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Plus Ça Change…
Author(s) -
Marchiondo Lisa A.,
Cortina Lilia M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
analyses of social issues and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1530-2415
pISSN - 1529-7489
DOI - 10.1111/asap.12028
Subject(s) - workforce , glass ceiling , recession , great recession , race (biology) , political science , demographic economics , psychology , sociology , gender studies , labour economics , economics , law , keynesian economics
This study sought to capture the challenges facing working women in the wake of the late‐2000s recession; we also studied whether and how these challenges varied by race and leadership status. Drawing on qualitative data from 4,388 women employed in 2010 across Michigan (one of the most economically depressed states), we inductively analyzed accounts of the “biggest challenge facing working women.” We found that at a time when the workforce was reeling from major economic change, women's occupational difficulties remained largely unchanged. Their top five employment concerns mirrored decades past: work‐life imbalance, pay inequity, gender discrimination, childcare, and the glass ceiling. Emphases varied somewhat by race and leadership, but overall, women's chief concerns cut across these boundaries. We provide an abundance of quotes to bring life to these perspectives, letting the voices of working women be heard. Our findings suggest that the global economic crisis failed to outstrip challenges that working women have confronted for years. We conclude with a call for broad change to better support women (and men) in the workforce—during and after the Great Recession.