Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Family, Life Course, and Society Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 67

Full-Text Articles in Family, Life Course, and Society

Paradox Mindset In Working Parenthood: Linking Dual-Role Enrichment To Pursuit, Success, And Satisfaction, Tengjiao Huang, Xiaoyu Dai, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela Leung Jan 2026

Paradox Mindset In Working Parenthood: Linking Dual-Role Enrichment To Pursuit, Success, And Satisfaction, Tengjiao Huang, Xiaoyu Dai, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Managing the simultaneous demands of career and parenthood often generates tensions—particularly for women, who have historically been expected to take primary responsibility for caregiving. These gendered expectations persist, even as men increasingly express a desire to engage more actively in caregiving while maintaining their professional roles. Drawing on paradox mindset theory and work-family enrichment literature, this research investigated whether a paradox mindset—a cognitive tendency to embrace and value tensions—is positively associated with an aspiration for enrichment between work and parenting roles. In turn, this aspiration is hypothesized to predict intentions and outcomes related to dual-role pursuit. Three cross-sectional survey studies …


Contextual Stress Profiles And Trajectories Of Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents In Mexican Immigrant Families, Su Yeong Kim, Wen Wen, Kiera M. Coulter, Wei Xiang Sim, Tianlu Zhang, Jingyi Shen, Yang Hou, Yishan Shen, Ka I. Ip Dec 2025

Contextual Stress Profiles And Trajectories Of Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents In Mexican Immigrant Families, Su Yeong Kim, Wen Wen, Kiera M. Coulter, Wei Xiang Sim, Tianlu Zhang, Jingyi Shen, Yang Hou, Yishan Shen, Ka I. Ip

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Contextual stress experiences in early adolescents may predict distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms and anxiety across the course of adolescence. Data from 604 Mexican-origin adolescents collected from 2012 to 2020 (54% female; Mage = 12.92, SD = 0.92) showed that youth with high stress levels in multiple domains (Broadly Stressed) and those with high stress in language brokering domain only (Language Brokering Stressed) had similar levels of internalizing symptoms in early adolescence, and both groups reported higher stress than youth experiencing occasional levels of stress across domains (Occasionally Environmentally Stressed). However, youth in the Language Brokering Stressed group experienced slightly …


Adolescent Executive Function As A Resilience Factor In The Family Stress Model Among Mexican-Origin Families, Su Yeong Kim, Yayu Du, Tianlu Zhang, Jingyi Shen, Kiera M. Coulter, Lester Sim, Wen Wen, Belem G. Lopez, Maria M. Arredondo, Shen Yishan, Hou Yang Oct 2025

Adolescent Executive Function As A Resilience Factor In The Family Stress Model Among Mexican-Origin Families, Su Yeong Kim, Yayu Du, Tianlu Zhang, Jingyi Shen, Kiera M. Coulter, Lester Sim, Wen Wen, Belem G. Lopez, Maria M. Arredondo, Shen Yishan, Hou Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Mexican-origin families often face economic hardship due to systemic oppression, increasing the likelihood of adolescent marijuana use. While the family stress model provides insight into the mechanism of the association between family economic hardship and adolescent marijuana use, resilience factors are relatively unknown. The present study uses a three-wave longitudinal data set of Mexican immigrant families in the United States (Wave 1—adolescents: Mage = 12.29, SD = 0.93; mothers: Mage = 38.57, SD = 5.71) to investigate the mechanism underlying the association between family income and adolescents’ likelihood of marijuana use, guided by the family stress model. The protective role …


Ageing In Place - The Key To Receiving A Superaged Society, Paulin Tay Straughan, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan, Qi Ting, Zidane Tiew, Zeyu Zheng, Rachel Wen Yi Ngu, Wei Tin Hiah Apr 2025

Ageing In Place - The Key To Receiving A Superaged Society, Paulin Tay Straughan, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan, Qi Ting, Zidane Tiew, Zeyu Zheng, Rachel Wen Yi Ngu, Wei Tin Hiah

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Ageing in place is the ability to remain in one’s community, where living conditions foster a sense of attachment that enhances holistic well-being. To facilitate this, both the built and social environments within which the home is nested must be conducive to successful ageing. This paper deconstructs the merits of ageing in place, specifically how attachment to the lived environment contributes to holistic well-being. We analysed data from 6020 participants in the Singapore Life Panel® using path models, where we examined three dimensions of ageing in place: place identity, continuity, and social inclusion. Five path analyses show that two dimensions …


