Introduction: Key issues on women who work

Abstract

The concept of gender can be very prescriptive in outlining the pathways of a person’s life and can influence the distribution of roles that they occupy, through gender role stereotypes and societal expectations. More recent research about women and their work and family roles has shown that gender is a more fluid and dynamic construct than one based on reproductive ability or identity. The resources that women have available to them impact on their well-being in all facets of their lives and influence the balance that can be achieved between work and non-work activities. This volume explores women’s experiences in many diverse settings and economic situations, as they negotiate between work and non-work activities. The chapters include refugee women in Jordon and mid-level executives in Bangladesh, women employed part-time and as academics in the UK, women executives experiencing the ‘glass cliff’, and explore work-life balance and the challenges for mothers of very young children and adolescents. Finally, the effects of physiology on working women are explored through menstruation and menopause. In each chapter, women have shown agency in shaping their own lives and are resourceful in how they manage the challenges that they face.