal, inegalitarian

and sexist structure of Kerala poses a risk – or at least a potential risk – of

fostering a negative self-image among women. This threat to the woman’s

self-image can be attributed largely to society’s emphasis on achievements

and competitiveness, which are associated more with masculinity than

femininity. The emphasis on these characteristics conveys a message to the

woman that “it’s not the end of the world if you give in to your husband

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196

who works so hard,” “you have to support your husband in his business and

help him fulfill his aspirations, even if you have to compromise your own

aspirations,” etc. They are reflected in the woman’s inferior personal and

family status, as well as – and perhaps primarily – in the economic, social,

political, educational, cultural, and religious structure of Kerala society as a

whole.

Hence, women silently submit to these traditional images and take up

the burden of domestic responsibility solely on their shoulders. The data in

Table 8.13 agrees with the finding by Komarraju (1987) who reported that

working Indian women preferred to independently handle family related

responsibilities by taking help from relatives and hired domestic help rather

than their spouses.

Table 8.14 Reduction of Career Demands to meet Domestic Responsibilities



Disagree 76 21.7

No Opinion 69 19.7

Agree 109 31.1



The results in Table 8.14 is also no different from a vast number of

previous studies, as majority of respondents (52.5%) agreed that they do

trade-offs with their profession to adhere more to family responsibilities.

Many people try to balance a job with their family life by making tradeoffs.

Trade-offs are the compromises, sacrifices, adjustments, or accommodations

that people make in their job and/or their personal life to attain their


197

objectives or fulfill responsibilities. There are two dimensions of

accommodations: employment trade-offs and family trade-offs. Employment

trade-offs are sacrifices that people make in their jobs because of their

family responsibilities. Likewise, family trade-offs are compromises that

people make in their family lives because of their job responsibilities.

There is ample evidence that women, much more than men, adjust their

jobs around their family responsibilities (Gerson, 1985; Hochschild, 1989;

Reskin & Padavic, 1994). Women are also more likely than men to take

leave from their jobs to care for others rather than themselves. Women who

are responsible for elder care suggest that employed women either cut back

on work, miss overtime opportunities, or turn down new job opportunities

to fulfill their care-giving duties. Thus, we see that married women moving

into profession has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in the

amount of housework done by husbands. Women being viewed as

secondary bread-winners means, that it is women who must make

adjustments in order to balance paid and unpaid domestic work.

Consequently, often we find that women compromise their professional

investments to take up domestic responsibilities in our society.

Table 8.15 Domestic Tasks are not entrusted to Employed Husbands



Disagree 88 25.1

No Opinion 78 22.3

Agree 79 22.6



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198

Table 8.15 clearly represents that the gender ideology of the

respondents based on traditional stereotypes have not changed. Majority of

the respondents (49.2 %) are not yet willing to hand over the burden of

domestic work to their partners. They maintain that they are ready to carry

the double burden, which is the responsibility of both a career as well as

domestic duties. This means that, ultimately, the issue is not the amount of

time spent on family responsibility, but the expectation that they will do it

unquestioningly and for all time to come. Although research has shown that

attitudes about gender roles have become more egalitarian over the past few

decades, "these changes in gender attitudes have not been accompanied by

corresponding changes in the allocation of housework" (Chesters, 2012).

Women do substantially more housework than men, and this is especially

true for married men and women. It is still taken for granted, as an implicit

element of the marriage contract, that women take primary responsibility

for domestic work.


Figure 8.2. Domestic Responsibility


199

Although women have expanded their repertoire of activities into

profession, it has been well documented from this section on domestic

responsibility, which is comprehensively illustrated in Figure 8.2. that, men

have not made a corresponding shift into women's traditional realm of

domestic and caring work. While there is some evidence that men and

women can form egalitarian domestic relationships (VanEvery, 1995), a

distinctly asymmetrical division of unpaid labour remains the majority

pattern. What it means to be a woman has increasingly expanded to include

a social identity derived from the workplace, and the status and financial

rewards that can flow from engagement in paid work can raise levels of

confidence and broaden options. What it means to be a man, however, has

not gone through a corresponding expansion of identity. The so called

`crisis of masculinity' may well relate to men's reluctance to embrace the

traditional domain of women, which both reinforces and confirms the lack

of value that is assigned to this kind of work.

Table 8.16 Summated Scores and Categories of Domestic Responsibility

Score Category

Less than 5.4 Low

5.5- 7.8 Moderate


Low score in Domestic responsibility implies there is minimal

sharing of domestic tasks between husband and wife. Moderate implies a

slight degree of involvement in the tasks by husbands and High score

means there is a striking balance in sharing of tasks between husband and

wife.

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200

Table 8.17 Age and Domestic Responsibility

Age Domestic Responsibility <30 31 - 40 41 - 50 >51

Total

Low 11 (47.8%)

6 (26.1%)

5 (21.7%)

1 (4.3%)

23 (100%)

Moderate 60 (35.5%)

59 (34.9%)

35 (20.7%)

15 (8.9%)

169 (100%)

High 39 (24.7%)

64 (40.5%)

34 (21.5%)

21 (13.3%)

158 (100%)

Total 110 (31.4%)

129 (36.9%)

74 (21.1%)

37 (10.6%)

350 (100%)


In Table 8.17, the highest score in domestic responsibility is shown

by respondents in the 31-40 age categories (40.5%). This indicates that the

spouses have started picking up the domestic duties, which is becoming

inevitability in a dual career household. The age category is significant

because it is a period where maturity and the need for a settled life sets in,

and the norms of traditional gender roles are often violated to accommodate

family needs and responsibilities by both partners. The lowest score in

sharing of domestic responsibility is shown by the age group of less than

thirty years (47.8%). This tells us that although there are some households

where the men do share equally in the household chores, there are many

more where this is not the case.

However, men are not completely to blame for this inequality. Many

women have grown up in very traditional homes as well, and tend to take

over many of the household duties believing that it is their job, even when

they are working. This often includes duties such as cooking, cleaning, and

childcare. Their husbands may be more than willing to help them, but many


201

women have been fed an image from an early age of "Supermom," who

goes to work every day, keeps an immaculate home, cooks healthy gourmet

meals every night, is a perfect mother and role model for her children, and

still manages to keep a positive attitude at all times.

Table 8.18 Number of Children and Domestic Responsibility

No. of Children Domestic Responsibility 0 1 2 3 >3

Total

Low 7 (30.4%)

8 (34.8%)

7 (30.4%)

1 (4.3%)

0 -

23 (100%)

Moderate 39 (23.1%)

59 (34.9%)

61 (36.1%)

10 (5.9%)

0 -

169 (100%)

High 21 (13.3%)

54 (34.2%)

72 (45.6%)

9 (5.7%)

2 (1.3%)

158 (100%)

Total 67 (19.1%)

121 (34.6%)

140 (40%)

20 (5.7%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)


It is surprising to note in Table 8.18 that high score in domestic

responsibility is shown by the respondents with two children (45.6%) when

compared with respondents with no children (13.3%). This means that

partners share the domestic duties, when the added burden of taking care of

children comes into the scene. Couples with no children at home or with

one child and with both in full-time jobs is seen in Table 8.18 as the groups

where women work more hours in total than men, once paid and unpaid

work hours are added up. These data should be understood on the basis that

if genuine choices are open to women, the key driver to how work is

divided comes down to lifestyle preference, not gender.

Individuals fall into three categories: work-centred, home-centred or

wanting to combine work and family (adaptive). According to Hakim

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202

(2010), eighty per cent of women fall into the adaptive category, with only

twenty per cent wanting a work-centred lifestyle. The data in Table 8.18

illustrates this paradigmatic situation, where women are only revealing

different degrees of adaptability.