Who Is Using Flexible Work Arrangements Among Couples? A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Disparities Between Gender, Parenthood, And Cccupations, Senhu Wang, Cheng Cheng Mar 2025

Who Is Using Flexible Work Arrangements Among Couples? A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Disparities Between Gender, Parenthood, And Cccupations, Senhu Wang, Cheng Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The rise of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) holds promise for advancing gender equality by enabling both men and women to better manage work and family. However, this expectation hinges on the actual utilization of FWAs by both genders in response to family needs. Drawing on longitudinal dyadic data from the UK (2010–2022), this study examines the disparities in the use of FWAs among couples by gender, parenthood, and occupation. We find that wives' use of all types of FWAs significantly increases after parenthood, whereas husbands' use remains unchanged. Moreover, mothers' use of FWAs varies by occupation and the type of …


Cultural Contexts Differentially Shape Parents’ Loneliness And Wellbeing During The Empty Nest Period, Andree Hartanto, Lester Wei Xiang Sim, Davelle Jing Yi Lee, Naydanna M. Majeed, Jose C. Yong Nov 2024

Cultural Contexts Differentially Shape Parents’ Loneliness And Wellbeing During The Empty Nest Period, Andree Hartanto, Lester Wei Xiang Sim, Davelle Jing Yi Lee, Naydanna M. Majeed, Jose C. Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The coming decades will see a substantial increase in the population of older adults, accompanied by significant demographic and family structure changes worldwide. As a result, the empty nest period—the postparental phase in parents’ lives when their children have left home and they are no longer engaged in childrearing—is becoming an increasingly common experience in Western and Asian cultures. The current theoretical review examines the psychological consequences of the empty nest period on loneliness and well-being across cultures, emphasizing the impact of cultural factors on these experiences. By synthesizing research from Western and Asian contexts, we explore two primary theoretical …


Towards An Extended Resource Theory Of Marital Power: Parental Education And Household Decision-Making In Rural China, Cheng Cheng, Yu Xie Oct 2024

Towards An Extended Resource Theory Of Marital Power: Parental Education And Household Decision-Making In Rural China, Cheng Cheng, Yu Xie

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Existing literature on the resource theory of marital power has focused on the relative resources of spouses and overlooked the resource contributions of spouses’ extended families. We propose an extended resource theory that considers how the comparative resources of a couple’s natal families are directly associated with marital power, net of the comparative resources of the couple. Using data from the China Panel Family Studies, we examine how the relative education of a couple’s respective parents affects the wife’s decision-making power, net of the relative education of the couple. Results suggest that the higher the wife’s parental education relative to …


Retirement And Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults: A Piecewise Growth Mixture Analysis, Jonathan L. Chia, Andree Hartanto, William Tov Aug 2024

Retirement And Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults: A Piecewise Growth Mixture Analysis, Jonathan L. Chia, Andree Hartanto, William Tov

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Retirement represents a significant life transition typically occurring in later adulthood, often accompanied by substantial lifestyle changes. Several theoretical frameworks suggest that these changes present both opportunities and challenges for well-being, and the extent to which individuals experience positive versus negative well-being outcomes may be influenced by various factors. To study such heterogeneity in retirement experiences, researchers have embraced person-centered methodologies. Yet, some previous studies have not robustly delineated retirement- from age-related changes in well-being, accounted for statistical uncertainties, or examined these diverse experiences outside of a Western context. These limitations preclude conclusions about the diverse experience of retirement. Using …


Opportunity Or Exploitation? A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis Of Flexible Working Arrangements And Gender Household Labor Inequality, Senhu Wang, Cheng Cheng Jun 2024

Opportunity Or Exploitation? A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis Of Flexible Working Arrangements And Gender Household Labor Inequality, Senhu Wang, Cheng Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It has been extensively debated over whether the rise of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) may be an “opportunity” for a more egalitarian gender division of household labor or reinforce the “exploitation” of women in the traditional gender division. Drawing on a linked-lives perspective, this study contributes to the literature by using longitudinal couple-level dyadic data in the UK (2010–2020) to examine how couple-level arrangements of flexible working affect within-couple inequality in time and different types of household labor. The results show that among heterosexual couples, women’s use of FWAs significantly intensifies their disproportionate share of housework and maintains their heavy …


