Od żony górnika do naukowca : zmiana systemu wartości i ról społecznych kobiet na terenach poprzemysłowych Górnego Śląska

Abstract

The problems associated with women were already discussed in works of theoretical and empirical scholarship. Among those works there are sociological works as well. They engage problems related to the inequality of genders, the access of women to the job market, the identity of women, the authority in the family and the juggling acts of combining professional roles with family roles. However, these problems where not discussed from the perspective of culture. Nowadays we are witnessing the weakening of the cultural model of pressure directed to women that they fulfil above all the role of a wife and a mother. The sociological research which is conducted indicates the continuing existence of barriers in the professional advancement of women and the problems associated with combining a number of social roles. Such a situation refers to women in Poland but it is especially so in reference to Silesia, for the roles of Silesian women change as well as the social context of performing many roles: the roles of wives, mothers and female employees. The milieu in which formerly the social roles of genders were strictly separated changes the way in which the roles of women and men are defined. The present monograph contains a discussion of the research conducted among women who inhabit the post-industrial areas of Upper Silesia. The work features opinions about the system of values, the interpretation of social roles – especially the role of a wife, mother and a female employee — and insight into the stereotypical division of the roles of women and men.