Management of Work and Mothering Responsibilities Among Blue-Collar Chicana and Mexican Immigrant Women

This qualitative study examined how a select group of forty Chicana and Mexican immigrant women employed as apparel production workers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas manage work and mothering responsibilities. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews. This study identifies two processes used by women in managing work and motherhood. Age and the timing of life events were found to have the greatest influence on these processes. Ethnicity, contrary to existing explanatory models, was not found to account for any significant difference.