Date of Award

12-2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Education and Human Development

First Advisor

Tova Sanders, Ed.D.

Second Advisor

Jennifer S. Bott, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Leah Omilion-Hodges, Ph.D.

Keywords

Career construction theory, COVID-19, mothers, pandemic, women in leadership

Abstract

In March 2020, much of the world was “sent home” from work and periods of lockdown began. In West Michigan, Friday, March 13 was the day that most workplaces closed their doors and employees began working from home for what was assumed to be a period of weeks. In the spring of 2020 between March and April, some million mothers living with school-age children left active work—either shifting into paid or unpaid leave, losing their job, or exiting the labor market all together.

The stories of mothers who experienced the “balancing act” of mothering and working at home during the pandemic allow this study to provide insight into how those experiences have shaped their careers and their lives post-pandemic. Specifically, mothers who serve in positional leadership roles (director level and above) were navigating the duality not just of mothering and working, but of mothering and leading.

The purpose of this narrative study is to understand the experiences of mothers in positional leadership roles during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to understand how those experiences have informed their lives. The research question is “How have the experiences of mothers in positional leadership roles during the COVID-19 pandemic informed their careers, families and their well-being?”

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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