Changing commitments of American women to work and family roles

This article, based on a study of Chicago-area women aged 25--54, concentrates on six major dimensions of women's involvement in employment and family roles. First, it breaks new ground in exploring women's attitudes about social security and retirement expectations. Second, it documents cohort changes in overall life patterns, employment, and family role involvements from age 19 to the period studied. The article also focuses on four aspects of those life patterns especially relevant to the social security program: changing levels and patterns of education and job training, factors related to employment rates, differences between full-time homemakers and employees, and a detailed examination of the womens occupations. The study shows that neither social security policies nor retirement plans are matters of everyday concern to the women. Those who believe that social security policies are unfair hold widely differing and partially conflicting views on why and for whom they are unfair. Low-income women often emphasize that their benefits are too small; those involved in jobs or careers emphasize unfairness to different groups.