Mexican-American women in professional careers: The price of success
This study explored the most critical problems encountered by Mexican-American women in professional careers. These women were employed in art, science, engineering, education, medicine, law, writing, and administrative and managerial specialties. Both single (N 38) and married (N = 33) women participated in this study. There were no restrictions on age, number of years on the job, or educational level. A questionnaire designed by the researcher was used to gather information on the subjects. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: Part 1 solicited demographic information, Part 2 addressed issues encountered in the workplace, and Part 3 examined issues encountered at home. Findings from the study indicated that the most critical problems encountered by Mexican-American women in the workplace included the "Superwoman complex, 11 being the "only, 11 and establishing legitimacy. At home, crucial issues consisted of the Superwoman complex, self-imposed guilt/torment, and family pressure. Additional questions revealed critical problems encountered by these women.
Passing Through the Eye of the Needle: High-Achieving Chicanas
This article deals with a study of 17 Mexican American women between the ages of 28 and 40 years who came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, yet succeeded in completing J. D., M. D., and Ph. D. degrees. The researcher investigated 10 areas of the women's backgrounds ranging from child-rearing practices used by the parents to peer and school variables. The objective of the study was to identify background factors and experiences held in common by the women that may have contributed to their extraordinary educational accomplishments. Among the things found to be most important for these women were the strong models their mothers provided, the emotional support of their families, and the fact that they had attended highly integrated schools.
Dividing work, sharing work, and in-between: marriage patterns and depression.
Marriages in the United States are shifting from the complementary type, in which the husband is employed and the wife cares for the household and children, to the parallel type, in which both spouses are employed and both are responsible for the housework. This change, however, is far from complete. Disjunctions in the institution of marriage may be stressful and emotionally disturbing. We hypothesize that the effect of a wife's employment on her depression and her husband's depends on their preferences for her employment and on whether the husband helps with the housework. Using data from a national sample of 680 couples interviewed in 1978, we find that both spouses are less depressed when the wife's employment status is consistent with their preferences. Also, wives are less depressed if their husbands help with the housework, and husbands are not more depressed as a result of helping. These factors lead to the highest depression in transitional marriages. The lowest depression is in parallel marriages.