Faculty Sponsor, if applicable
Dr. Jane Halpert
Project Abstract
This research was aimed at uncovering the personal experiences of working mothers in today’s workforce. Both qualitative and quantitative research was collected to gain insight into personal and organizational factors that influence such experiences either positively or negatively (e.g., number of children, organizational tenure, employment status, and organizational size). Thirty-two working mothers participated in an online survey and phone interview. Descriptive statistics were calculated to assess sample demographics (age: M = 44.53 years (SD = 9.97); number of children: Mode = 2); company tenure: M = 8.69 (SD = 7.76) with 73.5% working full-time; hours per week: M = 42.47 (SD = 11.70). The interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis, and text mining. Results suggest that women are, as a whole, having more positive experiences due to a variety of factors (e.g., increased flexibility from organizations, outside support, taking control of their work lives, scaling back to part-time, etc.). Also, recommendations will be provided to help organizations understand the needs of working mothers when it comes to balancing career and family. There is hope that this research will influence organizations and women to actively improve their situations given experiences of others and suggestions that have been provided.
Type of Research
Department Honors
Preview
Presentation Year
May 2016