Abstract
M.Comm.
The rise of the dual-career family has meant that "men and women have ambitions
and commitments in both the work and family simultaneously" (Amatea, Cross, Clark
& Bobby, 1986 831). Managing the demands of life roles has therefore become a
challenge for both men and women. Rajadhyaksha and Bhatnagar (2000 490) noted that, while
contemporary career development theories elaborate extensively on the differences in the
career development of men and women, such theories may pose challenges when generalised
across cultural contexts. The purpose of this study is to replicate Rajadhyaksha and
Bhatnagar s (2000) ndian study, where differences in the manifestation of career development
for men and women were found, in the black African South African context. The research
questions of the study are broadly
The research questions of the study are broadly
articulated as follows:
• Does the importance attached to different life roles differ for married black
South African dual-career men and women across their life span?
• What are the implications of such differences for career development
theories?
Data were collected from black African dual career couples through the Life Role
Salience Scale as developed by Amatea et al. (1986). The general results of the
study indicated that black African couples received more personal satisfaction or
fulfilment from life roles than the level of commitment of personal resources they were
willing to dedicate to these roles. The study results indicated little support for
the results of Rajadhyaksha and Bhatnagar s (2000) study. Black African women displayed
the same level of salience towards career as men, while no segmented view towards
work and family roles was noted. Within the Indian context the opposite holds true.