Women Work and Families

Hattery′s book is an important contribution to this literature. The book is engaging and is well written. I would recommend this book and encourage Hattery to continue examination of this construct. - Psychology of Women QuarterlyWomen Work and Family:Balancing and Weaving is a fascinating examination of the extraordinary juggling skills of working mothers who balance their obligations to both work and family. Angela Hattery goes beyond a mere description of women′s conflicts of interest and seeks to understand the decision-making process through which they accomplish this balancing. Through intensive interviews with 30 married women all with children under 2 years of age Hattery uncovers a remarkable range of ways in which these women weave together the complex strands of their lives. The data in the volume are examined from a number of theoretical standpoints including structural theory motherhood theory and feminist theory. A key variable that runs through the data is economic need which has an obvious effect on work patterns. Women Work and Family will make a major contribution to family studies and will illuminate the difficult choices that women make within the family/work context.