Why Mothers Opt out?

Adopted institutional ethnography perspective, I explores the identity construction and the accounts of middle-class Taiwanese mothers when they faced work-care conflict either in Taiwan or in America. I found that mothers identified their choice to opt out from labor market is a voluntary one, while I argued that it is a choice gap conditioned by mothering identity and structural constrains. These opt out mothers would practice intensive mothering to avoid traditional housewife stereotype and win “good mother” social image. They would also work part-time or as a volunteer which helps establish positive self-identity. My research will compare immigrant Taiwanese mothers in America with mothers in Taiwan. Aim to examine if those immigrants in USA have different self-identity and mothering practice from those mothers who raised children in Taiwan. I would like to explain why and how the migration and social environment influenced mothers’ identities, mothering and employment decisions for Taiwanese women.