Chapter 3: Family Roles and Official Responsibilities among Working Mothers in Some Selected Work Organizations in Lagos, Nigeria

The domestic division of labor and responsibilities for childcare continue to influence the circumstances under which women are brought into formal employment as work represents a key component of human life. However, given the common perception of appropriate roles for women, the demands for combining motherhood and marriage with paid employment become immense challenges for working mothers. To this end, this study examined family roles and official responsibilities among working mothers in some selected work organizations in Lagos, Nigeria. The sample of the study consisted of 106 married working mothers selected purposively from work organizations in Lagos metropolis. Questionnaire was designed to generate data while direct interview was conducted as a means of complimenting data derived from the main instrument. The data obtained were analyzed by the use of simple percentages; while chi-squared statistical tool was used to test hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that there is no significant relationship between childcare responsibilities and promotion; and that family support for female work has significant relationship with perceived home–work conflict among working mothers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government, private employers and policy-makers should endeavors to make the nature of work more conducive for working mothers in order to easily combine the two domains of work and family.