“The Guilt Thing”: Balancing Domestic and Professional Roles

Abstract

Women’s representation in the workforce has increased dramatically over the past 30 years; yet, women “take a greater responsibility for the care of children” (Equal Opportunities Commission, 2006). Research has suggested working mothers may experience guilt resulting from the social constrictions of a traditional model of intensive mothering (B. Holcomb, 1998). Forty‐two audiotaped conversations of female teachers (n = 8) were collected in a British high school. Qualitative analyses of 3 conversations, in which 5 of the teachers discussed their professional and domestic responsibilities, demonstrated that the participants discursively aligned to 3 dominant interactional positions, accessibility, happiness, and separate spheres (Y. Elvin‐Novak & H. Thomsson, 2001). The analyses also revealed the use of supportive conversational strategies such as co‐complaining and matching accounts.