Role changes and conflicts of working mothers during the corona pandemic (case study: lived experience of working mothers in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology)

Subject Areas : Quarterly Journal of Woman and Society

zeynab ghaedrahmat ¹ (Sociology graduate of West Tehran University, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
zahra zare ² (Associate Professor, Department of social Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
Mohamad amiri ³ (. PhD in social communication, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2023-08-21 Accepted : 2024-05-12 Published : 2024-07-22

Keywords: Lived experience, Corona pandemic, role changes, role conflict and pressure, working mothers,

Abstract :

Introduction: The corona pandemic caused many changes in social and family life, which affected the roles of working mothers. This study was conducted with the aim of knowing the lived experience of working mothers and focusing on the changes and conflicts of family and work roles of mothers before and during the pandemic.

Methodology: The research method is qualitative and phenomenological. The studied community are mothers working in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (who have experienced the role of mothers before and during the outbreak of the Corona virus). And 15 working mothers have been questioned by purposeful non-random and snowball sampling methods until theoretical saturation is reached. The research tool is a semi-structured face-to-face interview, which is based on the research questions of all the interviews, coded, categorized, and then categorized and concluded.

Finding: The results of the study show that during the corona pandemic, there have been changes in women's maternal and occupational roles, which have sometimes led to conflict and role pressure. The diminution of the role of schools, kindergartens and leisure centers, the possibility of remote working and reduced working hours, the reduction of family support and the reduction of social connections due to the spread of the disease have been influential in this field. More presence of mother and sometimes father has led to more cooperative work and a new way of organizing family and work life, and caring, educating and entertaining children has been one of its most important tasks.

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