Ellen Lewin

Lateralness in women's work: New views on success

Data from a longitudinal study of postbaccalaureate nursing careers are discussed in the context of the motive-to-avoid-success controversy. Two groups of nurses with continuous work histories were intensively studied. While most had experienced upward professional mobility, a significant minority had “lateral” careers, which, though not characterized by advancement, typically provide rewards of intensification. Further, lateral careers only occurred in specialties allowing a high degree of professional autonomy. Thus, upward mobility and advancement should not be the sole criteria of womens occupational progress. Alternative conceptions of success may be significant in many occupations, although such beliefs may not serve as viable substitutes for professional autonomy and the opportunity for personal development. Lateral movement may also characterize most mens work lives more aptly than descent or ascent; hence the findings underscore the necessity to rethink the image of movement in both male and female work spheres.

Location, Location, Location: Same-Sex Marriage as a Moving Target

In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry – and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society – the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation.

Female Identity and Career Pathways: Post-Baccalaureate Nurses Ten Years After

Qualitative interviews with 17 postbaccalaureate nurses are analyzed with special attention to their management of conflicting commitments in the personal and occupational domains. Problems are seen as arising not only from organizational difficulties associated with parallel involvement with a profession and with the traditional domestic-maternal role, but from cultural categories that reflect sexual asymmetry. The paper discusses the strategies respondents use to minimize these contradictions, showing that these generally operate either to enhance harmony between the two domains or to accentuate their separateness from each other.

THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS: WOMAN'S WORK IN A MAN'S WORLD, James P. Spradley and Brenda J. Mann, New York: John Wiley, 1975. 2 10 pp.

One test ot trie usefulness of case studies is in the generalizations that emerge. The generalizations that are integrated within the case presentations are especially useful in their great variety and specificity. The introductory and concluding statements, however, are at a yet higher level of abstraction and it is here that the reader loses confidence in the validity of the generalizations. Another test of a case study approach is in the vividness of detail that makes situations come alive for the reader. The author does succeed in making these Black families quite real, and the ten case studies presented here are noteworthy for their apparent authenticity.