RGS Sp 2025-wl-6194-Contingent Aspirations and Employment Dynamics among Higher Educated Young Mothers in Kerala

This paper intervenes in the debate on what explains women’s movements in and out of the labour market by probing the life course history of higher educated mothers of young children in Kerala. We find that the women’s employment was interrupted by re-adjustments occasioned primarily by marriage, health risks of pregnancy, child birth, family care responsibilities and higher studies. Women were also constrained, sometimes, by circumstances involving work place pressures, dearth of maternity leave and unsuitable job timings including night shifts. In addition, they suffered from the non-recognition of care and gendered needs by the state, which was reflected in inadequate transportation and child care infrastructure. Though most of the women had worked at some point of time, only about half of the respondents were employed at the time of our fieldwork. Despite interruptions, most women aspired to be employed and many had returned to participate in paid work, sometimes after multiple breaks. Women sustained and pursued their aspiration to be employed by enhancing their qualification and skills through additional education and training. They felt that jobs offered them a form of self-fulfilment expressed in terms of autonomy, exposure to the outside world, knowledge and satisfaction. However, reproductive responsibilities rendered their aspirations contingent. A combination of their aspirations for employment and their constraints made women vulnerable to accepting unprotected, low paid jobs.