Continuity and change in work-life balance choices

This paper explores the ways in which the work-life balance choices made by heterosexual couples differ in different generations, how such choices are gendered, and the extent to which 'individualization' provides an adequate conceptualization of the effects of social change on heterosexual couples. It argues that processes of individualization need to be seen in the context of changing social institutions, and that it is the de-institutionalization of 'the family' and the life course that is leading to a de-gendering of work-life balance choices. The paper draws on findings from a restudy of the family and social change and a study of the gender dimensions of job insecurity both of which were carried out in the same geographical location. The studies provide evidence of generational change in work-life balance choices and increasing occupational differentiation between heterosexual partners. This leads to a situation where increasingly choices are made which blur gendered boundaries and which has been made possible by a process of de-institutionalization of the male breadwinner family. Our findings support the contention that processes of individualization are more apparent amongst younger than older generations and that, because of changes external to the family, there is more negotiation and pragmatism amongst younger generations about work-life choices.     

Gender and work orientations in conditions of job insecurity

This paper explores women's and men's work orientations in conditions of job insecurity, arguing that it is time to move beyond essentalist conceptions of work orientations and central life interests in order to understand the significance of paid work in people's lives. Data from a qualitative study are presented which show that the significance of paid work and the priority given to home and work are affected by experiences of job insecurity, changing domestic circumstances and stage in the life cycle and that this is the case for both women and men. Conversely, the significance of paid work can affect how job insecurity is experienced and its impact on individuals and their families. The assumption that men's work orientations are homogeneous and that work is their central life interest is not supported by the findings presented here and it is argued that the significance of work in men's and women's lives is more variable than has hitherto been recognized. To capture this variability it is time to move away from the acrimony of the debate over women's work orientations and notions of a central life interest which underpin it.     

Feminist politics, domestic violence and the state

This paper explores the relationship between feminist politics and the state around the issue of domestic violence. Its focus is the refuge movement in Wales. Feminist analyses of the state and feminist political practice identify the state as an important object of struggle. A particular form of feminist politics, the refuge movement, has engaged with the state while retaining its autonomy. It has been instrumental in effecting legal changes which bestow certain rights on women threatened with domestic violence, and in increasing women's access to resources in the form of temporary refuge and permanent housing. Feminist political practice can affect the distribution of resources through engaging with the state, thereby enabling women to challenge the gendered power relations which structure their daily lives.     

Bringing dogs onto campus: Inclusions and exclusions of animal bodies in organizations

Since the early years of the 20^th century, work organizations have largely been places where animal bodies are absent or invisible. Recently, US and UK universities have facilitated therapy dog visits to improve students' wellbeing. In this article we analyse data on therapy dog visits to a UK university library as a starting point for thinking about other than human animals in organizations and the gendered dimensions of their inclusion and exclusion. Rather than focusing solely on the benefits of these encounters for students, we put the experiences of the dogs and their guardians centre stage, along with those of the library staff and the students. Drawing on observations of visits to a UK university library in 2015–2016, and a total of 16 interviews with library staff, guardians and students, we explore the instrumental rationale for the programme and the efforts to control any potential disruption of normative organizational expectations.     

Working mothers,injury and embodied care work

In this article, we examine how mothers respond when injury interrupts maternal care, using the lens of embodied care, which we conceptualize as a form of ‘body work’. We draw on findings from a qualitative research project with two organizations in Australia that help people with injuries to return to work, examining the experiences of workers who are also mothers of dependent children. Mothers' inability to care for children during periods of injury was a significant concern for our interviewees; constraints on physical labour and physical affection were particularly troubling, indicating the importance of embodied maternal caregiving to maternal roles. Yet, while these mothers inhabited the spheres of paid work and unpaid care work simultaneously, service providers did not consider embodied care work or its relevance to injured women's ongoing needs for support. While our findings reflect the experiences of injured women, they also suggest the need for a materialist analysis of the ways that both paid work and care activities are deeply enmeshed in and through the bodies of those doing the work. Employers and service organizations still fail to recognize maternal ‘body work’, and this may be typical of social attitudes more widely.     

Doing Gender,Practising Politics: Workplace Cultures in Local and Devolved Government

This paper takes a workplace perspective to explore the ways in which institutional arrangements influence the doing of gender and the practising of politics. It compares the workplace culture of the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) with that of local government in Wales, showing that the culture of the NAfW is experienced as less masculinized than local government and that women, and men, are less constrained to perform an aggressive, confrontational masculinity. This suggests that, in new political institutions, practising politics may be less closely tied to a particular way of doing gender and as a result may challenge the gendering of politics. Theoretically the paper engages with debates about doing, redoing and undoing gender, arguing that in order to understand how change can be brought about, attention needs to be paid to the structural context within which gender is done as well as the interactional level of doing gender.     

LAYERED MEANINGS

Recent sociological inquiry into the family has focused on the decline of the male breadwinner family and the increasing diversity of family forms. Yet the term ‘family’ remains vague and assumes different meanings. This paper discusses the meanings of the term ‘family’ as it is used by interviewees in qualitative, in-depth interviews on family and kinship networks. The interviews were conducted as part of ethnographic fieldwork in a study of family and kinship in Swansea. Three contrasting areas of Swansea were selected, an affluent, popular area, one of the most deprived council estates and an inner-city area with a relatively high proportion of minority ethnic families. In the paper we draw out differences and similarities in the meanings given to the term ‘family’ by interviewees in the three areas. Differing meanings emerge, but what is striking is the layering of meanings. People refer to varying groups of relatives when they speak about their family but ‘family’ refers to a set of norms and practices about bringing up children, staying in contact or giving support. In the interview situation, the interviewees use these varying meanings in different contexts.     

Food for feminist thought

Women's relationship with food on a daily basis is contradictory and problematic. Women are expected to deny themselves food in order to remain sexually attractive and, at the same time, they have to feed their partners and children with healthy and nutritious meals. The power of ideologies equating sexual attractiveness with slimness means that most women are not happy with their body image. This dissatisfaction is reinforced by the comments of men, particularly their partners. Food, as well as being a‘fattening’enemy is a comfort and is resorted to at times of emotional stress. Women's‘normal’relationship with food lies on a continuum of which the eating disorders are the extremes and is a product of their structural position in society.