Resumo de Competing Devotions

According to sociologistMary Blair-Loy, American women today have the opportunity and experience to be highly successful in a world that previously excluded them, especially in the last twenty years. Because of this, women find themselves facing the difficult dilemma of having to balance their lives and choose between demanding careers and intensive family lives. Many women are torn between what seems like two great responsibilities that demand all of who they are and large amounts of time and effort. This struggle, says Blair-Loy, is rooted in assumptions about what makes life worthwhile. It seems like women who were assigned one female stereotype and role for their whole life, like many women in history, found it easy to go a along with what was expected of them, not ever knowing another reality. Women were there for men (and marriage) and the family- that was their call in life. Although you had women like Joan of Arc who went against that role, it was not very common. Today, things are different, although inmany parts of the world women are still restricted to the home, some enjoying with it withpassion, others aredesiring more than that life-stylecan give, along with the opportunities that women havein the West. Although the freedom women now have to succeed in the workforce and the acceptance they receive as they devote time into their careers is a freedom, it has created a dilemma for many women- a dilemma they cannot ignore. What to do? There is something deep within the heart of most women, tied in with the fact that they are female and are mothers--an instinct most women cannot ignore: the nurturing desire of motherhood and devoting all that they are to the lives they have enabled and brought into this world, their children. For most men, on the other hand, the reality is this: they have long experienced an intimate connection to their work, secure in the knowledge that their children are well cared for during their long absences from home. Mary Blair-Loy illustrates how different women have faced this dilemma and what solutions they have found in order to cope with this seesaw today?s women face. Blair-Loy begins by explaining how work devotion is lived out in the lives of career driven women. She illustrates that although most of these women initially had fervently accepted what Blair-Loy calls the work-devotion schema; about half have grown skeptical of its promises. Even though they doubted, they continued to devote themselves to their careers and reaped the benefits they ensued. The author then goes on to illustrate the lifestyle of the family-committed women she studied. Similar to the other group, this group is divided. Some women joyfully carry out its demands, while others carry on grimly. Blair-Loy then demonstrates how some women in the family committed group have carved out part-time arrangements in their firms. These women have been treated by their employers and coworkers as heretics and barred from the firms? highest ranks. Because some employers held firm to the claim that they would rather lose these women, than tolerate part-time senior professionals, many women have left their jobs. Women who violate the work-devotion schemas are discriminated and are left on the fringes because they refuse to dedicate themselves to a full career. Most career-devoted women, on the other hand, dedicated themselves to their careers and married rather late. The author examines why some mothers stay in demanding executive careers, while others turn away from full-time careers after child-bearing. Blair-Loy says it may have to do with the fact that most career-driven women have established a strong career persona before marrying, while the others have not and tend to marry earlier. There is no simple formula to understand why some women end up career-driven and others more family-driven. Something important that Blair-Loy demonstrates in her book is that despite the tendency of each woman--career or family--family is always the default schema- even for the most career-driven women in her study. This is an important study, done with effort and stamina that touches on one of the most dealt with dilemmas in American culture. As careers continue to demand and women continue to have the opportunity to thrive in this arena, this topic will continue to be a hot topic in our culture and definitely worth understanding better.

Resumos Relacionados