Young Australian women's aspirations for work and family: Individual and sociocultural differences

Melissa Johnstone*, Christina Lee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The arguments underlying Hakim's Lifestyle Preference Theory have initiated debate over the importance of individual preferences, versus social and structural constraints, in women's work and family patterns. This paper investigates the role of sociocultural factors in lifestyle preferences. A total of 6,929 Australian women, aged 25-30 years, from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), were categorised into Hakim's Lifestyle Preference Groups, based on their aspirations for work and family. Rather than cutting across social groups, membership into Lifestyle Preference Groups was significantly related to sociodemographic variables. Further, the findings suggested that Hakim's definition of 'adaptive' women may be too limited to capture the variability of the large number of young Australian women aspiring to combine paid work and family.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)204-220
Number of pages17
JournalSex Roles
Volume61
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

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