The man behind the woman: A qualitative study of the spousal support received and valued by executive women

Journal of Family Issues

Volumn 29, Issue 9, 2008, Pages 1107-1135

  Ezzedeen, Souha R ^a   Ritchey, Kristen Grossnickle ^b  

^a YORK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b Comcast Corporation ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

Dual career couples; Qualitative research; Social support; Spousal support; Women executives

Indexed keywords

EID: 47749095550     PISSN: 0192513X     EISSN: 15525481     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X08315363     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. Adams, G.A., King, L.A., & King, D.W. (1996). Relationships of job and family involvement, family social support, and work-family conflict with job and life satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 411-420.
2. Bartley, S.J., Blanton, P.W., & Gilliard, J.L. (2005). Husbands and wives in dual-earner marriages: Decision-making, gender role attitudes, division of household labor, and equity. Marriage and Family Review, 37, 69-94.
3. Beals, K.P., & Peplau, L.A. (2005). Identity support, identity devaluation, and well-being among lesbians. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 140-148.
4. Beatty, C.A. (1996). The stress of managerial and professional women: Is the price too high ? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 233-251.
5. Bell, M.P., McLaughlin, M.E., & Sequeira, J.M. (2002). Discrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling: Women executives as change agents. Journal of Business Ethics, 37, 65-78.
6. Blair-Loy, M. (2003). Competing devotions: Career and family among women executives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Boyatzis, R.E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
8. Bradbury, T.N., & Fincham, F.D. (1992). Attributions and behavior in marital interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 613-628.
9. Brennan, R.T., Barnett, R.C., & Gareis, K.C. (2001). When she earns more than he does: A longitudinal study of dual-earner couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 168-182.
10. Broman, C.L. (1991). Gender, work-family roles, and psychological well-being of Blacks. Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 509-520.
11. Carlson, D.S., & Perrew, P.L. (1999). The role of social support in the stressor-strain relationship: An examination of work-family conflict. Journal of Management, 25, 513-540.
12. Coltrane, S., & Adams, M. (2001). Men's family work: Child-centered fathering and the sharing of domestic labor. In R. Hertz & N. L. Marshall (Eds.), Working families: The transformation of the American home (pp. 72-99). Berkeley: University of California Press.
13. Combs, G.M. (2003). The duality of race and gender for managerial African American women: Implications of informal social networks on career advancement. Human Resource Development Review, 2, 385-405.
14. Connolly, C.M. (2006). A feminist perspective of resilience in lesbian couples. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 18, 137-162.
15. Coyne, J.C., & DeLongis, A. (1986). Going beyond social support: The role of social relationships in adaptation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 454-460.
16. Cutrona, C.E. (1996). Social support in couples: Marriage as a resource in times of stress. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17. DeLongis, A., Capreol, M., Holtzman, S., O'Brien, T., & Campbell, J. (2004). Social support and social strain among husbands and wives: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 18, 470-479.
18. Deutsch, F.M. (1999). Having it all: How equally shared parenting works. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
19. Deutsch, F.M., Lozy, J.L., & Saxon, S. (1993). Taking credit: Couples' reports of contributions to child care. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 421-437.
20. Fenlason, K.J., & Beehr, T.A. (1994). Social support and occupational stress: Effects of talking to others. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 157-175.
21. Fincham, F.D., & Bradbury, T.N. (1989). Perceived responsibility for marital events: Egocentric or partner-centric bias ? Journal of Marriage and Family, 51, 27-35.
22. Friedman, S.D., & Greenhaus, J.H. (2000). Work and family: Allies or enemies? What happens when business professionals confront life choices. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
23. Galinsky, E., Salmond, K., Bond, J.T., Kropf, M.B., Moore, M., & Harrington, B. (2003). A study of executive women and men. New York: Leaders in a Global Economy.
24. Gersick, C.J.G., & Kram, K.E. (2002). High-achieving women at midlife: An exploratory study. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11, 104-127.
25. Gerson, K. (1986). What do women want from men? Men's influence on women's work and family choices. American Behavioral Scientist, 29, 619-634.
26. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies of qualitative research. London: Wiedenfeld and Nicholson.
27. Gordon, J.R., & Whelan-Berry, K.S. (2004). It takes two to tango: An empirical study of perceived spousal/partner support for working women. Women in Management Review, 19, 260-273.
28. Gordon, J.R., & Whelan-Berry, K.S. (2005). Contributions to family and household activities by the husbands of midlife professional women. Journal of Family Issues, 26, 899-923.
29. Gray, J.D. (1983). The married professional woman: An examination of her role conflicts and coping strategies. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 7, 235-243.
30. Hertz, R. (1989). Dual-career corporate couples: Shaping marriages through work. In B. J. Risman & P. Schwartz (Eds.), Gender in intimate relationships: A microstructural approach (pp. 193-204). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
31. Hertz, R. (1997). A typology of approaches to child care. Journal of Family Issues, 18, 355-385.
32. Hertz, R. (1999). Working to place family at the center of life: Dual-earner and single-parent strategies. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 562, 16-31.
33. Hewlett, S.A. (2002). Executive women and the myth of having it all. Harvard Business Review, 80, 66-73.
34. Hewlett, S.A., Luce, C.B., & West, C. (2005). Leadership in your mist. Harvard Business Review, 83, 74-82.
