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Towards ending the silence: working women caring for children with chronic illness
journal contribution
posted on 2005-06-01, 00:00 authored by M Vickers, Melissa ParrisMelissa ParrisThis paper presents stories from women who work and care for a child with a significant chronic illness or disability. The purpose of this paper is to move towards ending the silence on their lives. A three-phase emergent research design responds to the question: What is life like for a full-time worker who is concurrently the primary carer of a chronically ill child? This paper considers the theory of Silencing the Self (Jack, 1991) in relation to the emergent themes of “Otherness” and “Doing it All.” As in Jack’s study, these women also engaged in silencing of the self. However, unlike the respondents in Jack’s study, these women did not demonstrate feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness for the future, nor were they alone in contributing to their silence. Indeed, many experienced silencing behaviors from others around them, and many rallied against the silence, not accepting that their burden should continue. Consideration of Jack’s theory is made to point out the distinctions between the women in this study and Jack’s study, and analytical commentary is provided to demonstrate the relevance of this analysis in light of the current debates surrounding the Work–Home Conflict and the rising levels of informal care provided by women in our communities.
History
Journal
Employee responsibilities and rights journalVolume
17Issue
2Pagination
91 - 108Publisher
Springer New York LLCLocation
New York, NYPublisher DOI
ISSN
0892-7545eISSN
1573-3378Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2005, Springer Science+Business Media, IncUsage metrics
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