Family-work balance. Perception of women with management positions in a paraguayan university

Abstract

The labor insertion of women led to a change in the family relationship since she assumed a productive role and also to that of caregiver, which, in many cases, generates a role conflict due to the need to reconcile the domestic and public environment. The main objective of this research was to interpret the perceptions about the balance of family and work-life of women with managerial positions in a Higher Education Institution in Alto Paraná, Paraguay. The design was qualitatively focused on a case study through interviews applied in 2018 to five female managers selected based on the concept of a structural sample. The analysis was carried out with ATLAS.ti using emerging categories in the testimonies of the interviewees. The most important findings refer to the quantity and variety of activities carried out by women in the domestic and work environment; As factors related to the family-work balance, the following were identified: age of the children, the couple, and the greater demand for domestic activities for women. Balance strategies were identified such as rigorous organization and planning, support from other people, and giving up activities outside the family. It was concluded that there is an overload of role in the women studied, linked to working conditions and the diversity of activities in the family environment, which highlights the inequality of roles between men and women when they have to assume these as contributors to the family income without giving up the traditional role.