Table 8.19 Type of Family and Domestic Responsibility

Type of Family Domestic Responsibility Nuclear Joint Extended

Total

Low 15 (65.2%)

8 (34.8%)

0 -

23 (100%)


52 (30.8%)

6 (3.6%)

169 (100%)

High 117 (74.1%)

38 (24.1%)

3 (1.9%)

158 (100%)

Total 243 (69.4%)

98 (28%)

9 (2.6%)

350 (100%)


From Table 8.19, it is clear that respondents in the nuclear family

exhibit both low score (65.2%) and high score (74.1%) in the sharing of

domestic responsibility. From a sociological perspective, this data can be

attributed to changes in family and personal relationships, as a consequence

of post-industrialization, which has led to the de-traditionalisation and

individualization of social life. Although, chunk of domestic work is done

by women themselves, there is a predisposition towards a sharing of

domestic responsibility with the passage of time. There is another

dimension to this which is illustrated by modern research that although

modern wives continue to do more housework than their husbands, overall

they tend to invest less time in domestic tasks, compared to women in

previous decades (Bianchi , Milkie, & Sayer, 2000). The availability of


203

commercial services to do laundry and allied tasks, as well as domestic

maids, has lessened the domestic work of professional women to a large

extent. The figures also depict that women’s traditional role in the joint

family set up has not lost, as they portray low score in domestic

responsibility (34.8%).

Table 8.20 Educational Qualification of Spouse and Domestic Responsibility

Education Qualification of Spouse Domestic Responsibility Up to

GraduationPost Graduate

and above

Professional Degrees

Total

Low 8

(34.8%) 9

(39.1%) 6

(26.1%) 23

(100%)

Moderate 52

(30.8%) 80

(47.3%) 37

(21.9%) 169

(100%)

High 38

(24.1%) 76

(48.1%) 44

(27.8%) 158

(100%)

Total 98

(28%) 165

(47.1%) 87

(24.9%) 350


Table 8.20 reveals that the respondents whose husbands have post-

graduation and above, show low score (39.1%) and high score in the

domestic responsibility (48.1%). Table 8.20 corroborates the findings of

Table 8.19, in the sense that there is a predisposition towards changes in

gender roles of the partners. The table tells us that, the wife, in spite of her

equally demanding job and relatively comparable salary, still carried the

load at home. However, for many of the tasks described, the husband and

wife accepted joint responsibility, but the wife usually and the husband

occasionally performed these tasks. The data discloses the fact that the

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204

highly educated husband may have supported his wife's desire for a career

and encouraged her to pursue one, but his behavior at home is best

described as a helpful husband, not an equal partner.

Table 8.21 Job Satisfaction and Domestic Responsibility

Job Satisfaction Domestic

Responsibility Highly Satisfied

Moderately Satisfied Undecided Unsatisfied

Total

Low 10 (43.5%)

12 (52.2%)

1 (4.3%)

0 -

23 (100%)

Moderate 85 (50.3%)

79 (46.7%)

4 (2.4%)

1 (0.6%)

169 (100%)

High 68 (43%)

80 (50.6%)

9 (5.7%)

1 (0.6%)

158 (100%)

Total 163 (46.6%)

171 (48.9%)

14 (4%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)


In Table 8.21, both the low score (52.2%) and high score (50.6%) in

domestic responsibility is shown by respondents who are moderately

satisfied by the profession. The respondents who are also highly satisfied

show a low score in domestic responsibility (43.5%). This means that the

sharing of domestic responsibilities by the partner is only at the level of a

‘helper’, entrusting all the primary responsibilities to women themselves,

and women carry it out with all loyalty irrespective of their job scenario.

For example, if a child is sick, the respondents admitted, that it would be

the mother who would take care of the sick child, by taking leave from

work. One of the respondents confessed during the interview: “I am the one

who monitors what needs to be done and sees that it happens.” The findings

of this table corroborates with the findings of Goldscheider and Waite who


205

say that although men’s involvement in domestic responsibilities has

increased, women do an estimated four fifths of the cooking, laundry, and

shopping; and two thirds of the child care, cleaning, and dishwashing

(Goldscheider & Waite, 1991). However, the work sphere of these women

remain intact, giving them adequate level of job satisfaction.

Table 8.22 Working Hours in College Per Day and Domestic Responsibility

Domestic Responsibility Working Hours in College Per Day Low Moderate High

Total

5 9 (9.7%)

54 (58.1%)

30 (32.3%)

93 (100%)

6 4 (3.5%)

42 (36.5%)

69 (60%)

115 (100%)

7 6 (6.9%)

41 (47.1%)

40 (46%)

87 (100%)

8 3 (6.5%)

28 (60.9%)

15 (32.6%)

46 (100%)

9 1 (20%)

2 (40%)

2 (40%)

5 (100%)

10 0 -

1 (100%)

0 -

1 (100%)

>10 0 -

1 (33.3%)

2 (66.7%)

3 (100%)

Total 23 (6.6%)

169 (48.3%)

158 (45.1%)

350 (100%)


The highest score in domestic responsibility is shown by the

respondents who work more than ten hours in college (66.7%). This clearly

indicates that these respondents get adequate help from their partners to

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206

cope with their professional needs. Women are still doing twice as much as

men, but it’s very much more a partnership these days. However, it should

be also kept in mind that the partnership is always underscored by gendered

roles based on cultural norms. Societal notions about marital relationships

influence who mops the floor and who packs the children’s lunches. Where

the culture holds that the basis for marriage is a need for economic security

and children, the men stick to “men’s work” and the women to “women’s

work.” Hence, it is to be deduced from Table 8.22 that partners do

contribute to domestic chores when women invest more time in paid work,

but in gendered lines prescribed by traditional norms. On the contrary,

respondents who spent only the mandatory five hours in campus show the

lowest score in domestic responsibility (9.7%). It can be deduced that these

respondents tend to spent more hours in household chores, without getting

much help from the partners; the lower the time spent in campus, the higher

the involvement of respondents in domestic duties with minimal support

from partners.

Table 8.23 Work Pressure and Domestic Responsibility

Work Pressure Domestic Responsibility Never Rarely Sometimes Often

Total

Low 3 (13%)

6 (26.1%)

13 (56.5%)

1 (4.3%)

23 (100%)

Moderate

37 (21.9%)

57 (33.7%)

67 (39.6%)

8 (4.7%)

169 (100%)

High 27 (17.1%)

38 (24.1%)

67 (42.4%)

26 (16.5%)

158 (100%)

Total 67 (19.1%)

101 (28.9%)

147 (42%)

35 (10%)

350 (100%)



207

In Table 8.23, the lowest score is shown in domestic responsibility by

the respondents who said that they sometimes miss quality time with family

and friends because of pressure of work (56.5%). This is a clear indication

of the ‘second shift’ experienced by professional women, where domestic

work takes its toll in their lives. The result is that these women lack time to

spend with family and friends. The data in the above Table illustrates the

strength of the ideology that women should remain in the domestic sphere,

and how those mindsets restricts them and prevents them from entering into

the other meaningful facets of life and inter personal relationships.

Moreover, the ideas of a woman’s social place were deeply ingrained in

society, making it difficult for women to deny and overcome them.

Table 8.24 Domestic Responsibility and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Domestic Responsibility Moderate High

Total

Low 29 (85.3%)

5 (14.7%)

34 (100%)


9 (4.4%)

205 (100%)

High 106 (95.5%)

5 (4.5%)

111 (100%)

Total 331 (94.6%)

19 (5.4%)

350 (100%)


In Table 8.24, the respondents with low score of domestic

responsibility show high level of professionalism (14.7%). This implies that

the heavy burden of domestic tasks remains as a self-reliant entity for the

women, which they delineate from the realm of professional life. Domestic

life and professional life remains as two distinct autopoietic systems for

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208

women regulated by social expectations. The negative side of these

imbalanced systems is that women succumb to many types of mental health

problems. From many studies, it was found that women who are raising

children and are in the workforce are more prone to have anxiety and many

other stress related effects than the women who are just faced with one of

the two burdens.

Recently during a press conference called by the Ministry of Women

and Child Development, the Minister of State (Independent Charge),

Krishna Tirath, (2012) proposed the formulation of a bill through which a

certain percentage of a husband’s salary would be compulsorily transferred

to his wife’s bank account to compensate her for all the domestic work she

performs for the family. According to the Minister, this percentage of

husbands’ salaries would not be taxed and would provide women the much

needed source of income to run the household better, and more importantly,

to spend on her own, personal consumption. In a later clarification, the

Minister identified this payment as an “honorarium” and not a salary which

is to be paid to wives for all the services they otherwise render for free (The

Hindu, 2012). This proposition has not gone down well, especially with

women of higher income brackets who see such proposed action as

unnecessary intervention in the realm of the private, i.e. the realm of

familial relations.

8.3 Self Image This section analyses the self image of the respondents and its

relation to the levels of professionalism.