When Mothers Do It All: Gender-Role Norms And Women’S Fertility Intentions In Post-Industrial Societies, Sinn Won Han, Ohjae Gowen, Mary C. Brinton Apr 2024

When Mothers Do It All: Gender-Role Norms And Women’S Fertility Intentions In Post-Industrial Societies, Sinn Won Han, Ohjae Gowen, Mary C. Brinton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Post-industrial countries with high rates of female labour force participation have generally had low fertility rates, but recent studies demonstrate that this is no longer the case. This has generated increased attention to how greater gender equality in the private sphere of the household may contribute to a positive relationship between women’s employment rates and fertility. Building on recent scholarship demonstrating the multidimensionality of gender-role attitudes, we argue that conversely, the prevalence of a gender-role ideology that supports women’s employment but places greater priority on their role as caregivers may depress the higher-order fertility intentions of working mothers. Using data …


Negative Work-To-Family Spillover Stress And Heightened Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers In Midlife And Older Adults, Andree Hartanto, K.T.A.Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Meilan Hu, Shu Fen Diong, Verity Y. Q. Lua Mar 2024

Negative Work-To-Family Spillover Stress And Heightened Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers In Midlife And Older Adults, Andree Hartanto, K.T.A.Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Meilan Hu, Shu Fen Diong, Verity Y. Q. Lua

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the health implications of negative work-to-family spillover on cardiovascular risk biomarkers. Methods: In a large-scale cross-sectional dataset of working or self-employed midlife and older adults in the United States (N = 1179), we examined five biomarkers linked to cardiovascular risk, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein. Negative work-to-family spillover, measured using a four-item self-reported questionnaire, was included into our model to study its association with these cardiovascular risk biomarkers. Results: Our findings indicate a significant association between negative work-to-family spillover and cardiovascular risk biomarkers – higher …


Educational Assortative Mating And Motherhood Penalty In China, Cheng Cheng, Yang Zhou Feb 2024

Educational Assortative Mating And Motherhood Penalty In China, Cheng Cheng, Yang Zhou

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Mothers earn less than comparable childless women, and such motherhood penalty differs in magnitude by women’s socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Prior research, however, has rarely considered how the effect of parenthood on women’s income may also depend on the characteristics of their partners. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies 2010–2018, we examine how the effects of motherhood on women’s earnings and within-couple income inequality vary by couples’ educational pairings in China. A large educational gap between spouses–hypergamy or hypogamy–exacerbates the motherhood penalty on a woman’s individual income and her share of the couple’s combined income. However, when the …


When Social Status Gets In The Way Of Mating: The Incompatibility Between Social Status And Reproductive Goals In Modern Contexts, Jose C. Yong, Amy J. Y. Lim, Norman P. Li Dec 2023

When Social Status Gets In The Way Of Mating: The Incompatibility Between Social Status And Reproductive Goals In Modern Contexts, Jose C. Yong, Amy J. Y. Lim, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Low fertility is a growing concern in modern societies. While economic and structural explanations of reproductive hindrances have been informative to some extent, they do not address the fundamental motives that underlie reproductive decisions and are inadequate to explain why East Asian countries, in particular, have such low fertility rates. The current paper advances a novel account of low fertility in modern contexts by describing how modern environments produce a mismatch between our evolved mechanisms and the inputs they were designed to process, leading to preoccupations with social status that get in the way of mating and reproductive outcomes. We …


Becoming A Father, Staying A Father: An Examination Of The Cumulative Fatherhood Wage Premium To U.S. Residential Fathers, Ohjae Gowen Dec 2023

Becoming A Father, Staying A Father: An Examination Of The Cumulative Fatherhood Wage Premium To U.S. Residential Fathers, Ohjae Gowen

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The instability of fathers’ co-residence with children has become an increasingly prevalent experience for U.S. families. Despite long-standing scholarship examining the relationship between fatherhood and wage advantages, few studies have investigated how variation in fathers’ stable co-residence with a child may produce temporal changes in the wage premium over the life course. Building on prior explanations of the fatherhood wage premium, I test if the wage premium grows with time since the birth of a resident child and if the premium depends on fathers’ co-residence with a child. I use marginal structural models with repeated outcome measures and data from …


How Does Parents’ Social Support Impact Children’S Health Practice? Examining A Mediating Role Of Health Knowledge, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu Dec 2023

