Mothers of calibre: reconfigurations of paid and unpaid work in neoliberalism

Abstract

This thesis explores reconfigurations the paid and unpaid work of women through the figure of “the good working mother.” Past studies of the ‘good mother’ have mostly focused on the relations and practices of motherhood, particularly when children are young. However, I argue that in contemporary Australian society, employment has become a core requirement of good motherhood. By tracing the historical and social conditions of Australian women’s work, the thesis shows that the social figure of “the working mother” emerges at a historical moment shaped by the political rationality of neoliberalism.

Analytically, this thesis engages with wide-ranging scholarship and debates that examine contemporary motherhood. It examines this in relation to work, social class, femininities, and the family in neoliberal societies. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 23 working mothers, the thesis investigates the everyday ideas that support four key aspects of these mothers’ busy lives, namely, motherhood, housework, paid work, and educational opportunities for children.

Bringing these insights together with the data, my study analyses how repertoires of choice, complaint, affect and class weave through taken-for-granted understandings of motherhood, housework, paid work, and children's schooling. These findings contribute to a growing literature on how neoliberalism, as the dominant political rationality, has reshaped the role of mothers in families and in the labour market. As such, the thesis argues that such repertoires advance our understanding of “the good working mother” and operate to maintain rather than challenge the normative order of neoliberalism in our everyday lives.