209

Table 8.25 Careers made the Respondents better Wives than Housewives



Agree 107 30.6

No Opinion 40 11.4

Disagree 20 5.7



From Table 8.25, it can be seen that majority of respondents (81.2%)

seems to have achieved a work-life balance because they feel that they are

better wives because of their professional facet. These women are

experiencing lesser role conflict because of their reconciliation of work-

family spheres. Also, as seen in the section on domestic responsibility,

these women are successful in maintaining the systemic characteristics of

both work and familial spheres in a distinct manner, which offers no chance

for role conflicts. It seems that the respondents in this study have high role

compatibility and they are highly perceptive of the various dimensions of

the workers role and home makers role.

Table 8.26 Married Professional Women has the Best Work-Life Balance

Responses Frequency Percent Strongly Agree 180 51.4

Agree 128 36.6 No Opinion 30 8.6

Disagree 9 2.6 Strongly Disagree 3 0.9


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210

Table 8.26 shows that a vast proportion of the respondents (88%) are

experiencing a good work-life balance. They feel that the profession and

family can strike a good balance, if married women are ready to play the

multiple roles unstintingly and with positive vigour. This also shows that

they consider multiple role playing as quite normal and as an everyday

affair, which needs no introspection as a problematic dilemma. To put it

differently, we can say that, academic women with children, have only two

solutions: either they become ‘superwomen’ committed to both career and

family with energy for both, or they work part-time .Women with

‘superwoman’ syndrome, in spite of their work-life dilemma see their

careers as personally fulfilling, or at least that's the kind of jobs they hope

for. Women want to be able to help and serve others, be productive, solve

problems, use their creativity, meet challenges and learn new concepts and

skills.

However, the figures in Table 8.26 are not consistent with other

studies. In many previous research studies it was found that an uneven

distribution of the workload at home in favour of men persists (Craig, 2006

; Dempsey, 2000). Due to the unending list of duties women had to perform

at home which are less flexible, demanding and experience interruptions, it

effects professional life or relaxing time of females which leaves negative

impression on work- life balance as compared to men . Hence, in order to

run work and family life smoothly women are expected to make larger

sacrifices because they possess less power and authority due to the tradition

and cultural norms of the society. The respondents in this study, emulating

the ‘superwoman’ ideal are, however, able to manage their multiple roles

playing in a synergizing and adequate manner.


211

Table 8.27 Career has Made the Respondents Better Mothers



Agree 109 31.1

No Opinion 62 17.7

Disagree 26 7.4



In this study, as seen in Table 8.27 a greater part of the respondents

(74.2%) strongly agree that they are good, both in their home front and

their profession, as they say that their career has made them better mothers.

The findings bring to the limelight the concept of quality time. Even those

professional women can equip themselves with the time management

strategies and spend quality time with their children, taking into account

their unique and innumerable needs. To quote the words of one of the

respondents - “A working mother who spends one hour of quality time

every day with her child will probably establish a better bond with her child

than a non working mother who is at home nagging the child all the time”.

The tide is beginning to turn in the world social order. In India,

women are also turning out in large numbers in the work force due to

economic necessity. But as in the case of every social change, there is a lag

between actions and attitudes. While people may be willing to accept the

idea of career women, they are not willing to excuse them from their duties

as career moms. The attitude towards working women seems to be that

while people have no objection to availing of their talents and abilities

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outside the home; women are not allowed to compromise on home life.

And if they do, they should be made to feel the error of their ways.

To add spice to the above dimension, it can be said that in the first

place, the term 'working mother' is a misnomer as mothers are working

round the clock even if they don't go to an office.

Table 8.28 Balancing Family Life as the Non-working Neighbours in Community Affairs



Agree 124 35.4

No Opinion 93 26.6

Disagree 46 13.1



Table 8.28 depicts that women have finally stepped out of their clichéd

territories (their kitchens) and have become an actively targeted workforce

even in community affairs. More and more women are successfully juggling

their careers, their families and their in-laws with panache and confidence, at

the same time giving space for community involvement when required. Sixty

per cent of the respondents say that they are active in community needs in the

same manner as any non-working woman. However, studies by Bebbington

(1973) and O'Neil, Fishman, & Kinsella-Shaw (1987) do not support this

finding. They say that role changes of non-domestic activities were much

higher than role changes of domestic tasks, like decreased participation in

community activities. This can be attributed to the phenomenal ‘time squeeze’

professional women are experiencing in their everyday life.


213


Figure 8.3. Self Image

The statistics in the Diagram – 8.3., which represents a cumulative

score of the respondents, reveal that the respondents have a highly positive

social self concept (76%). Positive self-concept is an important part of a

woman’s happiness and success. Rothenburg (1997) found that women

scored higher on personal identity, physical and family and social self-

concept. Women with a positive self-concept have self-confidence and set

goals they can achieve. Achieving their goals, in turn, reinforces their

positive self-concept. Just like the data in Figure 8.3.1, other studies have

also reported that women in dual-career couples often report an

independent identity, increased self-esteem, and enhanced social contacts

(Barnett & Baruch, 1985).

Dickerson (2004) argues that women cannot possibly balance

everything and end up feeling like failures for not being good enough. This

sense of not measuring up contributes to a pervasive lack of self-esteem in

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214

young women which negatively impacts their life choices and satisfaction.

The findings of this section contrast with the notion of Dickerson, because

it points out to a good work-life balance and the resultant positive self

image among the respondents. This also entails the reality that professional

women, even though entrapped in their traditional milieu, are pursuing their

set goals, familial and professional, in a highly constructive and

unwavering manner.

Table 8.29 Summated Scores and Categories of Self Image

Score Category

Less than 7.2 Low

7.3 -10.5 Moderate


Low score in Self Image implies there are negative beliefs associated

with one’s self concept. Moderate implies a balanced self image and High

score means there is a positive self concept among the respondents.

Table 8.30 Age and Self Image

Age Self Image <30 31 - 40 41 - 50 >51

Total

Low 81 (30.6%)

96 (36.2%)

57 (21.5%)

31 (11.7%)

265 (100%)

Medium 27 (33.8%)

32 (40%)

16 (20%)

5 (6.3%)

80 (100%)

High 2 (40%)

1 (20%)

1 (20%)

1 (20%)

5 (100%)

Total 110 (31.4%)

129 (36.9%)

74 (21.1%)

37 (10.6%)

350 (100%)



215

From Table 8.30, it is seen that the self image score is highest for the

respondents who are less than thirty years old (40%) and lowest for those

respondents who are more than fifty one years old (11.7%). The age

trajectory points out that self image is high during the middle age and

declines during the retirement age. Several cross-sectional studies have also

showed that middle-aged adults had higher self-image than did older adults

(Jaquish & Ripple, 1981 ; Ranzjin, Keeves, Luszcz, & Feather, 1998 ;

Tiggemann & Lynch, 2001 ; Ward, 1977). What can be inferred from this

is that, midlife is a time of highly stable work, family and romantic

relationships. People increasingly occupy positions of power and status,

which might promote feelings of self-esteem, and thereby a high self

image. In contrast, older adults may be experiencing a change in roles such

as an empty nest, retirement and obsolete work skills in addition to

declining health. Thus, we can see the respondents experiencing a low self

esteem and consequently a low self image when they approach the

retirement age.

Table 8.31 Job Satisfaction and Self Image

Job Satisfaction

Self Image Highly Satisfied


Total

Low 135 (50.9%)

117 (44.2%)

12 (4.5%)

1 (0.4%)

265 (100%)

Moderate 27 (33.8%)

50 (62.5%)

2 (2.5%)

1 (1.3%)

80 (100%)

High 1 (20%)

4 (80%)

0 -

0 -

5 (100%)

Total 163 (46.6%)

171 (48.9%)

14 (4%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)


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216

The highest score for self image is portrayed by the respondents who

are moderately satisfied with the profession (80%), than who are highly

satisfied (20%). This implies that job satisfaction is just one among the

numerous factors which contribute to self image. For example, a

respondent who has low job satisfaction, maybe experiencing a high degree

of family satisfaction which can contribute positively to self image. Thus,

those respondents who are highly satisfied with their profession are

experiencing a low self image, which in this context, is believed to stem

from a lopsided work- family balance.

