A feminist empowerment view of role strain in women faculty: The impact of role conflict, workplace gender bias, and selected coping variables

While scholars have examined factors influencing role strain in general occupational samples, few researchers have examined empirically the influence of such factors on role strain in women faculty, despite the intense demands and less defined work boundaries that often characterize academic careers. Further, most role strain research is situated within theoretical frameworks that minimize the role of the sociopolitical environment as it impacts role strain in women with multiple roles, including parent, partner, and worker. The present study sought to address these voids in the literature by investigating the impact of selected role stressors and coping variables upon role strain in women faculty using an integration of coping and feminist empowerment theories.; The current research study of role strain in women faculty was conducted using a traditional mail survey. Participants from four Carnegie-defined research institutions completed several questionnaires designed to assess role stressors and coping variables hypothesized to influence role strain. Role stressors included family interference with work (FIW) role conflict, work interference with family (WIF) role conflict, and perceived gender bias at work. Coping variables included personal control, perceived social support, and personal empowerment, with the latter defined in feminist terms. Using hierarchical multiple regression, data from 137 women faculty with families were analyzed. Results indicate that women faculty with less FIW role conflict, less WIF role conflict, more personal control, and a greater sense of personal empowerment experienced less role strain related to their work and family responsibilities, regardless of university affiliation, tenure status, family income, or number of children. Personal control and empowerment appeared to mediate the relation between perceived gender bias at work and role strain. Social support was unrelated to role strain for this sample. The findings of the study underscore the need for university administrators to assist and empower women faculty in order to decrease role strain and increase their productivity at work. In addition, the results offer empirical evidence for the increased use of feminist theory in future role strain research as well as the increased differentiation of personal control and empowerment when conducting future studies.