The majority of companies in Taiwan are small and medium businesses, and most of companies are run by couples. Therefore, it is very common to see boss¡¦s wife in the company. Nonetheless the boss¡¦s wife puts different amounts of effort in the family field and the work field depending on the amount of her participation in managing family business and which stages of the family life cycle she is in. That is, the boss¡¦s wife frequently has a trade off between family and work life. The purpose of this study is to discover what kinds of conflicts the boss¡¦s wife experiences when looking after both work and family and how they cope with conflicts and thus balances their work and family life. This study has adapted case study method, a way of qualitative research to collect and analyze data. The propositions are as follows: Proposition 1: If the boss¡¦s wife takes her participation in family business, it is the extension of family responsibility, and they will be involved in managing the company. Proposition 2: Housekeeping is remained as the boss¡¦s wife¡¦s major responsibility. However, the boss and his parents will lower their expectations of housekeeping quality in order to lessen the loading of the boss¡¦s wife in the family field. Proposition 3: Motivated by family responsibilities, the boss¡¦s wife will look after both family and family business. Proposition 4: Prerequisites of maternity and intentions to take on the family role first, even if the permeability of family boundary is higher, the work and family conflicts come mainly from family interference with work, not vice versa. Proposition 5: One of characteristics embedded in the boss¡¦s wife¡¦ work is work-family boundary ambiguity. Proposition 6: It is because the boss is considerate to the fact that his wife is too busy to look after both the work filed and the family filed and vice versa, spouses can eliminate each other¡¦s role conflicts.

This study investigates first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant women faculty's workplace experiences and their strategies for managing work and family demands. By looking at how immigration, ethnicity, gender, and work processes shape these women's ideology and practices, this study addresses the following questions: How do married Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant women in research-intensive universities handle work and family conflicts? How do they negotiate their gender-role expectations and actual practices at work and home? And, finally, do their practices vary by academic disciplines based on the work processes involved in conducting research? This study points to the dynamic nature of cultures such that immigrant women can challenge some aspects of the traditional culture and retain those aspects that help them to receive support for managing work and family demands. Findings from this study also suggest that based on different work processes, what may seem to be flexible can, in fact, present particular barriers and impede workplace performance. Finally, these findings show that in some academic fields, being women may place obstacles for career advancement, but that co-ethnic network provides alternative opportunities for them and can lead to greater research productivity. This study resonates with previous studies showing that childcare responsibilities place women faculty at a disadvantageous position in terms of job evaluation and career advancement. As well, it illuminates how disciplinary differences concerning work process shape women faculty's capability of arranging work schedule flexibly. / Ph. D. / This study investigates first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant women faculty’s workplace experiences and their strategies for managing work and family demands. By looking at how immigration, ethnicity, gender, and work processes shape these women’s ideology and practices, this study addresses the following questions: How do married Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant women in research-intensive universities handle work and family conflicts? How do they negotiate their gender-role expectations and actual practices at work and home? And, finally, do their practices vary by academic disciplines based on the work processes involved in conducting research? Findings from this study suggest that based on different work processes, what may seem to be flexible can, in fact, present particular barriers and impede workplace performance. Finally, these findings show that in some academic fields, being women may place obstacles for career advancement, but that co-ethnic network provides alternative opportunities for them and can lead to greater research productivity.