Predicaments of Married & Single Working Mothers in Pakistan

One of the emerging phenomena in South-Asian countries is 'single-parent families.' Such families face several emotional, social, and financial challenges. The study aimed to explore the inter-role conflict experienced by single-working mothers (SWM) and married-working mothers (MWM). The study investigated the difference between the use of coping mechanisms adopted by the two cohorts. Two hundred and eighty-one MWM and SWM were approached using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Findings reveal a significant relationship between inter-role conflict and coping mechanisms in married and single-working mothers. However, no significant difference in the selection of coping mechanisms was found. Moreover, it was deduced that single working mothers go through more inter-role conflict than married working mothers. The study's result would help organisations identify inter-role conflict and coping mechanisms of their working mothers' workforce, enabling them to devise facilitative strategies. Moreover, policymakers must understand the changing socio-cultural scenario of single working mothers, especially in the context of Pakistani cultural norms.