Table 8.32 Self Image and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Self Image

Moderate High Total

Low 248

(93.6%) 17

(6.4%) 265

(100%)

Moderate 78

(97.5%) 2

(2.5%) 80

(100%)

High 5

(100%) -

5 (100%)

Total 331

(94.6%) 19

(5.4%) 350

(100%) X2= 2.126 (a); Degrees of Freedom = 2; Level of Significance= 0.345 Source: Primary Data

The hypothesis that was generated with regard to the association

between the Self Image and Levels of professionalism was that,

H6: ‘There is positive relationship between Self Image and levels of

Professionalism of married women teachers’.


217

In Table 8.32 incongruence is seen in the relationship between self

image and professionalism. Those respondents with low self image have

scored greater in the high level of professionalism (6.4%). At the same

time, those who have high self image also are showing moderate level of

professionalism (100%). Self-image is concerned with how beliefs regulate

one’s own motivation, emotions and behavior. Professionalism is

concerned with an individual's actual competence, performance, and

conduct in a professional setting. The high and moderate level of

professionalism shown by these respondents can be exclusively explained

by the social-psychological process of Self-justification. It describes what

Leon Festinger terms as, ‘cognitive dissonance’ (1956), that is, a situation

in which a person's behavior is inconsistent with their beliefs, that person

tends to justify the behaviour and deny any negative feedback associated

with the behavior. Dissonance can result from an action dissonant with

either a negative or positive concept. In this study, the dissonance between

low self image and professionalism might have prompted the respondents

to invest more in their professional sphere to have a consistent image of

themselves in a positive manner. At the same time, those respondents who

have a high self image rationalize their moderate level of professionalism

by assuming that level is representative of their positive self-concept.

The level of significance was measured by using chi square test. Test

is significant at 5% (.05) level. The Calculated X2 for 2 degree of freedom

is 2.1269(a) and the p value is 0.345. Since p> .05, there is no significant

relation between Self Image and Levels of Professionalism of married

women teachers.

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8.4 Career Salience

Career salience is about occupational choice, importance of career

role concerned to other affairs of life and career significance (Savickas,

2001). In this section, the career salience of the respondents is analysed

which is a determining factor in the dual career family pattern.

Table 8.33 Employment is viewed more as a Job than a Career



Agree 105 30

No Opinion 39 11.1

Disagree 126 36



Table 8.33 shows that a greater part of the respondents (47.1%)

believe that they are only pursuing a remunerative employment. Today,

Women with a job outside the home have somewhat broken the traditional

gender work division and probably give more importance to their career

than do women with the traditional role of housewives. For instance, Claes,

Martin, Coetsier, & Super (1995) found that for those who did not work

outside the home, homemaker was their most salient role, but for women

who did work outside the home, homemaker and workplace roles were

equally important . Table 8.33, however, proves contrary to the finding of

Claes, Martin, Coetsier, & Super as the respondents are not having any

significant or strong professional dispositions as their focus is more

towards monetary gains.


219

Table 8.34 Career Sacrificed for Marriage



Disagree 119 34

No Opinion 96 27.4

Agree 69 19.7



The result of Table 8.34 show that considerable percentage of

respondents (42.6 %) disagree that marriage has impeded their career

aspects in any way. This means that they are skillfully managing both

dimensions of their life in a pragmatic and talented manner. The unique

nature of the profession of the respondents helps to reach family goals, and

family activities help them to be successful in their profession. However,

contrary to this, there are many studies which show that husband and/or

children impede a woman’s work progress (Gutek, 1988). Also, against the

finding of this study, a stream of skeptical reports has recently emerged in

the United States that describe an "opt-out revolution" among educated and

economically successful women who have left careers for full-time

homemaking. However, corroborating with the figures in Table 8.34,

economist Goldin (2006) contends that the opt-out woman is a tiny

minority and that their importance is being exaggerated relative to the

reality.

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220

Table 8.35 Husbands Value the Spouses’ Career in Equal Proportion to their Own Career



Disagree 26 7.4

No Opinion 41 11.7

Agree 169 48.3


Total 350 100


The outcome of Table 8.35 reveals that the respondents in this study

believe that their husbands value their career with equal importance,

irrespective of their pay packages (80%). It connotes that new clauses have

been added to the traditional ‘marriage contract’, wherein husbands are

ready to accept the career exigencies of their spouses with a broader mind

set. On the other hand, the status of the respondents as teaching faculty in

colleges accords high social standing in our society. This also might have

prompted the husbands to provide positive angle on the career of wives.

However, contradictory to the statistics in Table 8.35, a survey

conducted by Stanford's Clayman Institute for Research on Gender,

California (2012) found out that wives in dual-career academic

relationships — in which both partners work in academia — are more

likely than husbands to downplay the importance of their careers. Survey of

30,000 professors and researchers at 13 major research universities found

that in academic couples, fifty per cent of husbands say their career comes

first compared with only twenty per cent of wives. Academic couples are

actually more equitable in their career values than couples in which one

person is not in academia, the survey found, but the tendency for men to


221

put themselves first lingers, even when the female partner earns more

money.

Table 8.36 Respondents are Career Oriented as their Male Colleagues



Disagree 40 11.4

No Opinion 67 19.1

Agree 146 41.7



In Table 8.36 the respondents assert that they are career oriented as

their male colleagues in an uncompromising manner (69.1%). On the

contrary, many other studies show that women professors are presumed to

be less competent than their male colleagues and are held to higher

standards of achievement by their students (Sandler & Hall, 1993). For

people to perceive a woman as more competent than a man, they must be

given explicit evidence of the woman’s clear and substantial superiority

(Shackelford, Wood, & Worchel, 1996). These studies reveal the

vulnerable position of women, however talented they are, in the work

arena. Many a times, the stereotypic image of women prevents the

projection of their true worth and potential. However, the respondents in

this study believe that they are as skillful and career oriented as their male

colleagues, which demonstrate that they are not yet willing to compromise

their profession for the traditional stereotypic image.

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222

Table 8.37 Young Women Should Complete the Professional Training Before Marriage



Disagree 38 10.9

No Opinion 35 10

Agree 110 31.4

Strongly Agree 161 46

Total 350 100


Looking at the data in Table 8.37, it comes as no surprise, that

majority of the respondents (77.4 %) feel the need to complete professional

training before entering into the realm of marriage. The gender ideological

paradigm which gives importance to patriarchal perspectives in Kerala,

most often restricts women to pursue dimensions of professional

development after marriage. This has prompted the respondents to state that

it is better for women to complete the professional training before marriage.

In spite of the outstanding achievements in the Human Development and

Gender Equality indicators, Kerala lags behind other states in terms of

women empowerment especially in terms of the rate of women work

participation. It is a paradox that contrary to the expectation that the higher

economic growth and high literacy rate of female would lead to greater

participation of women in productive employment, Kerala experiences one

of the lowest female work participation and highest unemployment among

the major states in India. Work participation among women in Kerala is

twenty three per cent (NSS 1999-2000), which is one of the lowest in India.

One major reason for this is the failure of girls to receive professional and

skill based education at the right time. The traditional backdrop of Kerala


223

society puts restrictive norms which perceive women as just housewives.

Hence, most often professional ambitions are forcefully curtailed by marital

and familial considerations. This is the vital reason that the respondents in

this study have stated that women should somehow try to complete the

professional training before marriage; because marriage imposes watertight

restrictions on their professional development.

Table 8.38 Prioritizing Work and Family, the Prime Priority should be Family



Agree 144 41.1

No Opinion 60 17.1

Disagree 31 8.9


Total 350 100


Table 8.38 reveals that majority of the respondents (72.5%) have said

that they give priority to the family domain in the work- life dimension. In

the earlier Table 8.33 also, it was seen that the respondents are more

money-oriented than career oriented, which undoubtedly reflects the family

loyalty of the respondents. Over the course of a career, nearly every faculty

member, regardless of family status, will encounter some difficulty in

achieving equilibrium between academic and personal life. Lack of a clear

boundary between work and “life” in academia has historically meant that

work has been all-pervasive, often to the detriment of family, outside

activities, and leisure time. However, the unique characteristics of

academic life, particularly flexibility of schedules, provide tremendous

potential for achieving a healthy work-life balance. “Today’s younger

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224

employees are working to live rather than living to work,” states a

newspaper manager in the journalism newsletter ‘Fusion’ (Williamson,

2006). This is a clear pointer towards the familial strings attached to the

respondents in this study. The perspective of the respondents can be

summarized in the words of Anne-Marie Slaughter at the 2012 ‘Work Life

Legacy’ Awards “When you put family first, work never comes second—

your life comes together”.

