Reconciling the irreconcilable?: Women's relation to the notion of ⟪reconciling work and family life⟫ in the liberal professions in France

Relying on statements by women doctors and lawyers in France, this paper focuses on the various kinds of discourse that highly qualified women develop on the theme of "work and family life". It regards their words as an indicator of their objective and subjective positions vis-a-vis the dominant gender system in contemporary France. This article suggests that the tensions that exist between the development of a professional career, on the one hand, and domestic and care activities at home, on the other, are resolved in different ways. These highly qualified women are in a position to develop multiple strategies with regard to their socially assigned "domestic roles".