Understanding work and family through a gender lens

Since gender change is reshaping work and family life, a gender lens is needed to understand work-family links and transformations. A gender lens enriches the study of work and family issues by prodding researchers to transcend gender stereotypes, to see gender as an institution, to recognize the multifaceted nature of recent social change, and to acknowledge the strengths and needs of diverse family forms. A gender framework also helps researchers focus on the link between individuals and institutions, the dynamics of social and individual change, and the structural and cultural tensions created by inconsistent change. This framework, is illustrated with selected findings from my research on young women's and men's experiences growing up in diverse families and their emerging strategies for integrating family and work.