Table 8.39 Husband and Wife living in Separate Cities can have Successful Marriages



Disagree 80 22.9

No Opinion 54 15.4

Agree 104 29.7



In Table 8.39, a significant proportion of respondents (57.4%) have

affirmatively said that martial satisfaction can be maintained even if they

are not living together with their spouses, as well as focusing on their work

agenda. Ambitious working women are not willing to give up their career

for the sake of ‘living together’ with their spouses and their priorities are

definitely changing. As women become highly educated and more

economically independent and secure, they gain more self-confidence and

dignity, and are more empowered to make life decisions. Bakker,

Demerouti, & Burke (2009) studied 168 dual-earner couples and examined

the relationship between work-a-holism and relationship satisfaction. The

authors found that individuals who receive considerable support from their


225

partners are more satisfied with their relationship. Hence, even if couples

live apart for the sake of work, mutual understanding and trust can create a

healthy marriage.

Table 8.40 If the Respondents receive a Job offer in another city they don’t expect their Husbands to accompany them



Disagree 44 12.6

No Opinion 95 27.1

Agree 130 37.1

Strongly Agree 70 20


From the Table 8.40, it can be seen that a greater part of the

respondents (57.1%), have even deviated from the norm of public

patriarchy. As empowered women, they state that they can live

independently for the sake of their profession. This connotes a career

trajectory which favours upward vertical mobility and enhanced status for

women. Culture determines gender ideology which assigns rights and

responsibilities for its members, and defines what the ‘appropriate’

behaviours are for women and men. Society has developed in the last one

hundred years from private to public patriarchy. In private patriarchy

women are denied all access to paid employment and are directly oppressed

by their father or husband. On the other hand, although rhetorically women

have access to both public and private arenas in the public form of

patriarch, they remain subordinated within them. The contemporary form of

patriarchy is more of public (Walby, 2010). The fact that the respondents

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226

have deviated from the public patriarchy is a positive sign of their

empowerment in the traditional Kerala set up.


Figure 8.4. Career Salience

Diagram-8.4. indicates an empowered mind-set from the respondents

who regards career with a highly ambitious and indomitable disposition

(54%). Facilitation of women's increasing involvement and satisfaction in

career pursuits necessitates understanding of ways in which multiple roles

may be managed and integrated by both women and men. Hock & DeMeis

(1990) found among mothers of infants that those with high scores in career

salience were more likely to work after childbirth and that they would prefer

to work rather than stay at home. The same potent mentality is also exhibited

by the respondents in this study.


227

Table 8.41 Summated Scores and Categories of Career Salience

Score Category

Less than 14.4 Low

14.5 – 20.9 Moderate

Greater than 21 High


Low score in career salience implies that the significance attributed to

career by the respondents is very less; moderate score implies a balanced

view and high score implies a greater degree of career salience among the

respondents.

Table 8.42 Years of Experience and Career Salience

Career Salience Years of Experience Low Moderate High

Total

5 1 (0.8%)

115 (91.3%)

10 (7.9%)

126 (100%)

6 - 10 2 (2.2%)

80 (89.9%)

7 (7.9%)

89 (100%)

11-15 0 -

44 (89.8%)

5 (10.2%)

49 (100%)

16 - 20 0 -

30 (100%)

0 -

30 (100%)

21-30 1 (2.4%)

35 (85.4%)

5 (12.2%)

41 100%

>31 0 -

14 (93.3%)

1 (6.7%)

15 (100%)

Total 4 (1.1%)

318 (90.9%)

28 (8%)

350 (100%)


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228

Table 8.42 shows that, all categories based on years of experience,

are showing high scores in the moderate level of career salience. It means

that the relative importance of work in relation to total life is only on a

moderate level. The highest percentage of moderate career salience is

shown by the respondents belonging to the category of 16-20 years of

experience (100%). This is indicative of the phase when the learning

experiences are enthusiastically pursued with regard to one’s career for

career advancement. In the younger years, the very basic dimensions of the

profession are learnt, while in the older years, the quest for gaining

knowledge is slackened because of the diminishing need for remaining

committed to the career due to retirement. Hence, the 16-20 years of

experience remains pivotal for career salience of the respondents.

Table 8.43 Nature of College and Career Salience

Nature of College Career Salience Aided Unaided Government

Total

Low

1 (25 %)

3 (75%)

0 -

4 (100%)

Moderate

134 (42.1%)

141 (44.3%)

43 (13.5%)

318 (100%)

High 15 (53.6%)

6 (21.4%)

7 (25%)

28 (100%)

Total 150 (42.9%)

150 (42.9%)

50 (14.3%)

350 (100%)


From the figures in Table 8.43, it can be seen that the highest score

for career salience is shown by the respondents of aided colleges (53.6%),

while the lowest score is shown by the respondents of unaided colleges

(75%). This difference can be attributed to the difference in the nature of


229

work environments of these two categories of respondents. In aided colleges,

there is ample financial and job security, and the vistas for career development

are very wide. In unaided colleges, there is no financial and job security and

the future career advancement opportunities are not enthusiastically pursued,

because of the ambiguity that remains in relation to job prospects. In this

regard, it is also surprising to see that there is absolutely no low score in career

salience for respondents in government colleges. The reasons attributed to

respondents in aided colleges can be cited for respondents in government

colleges also. In addition, one advantage of respondents in government

colleges is the degree of autonomy experienced by them, which contributes

positively to their career commitment levels.

Table 8.44 Occupation of the Spouse and Career Salience

Career Salience Occupation of Spouse Low Moderate High

Total

Teacher-Govt. 0 -

32 (84.2%)

6 (15.8%)

38 (100%)

Teacher-Private 0 -

23 (100%)

0 -

23 (100%)

Other govt. Job 1 (1.4%)

66 (91.7%)

5 (6.9%)

72 (100%)

Private Service 1 (1.4%)

67 (90.5%)

6 (8.1%)

74 (100%)

Business 1 (2.1%)

42 (89.4%)

4 (8.5%)

47 (100%)

Other Professionals 1 (1%)

88 (91.7%)

7 (7.3%)

96 (100%)

Total 4 (1.1%)

318 (90.9%)

28 (8%)

350 (100%)


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230

The figures in Table 8.44 reveal that the highest score in moderate

level of career salience is shown by respondents who work as teachers in

private institutions (100%). It can be understood on the basis of the

orientation of spouses working in private institutions, where higher levels

of professional traits are expected by the concerned authorities, to maintain

student enrollment and profit in a substantial level. Persons working in such

an ambience would instill these qualities in their partners also, which is

explicit in their career salience level. However, the gender related

parameters like involvement in domestic tasks contributes to only a

moderate level of career salience among the respondents. The high level of

career salience is demonstrated mostly by respondents having spouses as

teachers in government service (15.8%). This comes as only a logical

corollary to the fact that, being in government service, with job security and

other perks, they can instill the sense of accountability onto the respondents

also.

Table 8.45 Job satisfaction and Career Salience

Job Satisfaction Career

Salience Highly Satisfied


Total

Low 2 (50%)

2 (50%)

0 -

0 -

4 (100%)


158 (49.7%)

12 (3.8%)

2 (0.6%)

318 (100%)

High 15 (53.6%)

11 (39.3%)

2 (7.1%)

0 -

28 (100%)

Total 163 (46.6%)

171 (48.9%)

14 (4%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)



231

The statistics in Table 8.45 show that the highest percentage of career

salience is shown by the respondents who are highly satisfied with their

profession (53.6%).Career salience is achieved through an optimal degree

of motivation to advance in career aspects, which can only materialize with

a deep devotion towards one’s profession. Career salience and professional

satisfaction are complementary in nature. The development of one aspect

invariably leads to the development of the other. This is evident when we

see the above Table that the undecided and unsatisfied group has the lowest

percentages of career salience when compared to other groups.