How Does Parents’ Social Support Impact Children’S Health Practice? Examining A Mediating Role Of Health Knowledge, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: Family environmental factors play a vital role in shaping children’s health practices (e.g., obesity prevention). It is still unclear how parents’ social support affects children’s obesity-related health practices. The present study argues that whether parents’ social support positively associates with children’s obesity-related health practice depends on if it could promote parents’ obesity-related health knowledge. Thus, we hypothesize that health knowledge mediates the relationship between parents’ social support and children’s health practice regarding weight management. Methods: To test the hypothesis, we conducted a questionnaire survey and collected a nationally representative sample of 1488 household responses in Singapore. The survey included …


Thinking Twice About Having Kids Even If Money Isn’T An Issue?, Matthew Hammerton, Matthew Hammerton Oct 2023

Thinking Twice About Having Kids Even If Money Isn’T An Issue?, Matthew Hammerton, Matthew Hammerton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In a commentary, SMU Assistant Professor of Philosophy Matthew Hammerton and Dr Kalpana Vignehsa, Senior Research Fellow at NUS Institute of Policy Studies discussed whether becoming parents is worth the effort and suggested four frames for people to consider. They opined that having children is one of the best ways to broaden one’s life experience, as it provides prolonged exposure to the vagaries of human life in a way that few other options can.


Multigenerational Coresidence And Parental Time In Developmental Childcare In China, Cheng Cheng, Menghan Zhao Jun 2023

Multigenerational Coresidence And Parental Time In Developmental Childcare In China, Cheng Cheng, Menghan Zhao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Previous literature has examined how multigenerational coresidence changes parental time in primary childcare. However, much less is known about how coresidence may affect the amount of time parents invest in developmental childcare, which is crucial for children’s education and life chances. Using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies 2010-2018, we examine how parental time investment in developmental childcare varies by household structure and parental and grandparental education. Results suggest that coresidence with maternal grandparents increases mothers’ time in developmental childcare among children with high-educated parents. Moreover, the positive effect of matrilocal residence on maternal time investment is greatest …


Desire For Social Status Affects Marital And Reproductive Attitudes: A Life History Mismatch Perspective, Amy J. Lim, Norman P. Li, Zoi Manesi, Steven L. Neuberg, Mark Van Vugt, Andrea L. Meltzer, Kenneth Tan Jun 2023

Desire For Social Status Affects Marital And Reproductive Attitudes: A Life History Mismatch Perspective, Amy J. Lim, Norman P. Li, Zoi Manesi, Steven L. Neuberg, Mark Van Vugt, Andrea L. Meltzer, Kenneth Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Modern low fertility is an unresolved paradox. Despite the tremendous financial growth and stability in modern societies, birth rates are steadily dropping. Almost half of the world's population lives in countries with below-replacement fertility and is projected for a continued decline. Drawing on life history theory and an evolutionary mismatch perspective, we propose that desire for social status (which is increasingly experienced by individuals in industrialized, modern societies) is a key factor affecting critical reproductive preferences. Across two experimental studies (total N = 719), we show that activating a desire for status can lead people to prefer reproductive tradeoffs that …


Dyadic Positive And Negative Religious Coping Among Older Singaporean Couples And Marital Satisfaction, Gloria J. Lai, Kenneth Tan, Micah Tan, Grace Cheong, Cheng Cheng, Mathews Mathew Mar 2023

Dyadic Positive And Negative Religious Coping Among Older Singaporean Couples And Marital Satisfaction, Gloria J. Lai, Kenneth Tan, Micah Tan, Grace Cheong, Cheng Cheng, Mathews Mathew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Difficulties faced in life can affect marital relationships and such troubles may be dealt with in a multitude of ways, including coping religiously. The present study examined how religious coping, either in a positive or negative manner, may have an impact on marital satisfaction. Importantly, this association was studied dyadically in a sample of religiously diverse (Buddhists, 32.3%; Taoists, 17.6%; protestant Christians, 14.1%; and others who did not identify with a specific religion, 19.1%), married older Singaporean adults (N = 1928; 964 couples). Using actor-partner interdependence modeling, we found significant actor, partner, and combined actor-partner effects for positive and negative …


Elucidating Evolutionary Principles With The Traditional Mosuo: Adaptive Benefits And Origins Of Matriliny And “Walking Marriages”, Jose C. Yong, Norman P. Li Dec 2022

