Exploring the intersection of motherhood and work for women working in the NGO sector in Harare, Zimbabwe
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Date
2020Author
Mutariswa, Runyararo
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Mutariswa, Runyararo. (2020). Exploring the intersection of motherhood and work for women working in the NGO sector in Harare, Zimbabwe. Dearcadh: Graduate Journal of Gender, Globalisation and Rights, 1. doi:https://doi.org/10.13025/1a39-bz98
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Abstract
Gender equality, built on the principle of equal opportunities, maintains that
women and men’s equality is based on the availability of equal access to resources, funding
and opportunities. Through this principle women have gained access to public life and
form a good proportion of the world’s working population. However, other social
arrangements such as motherhood and associated care remain largely unchanged and may
disrupt delivery of equality of outcomes between men and women participating in public
life.
This paper details research that investigated how women working in the Zimbabwean
NGO sector reconcile motherhood and work. The research illuminates the disadvantages
that women in the stated category face at the intersection of motherhood and work. The
research reveals there is a divergence between work and mothering demands, leaving
women overstretched in both directions. Maids serve as a key support mechanism for
working women, which the research reveals as problematic to achieving gender equality
and the ideals of equity and justice.