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Social Stratification

Notes happy with the performance of both the worker’s and home-maker’s roles; ‘moderate’ satisfaction
implies marginal imbalance in the equilibrium of the two roles (one coming in the way of other);
and ‘low’ satisfaction implies being dissatisfied with one or both roles to a very large extent. In
Deepa Mathur’s study, 53 per cent women were found to be highly satisfied (with their dual
roles), 18 per cent moderately satisfied, and 29 per cent dissatisfied.
This satisfaction/dissatisfaction with dual roles affects working woman’s self-image. ‘High’self-
image means that woman feels that her work has improved her individuality, while ‘low’ self-
image means that woman feels that her job did not have a positive effect on her personality.
Low self-image and dual role problems create the sociological problem of role-conflict for the
working women, which in turn affects the family relations, child-care, and role performance with
active and passive involvement. Women with submissive disposition have more problems with
dual roles than those having a dominant personality. Deepa Mathur in her study found 21.8 per
cent women having high degree of role-conflict, 44.4 per cent having low degree and 33.8 per cent
having no problem of role-conflict. Significant or moderate or weak relationship was found between
role-conflict and variables like motivational level of working, husband’s attitude towards wife’s
employment, interpersonal relations at work-place, and woman’s personality type. The relationship
of role-conflict with motivational level and husband’s attitude is significant, with interpersonal
relations at work-place is weak, with personality type (home-oriented, career-oriented, and home-
cum-career-oriented) is significant, and with presence of children is moderate.
Ramu (1989) is of the opinion that conflict between the new economic and the traditional domestic
roles results in the compartmentalization of activities of women, at least in the initial phases of
their marital lives. However, this compartmentalization is short-lived, because the competing
demands of the occupational and domestic worlds will make it impossible for many women to
address such demand equitably. Sooner or later, many of these women learn either to scale down
their occupational aspirations or to curtail their obligations.
Role Adjustment

The working women have to ‘adjust’ themselves in home as well as working-place. Adjustment is
“smooth switch-over from one status to other status, perceiving roles as perceived by others, and
performing multiple roles with efficiency and satisfaction.” In simple terms, role adjustment
depends upon role demands (by the society) and role performance (by the individual).
A working woman has to face innumerable problems. The home-life has to be adjusted with the
office routine. The house-work has to be organized on lines different from the traditional ones.
According to Lazarns (1961), four main indicators of adjustment are : skilled and intellectual
performance of roles, extent of psychological comfort, absence of symptoms of tensions, and social
acceptability of behaviour.
The adjustment is measured on a unidimensional continuum. An individual’s position can be
located on it ranging from the highest point to the lowest point on the continuum. Low adjustment
is differentiated from maladjustment as the two are qualitatively different from each other.
Maladjustment involves pathological responses but low adjustment indicates incomplete
involvement in situations.
Deepa Mathur’s research revealed that out of 225 working women studied, 38 per cent had high
home adjustment, 43 per cent moderate home adjustment, and 19 per cent low home adjustment.
As regards the level of job adjustment, 44 per cent showed high, 30 per cent moderate, and 26 per
cent low adjustment. The level of job adjustment was found to be varying with the nature of job,
length of service, access to power, and future plans. Against this, the level of home adjustment
depends upon the structure of family, size of family, husband’s and in-law’s co-operation and
self-esteem. Taking the two situations (home-life and work) together, it may be stated that the
working women generally succeed in developing strategies that allow them to pursue their

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