Elucidating Evolutionary Principles With The Traditional Mosuo: Adaptive Benefits And Origins Of Matriliny And “Walking Marriages”, Jose C. Yong, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Mosuo, arguably the last surviving matrilineal society in China, offers interesting insights into kinship practices that support reproduction. In particular, the modes of courtship and reproduction of the traditional Mosuo revolve around a practice known as walking marriages, which involves no contract or obligations, where the men do not use social status or resources to court women, women do not expect commitment from men, and multiple sexual relationships are permitted for both sexes and seldom incite conflict. Children borne from walking marriages are cared for not so much by fathers but rather their mothers' brothers, and wealth and property …


Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Of Childhood Obesity In Singapore, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu Dec 2022

Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Of Childhood Obesity In Singapore, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The obesity pandemic is increasingly threatening Asian populations. This is especially so for children from higher-income countries, such as Singapore. Among the various driving factors of obesity, parents’ health knowledge, attitudes, and practices are underexplored. The present study uses a nationally representative sample of 1,491 responses from Singapore to investigate parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) about childhood obesity. Latent class analysis (LCA) on parents’ responses to the KAP survey reveals four unique parenting patterns: the limited knowledge group, the group with negative attitudes, the best practice group, and the limited practice group. Children of families in the best practice …


Family Still Matters: Human Social Motivation Across 42 Countries During A Global Pandemic, Cari M. Pick, Et. Al. Nov 2022

Family Still Matters: Human Social Motivation Across 42 Countries During A Global Pandemic, Cari M. Pick, Et. Al.

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic social changes for many, including separation from friends and coworkers, enforced close contact with family, reductions in mobility, and a number of other health-related precautions. Here we assess the extent to which people’s evolutionarilyrelevant basic motivations and goals—their fundamental social motives—might have been affected. To address this question, we gathered data on these motives in 42 countries (N=15,915) in two waves, including 19 countries (N=10,907) for which data were gathered both before and during the pandemic (Pre-pandemic wave: 32 countries, N=8998; 3302 male, 5585 female; Mage=24.43, SD=7.91; Mid-pandemic wave: 29 countries, N=6917; 2249 male, 4218 …


How Does Parents' Social Support Impact Children's Health Practice? Examining A Mediating Role Of Health Knowledge, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu Jul 2022

How Does Parents' Social Support Impact Children's Health Practice? Examining A Mediating Role Of Health Knowledge, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chengwei Xu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: Many existing studies have found that social support and health knowledge positively affect an individual's health status. However, it is still unclear how parents’ social support and health knowledge influence their children’s obesity. The present study hypothesizes that parents’ health knowledge has a mediating effect on the relationship between social support and children’s health practice regarding weight management. Methods: To test the hypothesis, we conducted a questionnaire survey in Singapore and collected a nationally representative sample of 1488 household responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via Stata was used to examine the indirect effects of parents’ social support on children’s …


Applying The Dual Filial Piety Model In The United States: A Comparison Of Filial Piety Between Asian Americans And Caucasian Americans, Amy Jia-Ying Lim, Clement Yong Hao Lau, Chi-Ying Cheng Feb 2022

Applying The Dual Filial Piety Model In The United States: A Comparison Of Filial Piety Between Asian Americans And Caucasian Americans, Amy Jia-Ying Lim, Clement Yong Hao Lau, Chi-Ying Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The definition and measurement of filial piety in existing research primarily focuses on the narrow conceptualizations of Asian filial piety, which would inflate cultural differences and undermine cultural universals in how people approach caring for their elderly parents. Employing the Dual Filial Piety Model (DFPM), this study aimed to examine the relationship between filial piety and attitude toward caring for elderly parents beyond the Asian context. In our study (N = 276), we found that reciprocal filial piety (RFP) does not differ across cultures while authoritarian filial piety (AFP) does. We also found that collectivism, rather than ethnicity, predicted RFP …


Balancing Sustainable Development And Cultural Heritage Preservation: Luxury Burial Legacies In Singapore, David Ocon Jul 2021

