An Exploration of Leisure in the Lives of Dual Career Women

Abstract

This paper reports on a preliminary investigation of the consequences of limited discretionary time and the meaning of leisure in the lives of dual career women. This multiple case study involved in-depth interviews with 12 working mothers of various professional occupations. Half the women worked full time and half were single parents. The methodology explicates the process of using in-depth interviews, suitable for the discovery of leisure's meaning. The findings support the contention that leisure is an issue typically overlooked in the study of dual career women, yet one that is a potential source of conflict for such women. The findings also offer guidance for further research on the topic.

KEYWORDS:

• Discretionary time
• dual career women
• leisure
• qualitative methodology
• interviewing