Work and Family in a Cross-Cultural Context: A Comparative Review of Work-Family Experiences of Working Mothers in Australia and Zimbabwe

Abstract

This chapter presents a qualitative comparative account of the day-to-day experiences of working mothers in sub-Saharan African (Zimbabwe) and Western (Australia) contexts. Evidence for the chapter is drawn from interviews conducted with a group of thirty women (15 in Adelaide, Australia and 15 in Harare, Zimbabwe) about their subjective experiences of negotiating between paid work and family. Specifically, the chapter not only documents new empirical evidence in this area in Zimbabwe but it also presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the strategies and negotiations of working women in two culturally, economically, and socially diverse contexts. In the end, by juxtaposing African (Zimbabwean) woman's experiences of work-family interface with those of her western (Australian) counterpart, highlighting and drawing out the commonalities of their experiences, the chapter affirms the complex nature of the work and family interface for women in Zimbabwe, whose work-family conflict experiences remain a neglected subject of research.