Table 8.46 Career Salience and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Career Salience Moderate High

Total

Low 2 (100%)

- 2 (100%)

Moderate 227 (94%)

13 (5.4%)

240 (100%)

High 102 (94.4%)

6 (5.6%)

108 (100%)

Total 331 (94.6%)

19 (5.4%)

350 (100%)


Work role salience or career salience is the importance attached to

building a career and the time and effort an individual is willing to invest in

it. Table 8.46 definitely reveals that a high score in career salience is

reflected also in the high level of professionalism (5.6%); it also true in the

case of moderate level of professionalism (94.4%). Research findings show

that higher education and college and advanced degrees not only make it

more likely for women to wish to become part of the labour force but also

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232

increase their career salience (Basow, 1992). A number of researchers have

linked work-role salience or career salience with work attitude (Mannheim,

Baruch, & Tal, 1997 ; Velde and Jansen, 2003). Respondents in this study

also have shown a positive work attitude, which is echoed in their levels of

professionalism.

A protean career is based on personal career choices and a search for

self fulfillment as these are the integrative and unifying elements in life

(Hall , 1976). In line with Collin’s (1998) definition of a career, protean

careers involve horizontal growth, expanding one’s range of competencies,

whereby the goals are learning, the expansion of identity, and psychological

success (Herr, 2001). In this study, we find that the respondents’ career as a

teacher fits in the protean career paradigm as it synergises the qualities of

goals of learning, expansion of identity and psychological distress into the

career salience dimension.

Sekaran (1982) also identified two additional variables that would

also seem important for the enhancement of career salience, namely the

extent to which individuals have prepared themselves educationally for

specific careers and the extent to which they have consciously planned for a

dual career family lifestyle. From this study it is found that these two

factors are important for the respondents since they view a career as an

integral part of their life and highlight the necessary planning and

investments that must be undertaken to enhance professionalism.

Results of studies conducted by Moya, Exposito, & Ruiz (2000)

concluded that personal variables related to career salience in women are

high educational attainment and equalitarian gender ideology. From the

analysis of this section, it is obvious that the respondents have these two


233

attributes and credit themselves with high career salience, which projects

itself through their enhanced levels of professionalism.

8.5 Career Line

Table 8.47 Married Woman’s Career viewed from Dual Role of Wife and Professional



Agree 128 36.6

No Opinion 19 5.4

Disagree 21 6



Table 8.47 reveals that eighty eight per cent of the respondents

believe that instead of focusing on role incompatibility, the norm of dual

role should be given central consideration. The growth in the number of

working wife families is widely acknowledged to be one of the most

important social trends of the era. The dual-career lifestyle has created a

unique set of challenges, many of which relate to socialization and role

expectations, work role conflicts, and family role conflicts. Many couples

have difficulty resolving role expectations because the likelihood is great

that the individuals involved have been socialized for roles very different

from those they're apt to experience as part of this lifestyle. A woman who

tries to combine a career and a family is soon reminded that she's flaunting

the socially accepted norms. She finds herself in a seemingly no-win

situation. The qualities associated with the role of wife-mother (nurturance,

emotionality, responsiveness to people rather than ideas) are seen to be

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234

incompatible with those qualities associated with success in the occupational

sphere (independence, rationality, and assertiveness).

In this context, it is useful to cite Mahajan (1966) who analysed

conflicting roles which modern educated women in India have to face if

they decide to pursue a career and traditional pattern of home life. The

cultural and social realities of this country still force the traditional family

role of house-wife and mother and not the role outside house. Mahajan

opines that educated women themselves are not sure of their capabilities to

handle contradictory roles at various stages of their lives.

The respondents said that instead of centring attention on role

incompatibility and role conflict, the focus should be on the dual role

paradigm which will facilitate a better analysis of multiple roles playing of

women in a positive perspective.

Table 8.48 Unmarried Woman’s Career is Successful than a Married Woman’s Career



Agree 100 28.6

No Opinion 41 11.7

Disagree 75 21.4



From figures in Table 8.48, we can see that, sixty one per cent of the

respondents believe that unmarried woman’s career is more successful than

a married woman’s career, because of minimal role conflict circumstances

before marriage. Unmarried women have lesser of responsibilities and the


235

problem of ‘time squeeze’ remains very minimal for them. Therefore, they

may get more time and opportunities to expand their vistas of professional

investment. Regarding the plight of married working women, studies like

that of Jain (1988) have found that working women face difficulties in

performing her familial roles. Often she has conflicting demands but she is

not prepared to leave her job on account of these and she tries to make new

adjustments in her family life.

Table 8.49 Married Woman’s Career is less important Compared to her Male Colleagues



Agree 119 34

No Opinion 98 28

Disagree 40 11.4



In the previous section the respondents stated that they are as career

oriented as their male colleagues. However, in Table 8.49, majority of

respondents (60.3%) believe that their career line is skewed when

compared to their male colleagues. Girls’ schooling, occupation, and

income, are curtailed to reflect their role as carriers of identity and

tradition, and supporters and homemakers in marital families, not as

productive members and status-enhancers of parental families. Thus, when

it comes to career line, women lags behind when compared to their male

counterparts. The major issue with regard to this is that individual choice is

bypassed by the prevailing tradition of our society. Meritocratic

achievements of women are shadowed by the norms of their feminine roles

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236

wherein that of the male members are given wanton accolades. The views

of the respondents are reflected in the words of Blumberg, who says that

“In the Indian patriarchal ideology, women are regarded more as a highly

flexible resource of the household rather than fully-fledged members of it”

(Blumberg, 1988).

Table 8.50 Career Involvement is cut back to meet Family Needs



Agree 133 38

No Opinion 68 19.4

Disagree 100 28.6


Total 350 100


The above Table shows that a significant number of respondents

(46.9%) have said that, in their dual role model, family gets more

precedence than career. From this, it is implied that, despite Kerala’s high

human development and gender development index, there is still an

entrenched patriarchy and reduced space for women’s voices in public and

private spaces. “For dual-career couples and working women, balancing

work demands with personal and family responsibilities is difficult to do”

(Jackson & Mathis, 2007); and the situations becomes even more

challenging where dual career couples have a child or children. In this

context, it would be also worthy to remember the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’

of women. There are many different impediments placed upon women that

make it difficult for them to attain a higher work status. With these very

negative effects on women and their self-esteem, the glass ceiling has


237

created an even larger problem than just in the work place. Most see the

glass ceiling as only being in the work place, which is where it originally

was intended for, it has spread to encompass the household and others as

well. The barrier within the household has been seen as the difficulty a

woman has of getting out of the household and accumulating a job. Not all

women feel as though they are being suppressed in the household and many

women choose to be in the household in which case the glass ceiling does

not apply to them. The term only applies to those women that wish to be

out in the work field but are unable to be. Because the glass ceiling also

limits the opportunities of women in developing countries, the term has

broadened and also become an issue around the world.

Table 8.51 Career Demands cut down due to Responsibilities as a Mother



Agree 91 26

No Opinion 79 22.6

Disagree 141 40.3



A significant number of respondents (46%) in Table 8.51 have

maintained that their career line has not suffered because of the

responsibilities of motherhood. This finding can be, once again, considered

as a testimony of the ‘superwoman’ dimension of professional women in

this study. Some women work to have the best of both worlds—juggling

parent-teacher conferences with executive meetings at college— while

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238

others decide to put their careers on hold to focus solely on motherhood.

The respondents in this study, however, are loyal to both- the motherhood

role and the professional role.

Table 8.52 Impossible to achieve a Perfect Work-Life Balance



Agree 96 27.4

No Opinion 50 14.3

Disagree 99 28.3


Total 350 100


The figures in the above Table highlight that fifty one per cent of the

respondents supports the view that it is impossible to achieve a perfect

work-life balance. Traditionally Sociologists like Coser (1874) and Merton

(1957) and psychologists have supported this finding and have said that

more complex role sets produce stress. But, recently, there has been a shift

in focus away from the stressful and towards the beneficial effects of

occupying different roles. (Perrone, Webb, & Jackson, 2007), which runs

contrary to the figures in Table 8.52. It has been stated that “two-career

partners need the dexterity to balance not only career and family life but

also her and his careers so that both spouses prosper professionally in what

they see as a fair way” (Lamanna & Riedman, 2006). From the above Table

it is evident that, the respondents lack this dexterity, owing mainly due to

the fact that their gender ideology is enmeshed in the patriarchal system

widely prevalent in our society.


