Large numbers of women in Asia engage in paid work, in many cases outside the home. Some of them simply need to support their families. Others, particularly educated women, hope to develop rewarding careers. Many of these women also continue to shoulder the home and family responsibilities that social and cultural norms define as their primary concern. In an effort to balance the conflicting demands of these roles, women in various Asian societies are negotiating, contesting and reconfiguring motherhood. Their experiences provide an important counterpoint to the lives white middle-class North Americans, the focus of much of the previous research relating to this subject.
The authors approach the subject from various academic disciplines — anthropology, sociology, gender studies, demography and law — but their writings identify a number of common themes, including patriarchy, labour and relationships, strategies of accommodation, conflict and emotion management, the role of fathers, socio-cultural definitions of “good mothering”, and the political meanings of “maternity” and “family”. The result is a substantial contribution to studies of Asian societies and to comparative research on gender.
From ARI workshop working abd Mothering: Asian Women Negotiating Work Challenges and Family Commitments, 29-31 January 2004.