35. Hochschild, A.R., & Machung, A. (1997). The second shift. New York: Avon Books.
36. Janning, M. (2006). Put yourself in my work shoes: Variations in work-related spousal support for professional married coworkers. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 85-109.
37. Judge, T.A., Cable, D.M., Boudreau, J.W., & Bretz, R.D.J. (1995). An empirical investigation of the predictors of executive career success. Personnel Psychology, 48, 485-519.
38. Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. New York: Basic Books.
39. King, L.A., Mattimore, L.K., King, D.W., & Adams, G.A. (1995). Family support inventory for workers: A new measure of perceived social support from family members. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 235-258.
40. Kurdek, L.A. (2007). The allocation of household labor by partners in gay and lesbian couples. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 132-148.
41. LaRosa, J.H. (1990). Executive women and health: Perceptions and practices. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 1450-1454.
42. Light, R.J. (1971). Measures of response agreement for qualitative data: Some generalizations and alternatives. Psychological Bulletin, 76, 365-377.
43. Maume, D.J. (2006). Gender differences in restricting work efforts because of family responsibilities. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 859-869.
44. Miles, M.B., & Huberman, M.A. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
45. Neff, L.A., & Karney, B.R. (2005). Gender differences in social support: A question of skill or responsiveness ? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 79-90.
46. Nelson, D.L., & Burke, R.J. (2000). Women executives: Health, stress, and success. Academy of Management Executive, 14, 107-121.
47. Parasuraman, S., Greenhaus, J.H., & Granrose, C.S. (1992). Role stressors, social support, and well-being among two-career couples. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 339-356.
48. Patterson, C.J. (1995). Families of the lesbian baby boom: Parents' division of labor and children's adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 31, 115-123.
49. Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
50. Pearlin, L.I., & McCall, M.E. (1990). Occupational stress and marital support: A description of microprocesses. In J. Eckenrode & S. Gore (Eds.), Crossing the boundaries: The transmission of stress between work and family (pp. 39-60). New York: Plenum.
51. Phillips, S., & Imhoff, A.R. (1997). Women and career development: A decade of research. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 31-59.
52. Powell, G.N., Butterfield, D.A., & Parent, J.D. (2002). Gender and managerial stereotypes: Have the times changed ? Journal of Management, 28, 177-193.
53. Prentice, D.A., & Carranza, E. (2002). What women and men should be, shouldn't be, are allowed to be, and don't have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 269-281.
54. Pyke, K., & Coltrane, S. (1996). Entitlement, obligation, and gratitude in family work. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 60-82.
55. Pyke, K.D. (1994). Women's employment as a gift or burden? Marital power across marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Gender & Society, 8, 73-91.
56. Quick, J.C., Nelson, D.L., Quick, J.D., & Orman, D.K. (2001). An isomorphic theory of stress: The dynamics of person-environment fit. Stress and Health, 17, 147-157.
57. Ragins, B.R., Townsend, B., & Mattis, M. (1998). Gender gap in the executive suite: CEOs and female executives report on breaking the glass ceiling. Academy of Management Executive, 12, 28-42.
58. Rao, K., Apte, M., & Subbakrishna, D.K. (2003). Coping and subjective well-being in women with multiple roles. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 49, 175-184.
59. Rapoport, R., Bailyn, L., Fletcher, J.K., & Pruitt, B.H. (2002). Beyond work-family balance: Advancing gender equity and workplace performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
60. Ross, M., & Sicoly, F. (1979). Egocentric biases in availability and attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 322-336.
61. Shelton, B.A., & John, D. (1993). Ethnicity, race, and difference: A comparison of White, Black, and Hispanic men's household labor time. In J. C. Hood (Ed.), Men, work, and family (pp. 131-150). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
62. Speziale, B., & Gopalakrishna, V. (2004). Social support and functioning of nuclear families headed by lesbian couples. Affilia, 19, 174-184.
63. Steil, J.M. (1997). Marital equality: Its relationship to the well-being of husbands and wives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
64. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
65. Thorstad, R.R., Anderson, T.L., Lewis Hall, M.E., Willingham, M., & Carruthers, L. (2006). Breaking the mold: A qualitative exploration of mothers in Christian academia and their experiences of spousal support. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 229-251.
66. Tichenor, V. (2005 a). Earning more and getting less: Why successful wives can't buy equality. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
67. Tichenor, V. (2005 b). Maintaining men's dominance: Negotiating identity and power when she earns more. Sex Roles, 53, 191-205.
68. Tucker, J., Wolfe, L.R., Viruell-Fuentes, E.A., & Smooth, W. (1999). No more "business as usual": Women of color in corporate America. Washington, DC: Center for Women Policy Studies.
69. Vaux, A. (1988). Social support: Theory, research and intervention. New York: Praeger.
70. Vinokur, A.D., & Van Ryn, M. (1993). Social support and undermining in close relationships: Their independent effects on the mental health of unemployed persons. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 350-359.
71. Welch, S. (1975). Sampling by referral in a dispersed population. Public Opinion Quarterly, 39, 237-245.
72. Xu, Y., & Burleson, B.R. (2001). Effects of sex, culture, and support type on perceptions of spousal support: An assessment of the "support gap" hypothesis in early marriage. Human Communication Research, 27, 535-566.
73. Zelechowski, D.D., & Bilimoria, D. (2003). The experience of women corporate inside directors on the boards of Fortune 1,000 firms. Women in Management Review, 18, 376-381.