239

Table 8.53 Respondents consider themselves Working Women or Career Women



Agree 139 39.7

No Opinion 60 17.1

Disagree 64 18.3



The women in our sample appear to subscribe to patriarchal ideology

to a greater extent when we realise that majority of respondents (60 %)

consider their career in a less significant manner. What is most interesting

is the result that subscribing to a patriarchal gender ideology is a much

more potent and it puts women squarely below men in social hierarchies, so

that the message of subordination to the male, along with all it entails, may

have been internalized to a significant extent in the women’s psyche. While

'working women' is not an alien concept for an originally patriarchal

society, there is a self-restriction when it comes to being ambitious. The

women rarely feel the need to excel or move ahead in their field. They tend

to be happy to hand over the role of the bread winner to the husband and

are content with playing down their career. They self-impose an internal

glass ceiling that ensures they do not rise above their husbands as far as

their career graph is concerned.

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240


Figure 8.5. Career Line

Diagram – 8.5. portrays a favourable career line for the respondents

in this study (57%).. Over the past ten years, professional women in India

have witnessed a quiet revolution in gender relations at work and family

relations at home. Traditional social attitudes and cultural patterns have not

changed overnight. The skills and confidence to push for career

advancement are not instantly acquired. Practical infrastructure challenges

can vex the most determined of women as they try to make lives that

embrace both work and family. However, the respondents in this study

have succeeded to a great extent to break the ‘glass ceiling ‘and establish a

steady career line, as figured from the analysis of Tables in this

section. Majority of respondents from this section said that even by

prioritsing family, they are able to achieve perfect work-life balance. It may

be that the notorious "glass ceiling" is actually a glass door as stated by

these theorists (Hittleman, Cohen, & Dodge, 2009).


241

Table 8.54 Summated Scores and Categories of Career line

Score Category

Less than12.6 Low



Low score in career line implies an unenthusiastic approach of

respondents towards career advancements, moderate score implies a

slightly balanced outlook and high score implies an ambitious nature with

regard to career advancements.

Table 8.55 Nature of College and Career Line

Nature of College Career Line Aided Unaided Government

Total

Low 69

(42.1%) 60

(36.6%) 35

(21.3%) 164

(100%)

Moderate 76

(43.7%) 83

(47.7%) 15

(8.6%) 174

(100%)

High 5

(41.7%) 7

(58.3%) 0 -

12 (100%)

Total 150

(42.9%) 150

(42.9%) 50

(14.3%) 350


The highest score for career line in Table 8.55 is shown by the

respondents in unaided colleges (58.3%).This is not surprising when we

think of the job and financial insecurity they face in their professions. With

innumerable number of unaided colleges sprouting all over Kerala, and the

consistent call for high degree of efficiency, it becomes inevitable for these

respondents to develop an unwavering career line, if they have to adhere to

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242

their professions for a long time. Simultaneously, we can also see that the

respondents in the government colleges indicate the minimum score for

career line (21.3%). This implies the ‘taken-for-granted’ nature of the

profession, which correlates with financial and job security. Hence, a

skewed career line for respondents in government colleges indicates the

relative laxity of their career investments when compared to respondents in

aided and unaided colleges.

Table 8.56 Job Satisfaction and Career Line

Job Satisfaction

Career Line Highly Satisfied


Total

Low 64 (39%)

89 (54.3%)

9 (5.5%)

2 (1.2%)

164 (100%)

Moderate 95 (54.6%)

74 (42.5%)

5 (2.9%)

0 -

174 (100%)

High 4 (33.3%)

8 (66.7%)

0 -

0 -

12 (100%)

Total 163 (46.6%)

171 (48.9%)

14 (4%)

2 (0.6%)

350 (100%)


The score for career line is high for the moderately satisfied category

of respondents (66.7%). This means that the inherent motivation to rise

higher in the professional echelons and contribute still in a greater level to

professional advancements. Here again we see that the undecided and

unsatisfied categories of respondents have a skewed career line which

readily explains their lack of enthusiasm in the pursuit of their career goals.

The highly satisfied respondents are also showing greater score in the

moderate career line (54.6%). We can deduce from the figures that, the


243

highly satisfied group is contented with their present status quo and they

envision no scope for higher levels of career advancement, at least in the

immediate future.

Table 8.57 Career Line and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Career Line

Moderate High Total

Low 160

(97.6%) 4

(2.4%) 164

(100%)

Moderate 154

(92.8%) 12

(7.2%) 166

(100%)

High 17

(85%) 3

(15%) 20

(100%)

Total 331

(94.6%) 19

(5.4%) 350


In Table 8.57, respondents who have high score in Career line have

high level of professionalism (15%). The figures in the table reveal the

exhilarating depiction of Indian women professionals who rank high in

their career ambitions even in the patriarchal set up of Kerala. This

situation is also a miniature model of the situation in India itself. For

instance, an important research report Commissioned by Working Mother

Research Institute following its Fourth Annual Global Advancement of

Women Leadership Summit, held in Bengaluru, India, in 2009 finds that

Indian women professionals see themselves as true trendsetters both at

work and home. With families being more supportive and the concept of

external child-care centres becoming increasingly popular, in a growing

consumer economy, many more women are becoming career minded and

not just taking on transient jobs to satisfy an economic need. Hence, it is

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244

also not surprising to note that those respondents who have scored low in

career line shows only the highest score in moderate level of professionalism

(97.6%).

8.6 Family Life Satisfaction

Family Life satisfaction involves the comparison of one’s perceived

life circumstances with a self-imposed standard or set of standards.

Individuals experience high life satisfaction when their perceived life

circumstances match their self-imposed standard or set of standards.

Furthermore, according to DeNeve & Cooper (1998), family life

satisfaction is based on the cognitive evaluation of the quality of one’s

experiences that span an individual’s entire life.

Table 8.58 Respondents would be less Fulfilled without the Experience of Family Life



Agree 151 43.1

No Opinion 30 8.6

Disagree 29 8.3



Majority of the respondents (82 %) in Table 8.58 seems to have

family life satisfaction as they stated that they would be less fulfilled

without the experience of family life. Family life satisfaction is a pertinent

topic as everyone's family influences them in some way and most strive to

have high levels of satisfaction in life as well as within their own family.

Hence, it can be safely assumed that the value- based socio-cultural context


245

of Kerala society has a crucial role to play in the fulfilling experiences of

family of the respondents.

Table 8.59 If given a choice, the Respondents would not have had Any Children



Disagree 77 22

No Opinion 144 41.1

Agree 22 6.3



Majority of responses in Table 8.59, are inclined towards

disagreement (50%) with regard to the statement that if given a choice, they

would not have had any children. It is a clear demonstration to the fact that

children were an imperative component of their life satisfaction index.

Family relates to life satisfaction in a very different way: a woman's

decision to have children or not. In the article "Relationship between

Information Search in the Childbearing Decision and Life Satisfaction for

Parents and Nonparents" by Carole (1983), reveals that childless women

have much higher life satisfaction than women with children. From Carole

K. Holahan’s study, it was found that most of the life satisfaction came

from careers instead of children. On the other hand, women who did have

children had high life satisfaction which depended on the reasons and

decision making for having children. These are just generalizations and life

satisfaction comes from many different sources which are unique and

different for every person. Life satisfaction can shift all the time from

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246

events, situations, family and friend implications and many different things

that all must be taken into consideration.

Table 8.60 If given a choice again, the Respondents would not have trained for this Profession



Agree 15 4.3

No Opinion 133 38

Disagree 88 25.1



From the data in Table 8.60, it is evident that majority of women

teachers (52.8%) are satisfied with their profession, and if given

alternatives, they would adhere to this profession itself. Teacher job

satisfaction, while difficult to define, may be even more difficult to

measure. Determinants of job satisfaction are known to vary according

to gender, age, experience, and position, and defining job satisfaction for

teachers involves many wide-ranging differences as to what contributes

to job satisfaction (Shannon, 1998). While teachers’ feelings about

certain aspects of their jobs strongly affect their decisions to stay in

teaching or leave the profession, it becomes clear that an understanding

of teacher job satisfaction is important (Spector DarlingHammond,

2003). The responses from the above Table indicate that women teachers

in this study are highly satisfied with their profession, for their own

unique reasons.


247


Figure 8.6. Family Life Satisfaction

Diagram – 8.6. reveals an elevated level of family life satisfaction, in

concurrence with their high educational level, lofty level of income and

having educated and professionally placed spouses (48%). Shichman &

Cooper (2004) investigated the relationship between family life satisfaction

and sex role concept. Consistent with previous studies, they found that,

women’s general satisfaction with life , and specifically family life, was

positively associated with education level, income level, and being married,

which concurs with the findings of this section also.

