The sociocultural shaping of mothers’ doing, being, becoming and belonging after returning to work

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of social ideologies on the doing, being, becoming, and belonging of Western employed professional women who are new mothers, after returning to work outside the home within the first 18 months after giving birth. Although occupational science has provided valuable insights into mothering occupations, it perpetuates an individualistic focus that often neglects the complex and multifaceted societal influence on mothering. A narrative approach was used to collect and analyse data from seven Swiss women who had returned to professional level jobs after giving birth to their first child. Hitch et al.’s (2014a, 2014b) framework was employed to analyse how social ideologies influence working mothers’ doing, being, becoming, and belonging. The findings are presented through stories that illustrate the complex interplay between social norms and participants’ possibilities for doing and being as mothers and workers. Three stories are presented: ‘Balancing being a mother and work: The aspect of doing’; I don’t want to be seen as the mother only: The aspect of being a mother and belonging at work’; and ‘As a mother, you get criticised a lot: The aspect of doing and belonging to society’. This study enriches current understandings of how social ideologies pervade the context in which occupations are performed and how working mothers are influenced by them in their doing, being, becoming, and belonging.