{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42524"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42524","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Clergywomen and Role Management: A Study of PC(USA) Clergywomen Negotiating Maternity Leave","abstract":"While there is abundant research and literature on the transition to becoming a mother while working and on mothers and work-life balance, literature on clergy and, in particular, clergywomen and work-life balance is scarce. This study contributes to that literature by utilizing role theory and grounded theory methods to investigate the experience of 12 clergywomen who negotiated maternity leave with their congregations and the implications of that process on how they understood and managed their roles as mothers and pastors. The result is a model for role management through the process of negotiating maternity leave which identifies and describes the causal conditions; personal, church and intervening factors; overall experience of negotiation and consequences of the negotiation, including decisions about role management. Major findings include the observations that the most influential church factor seems to be the overall stability and organizational health of the congregation and its leadership and that a presbytery level policy may be the only effective intervention in a difficult negotiation. Limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future study, clinical implications, and recommendations for denominational leaders are also discussed.","abstract_html":"While there is abundant research and literature on the transition to becoming a mother while working and on mothers and work-life balance, literature on clergy and, in particular, clergywomen and work-life balance is scarce. This study contributes to that literature by utilizing role theory and grounded theory methods to investigate the experience of 12 clergywomen who negotiated maternity leave with their congregations and the implications of that process on how they understood and managed their roles as mothers and pastors. The result is a model for role management through the process of negotiating maternity leave which identifies and describes the causal conditions; personal, church and intervening factors; overall experience of negotiation and consequences of the negotiation, including decisions about role management. Major findings include the observations that the most influential church factor seems to be the overall stability and organizational health of the congregation and its leadership and that a presbytery level policy may be the only effective intervention in a difficult negotiation. Limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future study, clinical implications, and recommendations for denominational leaders are also discussed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sharp, Erin Colleen"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Marriage and Family Therapy","degree_department":"Marriage and Family Therapy","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Huebner, Angela J."],"committee_members":["McCollum, Eric E.","Wittenborn, Andrea K."],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-04-25","date_published":"2012-04-25","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:38Z","subjects":["pregnancy","transition to motherhood","work-life balance","theory","maternity leave","clergywomen"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05072012-203137"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-05072012-203137","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42524","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Huebner, Angela J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["McCollum, Eric E.","Wittenborn, Andrea K."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Marriage and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sharp, Erin Colleen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:35:42Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:35:42Z","2012-06-08"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-04-25"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Marriage and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["pregnancy","transition to motherhood","work-life balance","theory","maternity leave","clergywomen"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05072012-203137"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42524"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["While there is abundant research and literature on the transition to becoming a mother while working and on mothers and work-life balance, literature on clergy and, in particular, clergywomen and work-life balance is scarce. This study contributes to that literature by utilizing role theory and grounded theory methods to investigate the experience of 12 clergywomen who negotiated maternity leave with their congregations and the implications of that process on how they understood and managed their roles as mothers and pastors. The result is a model for role management through the process of negotiating maternity leave which identifies and describes the causal conditions; personal, church and intervening factors; overall experience of negotiation and consequences of the negotiation, including decisions about role management. Major findings include the observations that the most influential church factor seems to be the overall stability and organizational health of the congregation and its leadership and that a presbytery level policy may be the only effective intervention in a difficult negotiation. Limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future study, clinical implications, and recommendations for denominational leaders are also discussed."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Clergywomen and Role Management: A Study of PC(USA) Clergywomen Negotiating Maternity Leave"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Huebner, Angela J."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["McCollum, Eric E.","Wittenborn, Andrea K."],"dc:contributor.department":["Marriage and Family Therapy"],"dc:creator":["Sharp, Erin Colleen"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T21:35:42Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T21:35:42Z","2012-06-08"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-04-25"],"dc:description.abstract":["While there is abundant research and literature on the transition to becoming a mother while working and on mothers and work-life balance, literature on clergy and, in particular, clergywomen and work-life balance is scarce. This study contributes to that literature by utilizing role theory and grounded theory methods to investigate the experience of 12 clergywomen who negotiated maternity leave with their congregations and the implications of that process on how they understood and managed their roles as mothers and pastors. The result is a model for role management through the process of negotiating maternity leave which identifies and describes the causal conditions; personal, church and intervening factors; overall experience of negotiation and consequences of the negotiation, including decisions about role management. Major findings include the observations that the most influential church factor seems to be the overall stability and organizational health of the congregation and its leadership and that a presbytery level policy may be the only effective intervention in a difficult negotiation. 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