| Abstract: | The place of employment and the diversity of its relations to other roles within the life structure of midlife women were investigated. Three groups were compared: Group I (n = 44) had a continuous low level of involvement in employment from their early 20s to their early 40s; Group II (n = 20) changed from low to high involvement; and Group III (n = 32) maintained a continuous high level of involvement. Retrospective reports regarding subjects' commitment to a number of different roles and feelings during their early 30s and early 40s constituted the data. Findings indicated that: (1) women in Group I had a positive, confident view of their involvement in the traditional roles of mother, wife, and volunteer; (2) women in Group II, initially quite similar to those in Group I, restructured their role commitments by substituting involvement in employment for more traditional pursuits; and (3) women in Group III successfully integrated involvement in the multiple roles of worker, mother, wife, and volunteer. Implications for a more dynamic view of identity, which takes into account significant reorganization of the life structure after adolescence and variability among diverse groups of women, are discussed. |
