This study confronts a problem in labour history revolving around the place of women in the paid workforce which has been present in western society since industrialisation, which in Australia’s case dates from the 1860s and 1870s. This problem emerges forcefully over one critical debate: the rate for women’s wages compared with that of men’s. An analysis of the Council of Action for Equal Pay (CAEP) 1937-1948, brings into focus the complex questions associated with the issue. Women’s place in the paid workforce had to be reconciled with their assigned primary role in society as wives and mothers and the designated duty of the male as the family breadwinner who had an unassailable right to paid employment at higher rates of pay than women.

This study confronts a problem in labour history revolving around the place of women in the paid workforce which has been present in western society since industrialisation, which in Australia’s case dates from the 1860s and 1870s. This problem emerges forcefully over one critical debate: the rate for women’s wages compared with that of men’s. An analysis of the Council of Action for Equal Pay (CAEP) 1937-1948, brings into focus the complex questions associated with the issue. Women’s place in the paid workforce had to be reconciled with their assigned primary role in society as wives and mothers and the designated duty of the male as the family breadwinner who had an unassailable right to paid employment at higher rates of pay than women.

Women in the U.S. workforce have been a focus of scholars since the onset of the 21st century, when work-life balance skewed in favor of the term work-life integration because professional working mothers found that balance was an unachievable ideal in the fast pace of the contemporary world. Accordingly, this research study examined the work-life challenges and career choices of women working in the public sector through the framework of the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM). While research has been conducted on women in corporate America, there have been limited studies exploring the work-life challenges and career decisions of women working in government. The study design was phenomenological with convenience sampling of women working for state government agencies. Data were collected through a structured interview and demographic questionnaire. Data from the 7 participants were analyzed using the KCM theory and considering Mainiero and Sullivan's A-authenticity, B-balance, C-challenge parameters. Overall, findings indicated that women working in state government chose and remained in their jobs because of stability, security, and benefits. These women did not opt-out, as is common for corporate workers, because they received the flexibility and benefits required to integrate work-life balance. Corporate human resources might explore needs of their own workers using the KCM framework. Policies to retain workers might include more flexibility in scheduling and benefits for workers. This work extends applicability of the KCM to a population of which it has not been used.