Balancing Sustainable Development And Cultural Heritage Preservation: Luxury Burial Legacies In Singapore, David Ocon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Singapore tops multiple global rankings for the consumption of luxury products. In this land-scarce and densely-populated city-state, to purchase a high-end car, landed property, or to have a fine dining experience, ranks amongst the most expensive in all Asian cities. That luxurious approach in life, however, does not find a parallel in death. As this paper indicates, a life of luxuries in Singapore does not necessarily mean deluxe burials, graves, mausoleums, or shrines. In fact, due to scarcity of land and the tight control on its usage, there are limited options for the well-off to display the same sense of …


Connecting Care Chains And Care Diamonds: The Elderly Care Skills Regime In Singapore, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Kellyn Wee, Brenda S. A. Yeoh Apr 2021

Connecting Care Chains And Care Diamonds: The Elderly Care Skills Regime In Singapore, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Kellyn Wee, Brenda S. A. Yeoh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Research on the globalization of care work often faces the persistent challenge of building meaningful connections between the movement of care labour at a global scale and place-based frameworks of care access and delivery. In addressing this gap in this article, we propose to take a closer look at how the care-migration nexus produces 'ideal' care workers through a skills regime. Based on the case of elderly care in Singapore, in this article, we demonstrate how state institutions and private agencies attempts to fill local labour needs by producing care workers among both Singapore citizens and migrant women. This leads …


Gender And Parliamentary Representation In India: The Case Of Violence Against Women And Children, Sadhvi Kalra, Devin K. Joshi Sep 2020

Gender And Parliamentary Representation In India: The Case Of Violence Against Women And Children, Sadhvi Kalra, Devin K. Joshi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To better understand how gender impacts parliamentary representation, we analysed representative claims made by parliamentarians in India, the world's largest democracy. Applying critical frame analysis to plenary debates in the Indian Rajya Sabha, we examined four parliamentary bills addressing violence against women and children under four successive governments between 1999 and 2019. Testing six hypotheses concerning who represents and how, our study found women legislators more active in speaking on behalf of women and children than male legislators. Women parliamentarians focused more on rehabilitating victims and expanding the scope of rights and rights-holders. Women were also more vocal in contesting …


Learning To Leave: Filipino Families And The Making Of The Global Filipino Nurse, Yasmin Y. Ortiga May 2020

Learning To Leave: Filipino Families And The Making Of The Global Filipino Nurse, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter investigates how this process of reconfiguring the “social” plays out in the context of the Philippines’ labor export system and pervasive culture of emigration. Focusing on the case of Filipino nursing graduates seeking to work overseas, this chapter discusses how the success of the Philippines’ labor-brokering process relies on individuals who can take on the responsibility of transforming themselves, mainly through education and training, into desirable workers for future employers. While the migration literature had largely framed emigration as an individual aspiration and project, this chapter demonstrates how families subsidize the Philippine state’s labor export system by taking …


Failures Of Flexibility: How Perceived Control Motivates The Individualization Of Work-Life Conflict, Alison T. Wynn, Aliya Hamid Rao Jan 2020

Failures Of Flexibility: How Perceived Control Motivates The Individualization Of Work-Life Conflict, Alison T. Wynn, Aliya Hamid Rao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Firms have increasingly used flexibility policies to facilitate work-life balance, yet existing research shows that employees are stigmatized for using these seemingly beneficial policies. In this article, the authors identify perceived control, that is, the sense of control employees feel they have over managing their work-life conflicts, as a key factor in their avoidance of flexibility policies. Through 50 in-depth interviews with management consultants from five firms, the authors find that employees frame managing their work-life conflicts as a test of their professional skills, emphasize their “natural” suitability for the consulting industry, use choice rhetoric to reframe oppressive work demands …


From Professionals To Professional Mothers?: How College-Educated, Married Mothers Experience Unemployment In The Us, Aliya Hamid Rao Nov 2019

From Professionals To Professional Mothers?: How College-Educated, Married Mothers Experience Unemployment In The Us, Aliya Hamid Rao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Unemployment influences life experiences and outcomes, but how it does so may be shaped by gender and parenthood. Because research on unemployment focuses on men’s experiences of unemployment, it presents as universal a process that may be gendered. This article asks: how do college-educated, heterosexual, married mothers experience involuntary unemployment? Drawing on in-depth interviews with unemployed mothers in the US, their husbands, and follow-up interviews, this article finds that the experience of job loss is tempered for mothers as they derive a culturally valued identity from motherhood which also anchors their lives. Husbands’ support emphasises that employment is one of …