Abstract：
Working mothers face challenges in pursuing their career aspirations due to work-family conflict. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has posed added challenges for working mothers by increasing care demands while also causing numerous health, economic and social disruptions. In this paper, we examine the impact of COVID-19 on Korean working mothers\' career aspirations. We employ a longitudinal qualitative design by analysing 64 in-depth interviews with 32 mothers of young children in South Korea. By interviewing the same women before (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), we are able to document how working mothers\' career aspirations were impacted by COVID-19. Findings show that all working mothers in the sample experienced increased care demands due to COVID-19. However, the influence of COVID-19 on working mothers\' career aspirations hinged on gendered beliefs related to childcare responsibility. When working mothers believed or were subjected to beliefs that mothers should be the primary caregiver for children (gendered care belief), their career aspirations were tempered or relinquished. On the other hand, those who believed that mothers should not be held solely responsible for childcare (gender egalitarian care belief) continued to pursue their career aspirations or experienced career advancements during COVID-19. Findings suggest that beliefs related to care responsibilities play an important role in working mothers\' pursuit of their career aspirations, and potentially their future careers.
摘要：
由于工作家庭冲突，职业母亲在追求职业抱负时面临挑战。最近的COVID-19大流行给职业母亲带来了额外的挑战，增加了护理需求，同时也造成了许多健康问题，经济和社会混乱。在本文中,我们研究了COVID-19对韩国职业母亲职业抱负的影响。我们采用纵向定性设计，对韩国32名幼儿母亲进行了64次深入访谈。通过在COVID-19大流行之前(2019年)和期间(2020年)采访同样的女性，我们能够记录职业母亲的职业抱负是如何受到COVID-19的影响的。研究结果表明，由于COVID-19，样本中所有在职母亲的护理需求都有所增加。然而,COVID-19对职业母亲职业抱负的影响取决于与育儿责任相关的性别观念。当工作母亲相信或受到相信母亲应该是儿童的主要照顾者(性别照顾信念)时，他们的职业抱负被削弱或放弃。另一方面,那些认为母亲不应该全权负责育儿的人(性别平等护理信念)继续追求自己的职业抱负或在COVID-19期间经历了职业发展。研究结果表明，与照顾责任相关的信念在职业母亲追求职业抱负方面发挥着重要作用，以及他们未来的潜在职业。
