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The Social Costs of Career Success for Women

West Virginia University, letower{at}mail.wvu.edu

Mohamad G. Alkadry

Old Dominion University, malkadry{at}odu.edu

Women in the workforce, especially those in professional and management positions, are doubly burdened by social traditions that expect workers to meet masculine standards at the office while maintaining their feminine role of nurturer at home. This article studies the social costs of female career progression using a survey of 1,600 respondents from different levels of the public sector. The results show that working women have an increased incidence of being single or divorced, married working women tend to have more housework responsibilities, and working women have fewer children or are childless. The article concludes that government and business organizations need to pay serious attention to this hidden problem of social costs that affect women and men disproportionately.

Key Words: pay equity • social cost • divorce • housework • children • work climate

This version was published on June 1, 2008

Review of Public Personnel Administration, Vol. 28, No. 2, 144-165 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0734371X08315343


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