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Work and Family Interface in the International Career Context pp 71–93Cite as

What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family Conflict in India? – Gender or Gender Role Ideology

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Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between gender, gender role ideology (GRI) and work-family conflict (WF conflict), both work-to-family (WFC) and family-to-work (FWC) conflict, on a sample of a total of 405 working men and women from two cities – Mumbai and Bengaluru – in India. Hypotheses embedded within the cultural and contextual reality of India and supported by gender role theory were tested using moderated regression analyses for the dependent variables of WFC and FWC. Although some significant differences in conflict of men and women were observed, the results broadly did not support ‘gender role’ explanations for conflict. There was no significant difference in the levels of WFC between men and women, but FWC was significantly higher for women instead of men as hypothesized. As regards gender role ideology, ‘traditionals’ experienced more of WFC and FWC than ‘egalitarians’. With regard to interaction effects, women ‘traditionals’ experienced higher FWC than women and men ‘egalitarians’ and men ‘traditionals’. The results of the study are discussed with reference to the Indian context.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We acknowledge the contribution of the Multi-National Work-Family (Project 3535) research team to the theoretical and empirical conceptualization of this research. The team consists of: Dr. Zeynep Aycan, Dr. Roya Ayman, Dr. Anne Bardoel, Dr. Tripti Desai, Dr. Anat Drach-Zahavy, Dr. Leslie B. Hammer, Dr. Ting-Pang Huang, Dr. Karen Korabik, Dr. Donna S. Lero, Dr. Artiwati Mawardi, Dr. Steven Poelmans, Dr. Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, Dr. Anit Somech, and Dr. Li Zhang.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration and Economics, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN, 46556-5006, USA

    Ujvala Rajadhyaksha

  2. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Sofiya Velgach (Deputy Director)

  3. Navy Selection and Classification Division, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC, USA

    Sofiya Velgach (Deputy Director)

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  1. Ujvala Rajadhyaksha
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Correspondence to Ujvala Rajadhyaksha .

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  1. Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

    Liisa Mäkelä

  2. Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

    Vesa Suutari

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Rajadhyaksha, U., Velgach, S. (2015). What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family Conflict in India? – Gender or Gender Role Ideology. In: Mäkelä, L., Suutari, V. (eds) Work and Family Interface in the International Career Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17647-5_5

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