Nur zuhause bleiben wollte ich nie

Reconciling work and family life in the intensive family phase,§i.e. in the first two to three years of a child's life, presents parents in§Austria with particular challenges. The social framework still suggests that mothers alone take care of their children. In order to identify possible ways of combining work and family demands during this early stage of children's development, Sigrid Kroismayr conducted qualitative interviews with female academics living in Vienna who returned to work within one year of the child's birth. The interviews show how the women live the combination of work and family in coordination with their partner, the professional circumstances and the care possibilities offered by grandparents or persons outside the family, and in what way overall societal Ra.