This article reports on a study in which 54 retired women social workers were
interviewed in depth about their commitment to work vis-à-vis their family
responsibilities during their working years. Family responsibilities were
measured by a variable, degree of family responsibility (DFR), operationalized by the author. Work commitment was measured by the duration of
employment, status achieved, and the Simpson work-commitment scale. No
differences in the commitment to work based on the DFR were found, which
suggests that women need not be assigned to one or the other role exclusively
but can be involved in both family and work.
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