Table 8.61 Summated Scores and Categories of Family Life Satisfaction

Score Category

Less than 5.4 Low



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248

Low score in family life satisfaction implies that the respondents are

not satisfied in the family. Moderate implies a balanced satisfaction and

High score means the respondents are highly satisfied in their family life.

Table 8.62 Job Satisfaction and Family Life Satisfaction

Family life Satisfaction Job Satisfaction

Low Moderate High

Total

Highly Satisfied 0 -

145 (89%)

18 (11%)

163 (100%)

Moderately Satisfied 2 (1.2%)

153 (89.5%)

16 (9.4%)

171 (100%)

Undecided 1 (7.1%)

13 (92.9%)

0 -

14 (100%)

Unsatisfied 0 -

2 (100%)

0 -

2 (100%)

Total 3 (0.9%)

313 (89.4%)

34 (9.7%)

350 (100%)


The figures in Table 8.62 show a negative relationship between job

satisfaction and family life satisfaction. The highest score in moderate family

life satisfaction (100%) is shown by those respondents who are unsatisfied

with their jobs. It has to be assumed in this regard that individuals who are not

happy with their jobs try to compensate by engaging in satisfying family

related activities. Instead of a ‘spillover’, the respondents seem to maintain a

‘compensatory’ mode, where we see a discrepancy in the satisfaction levels

between the work sphere and family satisfaction sphere. It indicates, like we

witnessed in the earlier sections, that the respondents upkeep work and family

as two distinct dimensions of their lives which ultimately is dominated by the

patriarchal ideology. However, the data also shows that those who are highly

satisfied in their jobs, also have high family life satisfaction (11%). It can only


249

be assumed that this category of respondents undoubtedly experience a perfect

work-life balance.

Table 8.63 Family Life Satisfaction and Levels of Professionalism

Levels of Professionalism Family Life Satisfaction Moderate High

Total

Low 124 (92.5%)

10 (7.5%)

134 (100%)


8 (3.7%)

214 (100%)

High 1 (50%)

1 (50%)

2 (100%)

Total 331 (94.6%)

19 (5.4%)

350 (100%)

X2= 10.010(a); Degree of Freedom=2; Level of Significance=0.007 Source: Primary Data

The hypothesis that was generated with regard to the association

between the Family life satisfaction and Levels of professionalism was that,

H7: ‘There is no relationship between Family life Satisfaction and levels

of Professionalism of married women teachers’.

Table 8.63 tells us that respondents with high score in satisfaction are

showing a high level of professionalism (50%). Classic humanist Maslow

(1998) relates many of the professional qualities to his "hierarchy of human

needs". Maslow delineated "lower" and "higher" human needs, and

observed that motivation toward the different levels of need produces

markedly different levels of life satisfaction. The lower needs include

survival, security, belonging, competence, and respect from others. People

focused mainly on any of these needs experience "deficiency motivation" -

a strong drive to fulfill these basic needs that is accompanied by minimal

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250

life satisfaction. The experience is one of effort punctuated by "moments of

episodic relief". By contrast, people pursuing primarily the higher needs

for self-esteem and self-actualization experience "growth motivation", in

which they are seeking the highest levels of personal development and self-

expression.

Maslow described people experiencing the fulfillment of growth

motivation to be psychologically mature, and he observed in them the

following character traits that exemplify professionalism: self-governance

and individuality; universal, holistic thinking; undistorted perception of

reality; superior awareness of truth; service orientation and desire for the

good of others; and highly democratic personality. He concludes that this

level of maturity produces "the most ethical of people".

Recent psychological research supports Maslow's correlations

between types of motivation and levels of happiness. Modern psychology

classifies both values and motivation as either intrinsic or extrinsic. A

person is intrinsically motivated when he chooses a self directed action

which he genuinely enjoys or which furthers a fundamental life purpose,

while extrinsically motivated choices are directed towards external rewards

(i.e. money, grades, honors), avoidance of guilt or fear, or pleasing/impressing

others. The intrinsic values share the personal growth and interpersonal

focus of the "higher" humanistic needs -they direct one towards self-

understanding, close relationships with others, pro-social/helping outcomes,

and community improvement. On the other hand, the modern extrinsic

values share the environment-dependent focus of the "lower" needs in

Maslow's hierarchy. They embody a more contingent worth, external

rewards orientation - toward money, luxuries, influence and appearance

(Sheldon & Kasser, 2001).


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Table 8.63 reveals that respondents with high score in family life

satisfaction are showing a high level of professionalism. The figures can be

explained using the above mentioned perspectives. As with the humanistic

analysis, those (intrinsic) values and motivations that promote happiness

are by their very nature likely to produce professional behaviour, while

those (extrinsic) values and motivations that produce frustration and anger

are often associated with the loss of professionalism. For example, a

teacher who strongly values community betterment and who seeks to

improve her relatedness to others will create a much more positive effect in

her practice of teaching than one who is "in it for the money" or who has a

primary need to impress others with her case outcomes, appearance, or

acquisitions. Similarly, one who is genuinely seeking personal

improvement will be more thoughtful about her effect on and treatment of

other people, while one who is solely focused on gaining the win or the

money is more likely to go to improper lengths for the desired result.

Teachers who are deeply committed to their own values are less likely to

pursue the values or desires of their students with unethical or abusive

tactics. And a teacher who chose her career path for the most fundamental

intrinsic reason - because she genuinely enjoys the work - will generate a

better work product and be consistently happy at work, thereby creating a

positive effect on her students.

The data from Table 8.63 indicates that the respondents experience a

great level of intrinsic motivation which is reflected in their level of

professionalism, which in turn has a positive effect on family life satisfaction.

The level of significance was measured by using chi square test. Test

is significant at 5% (.05) level. The Calculated X2 for 2 degree of freedom

is 10.010 (a) and the p value is 0.007.Since, p < .05, there is significant

Chapter-8

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relation between Family Life Satisfaction and levels of professionalism of

married women teachers.

8.7 Conclusion

From the analysis of this chapter, it is seen that the relationship

between the work and non-work domains is typically described by the

metaphors of juggling and balancing. As women started assuming roles in the

workplace, entering domains previously dominated by males, husbands and

wives have to face a set of new challenges different from those of a traditional

one-earner family. The task of house holding and the obligations of family

make considerable demands on time, and men have not contributed

significantly to this realm. While the women are trying to manage the demands

of their working lives, they are struggling to create quality time for their

spouses, children and other members of the family. It is also seen that, in

trying to reconcile work commitments with family obligations, the

professional women often gives precedence to family responsibilities. The

situation is universal around the world. For instance, in a classic example from

U.S.A regarding this context, it was seen that Karen Hughes became a media

talking point when in 2002, she quit her job in the White House as an adviser

to the USA President because of family reasons. The media interpreted this

decision as part of a larger story: of women valuing family life more than

work, in the light of the unremitting challenges of both, even for a professional

high powered woman like Hughes (Moen, 2003).

Although the career oriented couples may not follow the traditional

bread Winner-homemaker mould, distant gender differences persist.

Husbands tend to work longer hours at paid employment and wives put in

more hours in both their profession and household and child-care duties.


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The lifestyle of the dual-worker family is a complex system of work,

family and personal roles. The cultural ambivalences bred by the traditional

stereotype of masculinity and femininity, together with work practices and

policies that have not changed much to accommodate the needs of the dual

worker family, add to these complexities. However, in spite of all these

hurdles women seem to claim that they have achieved a good work-balance

and this is reflected in the appreciable level of professionalism they display.

They have a positive self image and a commendable degree of career salience.

Their career line is also showing upward trends, irrespective of the reality that

family remains as ‘code red’ priority for them.

The investigation of the dual career lifestyle of the women teachers

provide with a well defined trajectory of their lives imbued with the classic

‘superwoman’ syndrome. They are able to achieve a perfect work-life balance

by skillfully making use of their knowledge, creativity and economic

advantages. Still they are not yet ready to deviate from the patriarchal system

with its traditional stereotypic impressions of a home maker.

Although the challenges for the married spouses in the definition of

roles which dual career family has to face has been a topical issue in the

literature of sociology, there is still a great deal we have to learn about what

it means for couples who choose this life style. This learning has to be

contextualized in the modernization process of a society where the values

of consumerism have become so overpowering that they may have given a

new configuration to the work ethic.

….. …..

dual career family pattern and...

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