Implications of Sex Role Ideology on Divorced Women: A Social Work Perspective

This research study aims to understand the implications of changes in sex role ideology on divorced women and how social workers and society support them. It explores the challenges faced by divorced women and provides recommendations for improving their position in society.

Running head: DISSERTATION
The Implications of sex role ideology on the experiences of divorced women; A social work
perspective
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The human society consist of two main genders that is the male gender and the female gender.
Throughout the development of human history, as the society has grown and progressed through
time, the roles played by the two genders in the society has also developed in different ways.
Soon, the male gender was seen to be the stronger of the two and they were deemed to be
capable to work in the public sphere. On the other hand, their female counterpart was seen to be
the weaker of the two genders. Although they were considered to be more responsible than the
males in respect of maintaining the ethics and customs of the society, they were denied a position
in the public sphere. They were required to be confined within the private sphere only within
their own homes and community. People did not question such a mindset even if they found it to
be inconvenient in nature. Moreover, even if certain women advocated against this, they were
condemned by the society, often by the other women of the society itself. However, with the turn
of the century, a new perspective soon emerged. The women started to make a place for
themselves in the society. The research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the
sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the
other members of the society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity. In
this regard, the research tries to understand the method which is employed in the making of the
research. In this manner, it is seen that there is qualitative analysis of the data which is collected
from the secondary resources which includes books, journals, articles and newspaper articles.
This information is linked and related to the research objective and a comprehensive picture is
developed. The research also provides certain recommendations on how the position of the
divorced women in the society can be improved with the help of the social workers and the other
members of the society.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................4
1.0 Overview................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Research Aim.........................................................................................................................5
1.2 Research Structure.................................................................................................................5
1.4 Summary................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Research Methodology..................................................................................................8
2.0 Overview................................................................................................................................8
2.1 Research Outline....................................................................................................................8
2.2 Research Philosophy..............................................................................................................8
2.2.1 Justification of research philosophy...............................................................................9
2.3 Research Approach................................................................................................................9
2.3.1 Justification of research approach..................................................................................9
2.4 Research Design..................................................................................................................10
2.4.1 Justification for research design...................................................................................10
2.5 Research Strategy................................................................................................................11
2.5.1 Justification of research strategy..................................................................................11
2.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................12
2.6.1 Justification of data collection process.........................................................................12
2.7 Data analysis technique.......................................................................................................12

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2.7.1 Justification of data analysis technique........................................................................13
2.8 Ethical Issues.......................................................................................................................13
2.9 Accessibility Issues..............................................................................................................13
2.10 Summary............................................................................................................................14
Chapter 3: Historical Background.................................................................................................15
3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................15
3.1 Theme 1: Sex role ideology as existed in the society before marriage...............................15
3.2 Theme 2: Sex role ideology as existed in the society during marriage...............................17
3.3 Theme 3: Sex role ideology as existed in the society after divorce.....................................20
3.4 Summary..............................................................................................................................23
Chapter 4: Core Understanding of the Research Study.................................................................24
4.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................24
4.1 Theme 1: Nature of the existence of divorce among the Asian women living in the United
Kingdom....................................................................................................................................24
4.2 Theme 2: The activity of the social workers in the context of the divorced women...........27
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................30
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation...............................................................................32
5.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................32
5.1 Recommendation.................................................................................................................33
5.2 Future Scope of Study.........................................................................................................35

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References:....................................................................................................................................36

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Overview
The human society consist of two main genders that is the male gender and the female
gender. Throughout the development of human history, as the society has grown and progressed
through time, the roles played by the two genders in the society has also developed in different
ways (Somech and Drach‐Zahavy 2016). Soon, the male gender was seen to be the stronger of
the two and they were deemed to be capable to work in the public sphere. On the other hand,
their female counterpart was seen to be the weaker of the two genders. Although they were
considered to be more responsible than the males in respect of maintaining the ethics and
customs of the society, they were denied a position in the public sphere (Levant and Richmond
2016). They were required to be confined within the private sphere only within their own homes
and community. In this manner, the two notions of the genders developed and imbibed itself
within the human civilization (Rajadhyaksha, Korabik and Aycan 2015). People did not question
such a mindset even if they found it to be inconvenient in nature. Moreover, even if certain
women advocated against this, they were condemned by the society, often by the other women of
the society itself. However, with the turn of the century, a new perspective soon emerged. The
women started to make a place for themselves in the society.
The end of the two world wars brought about many major changes in the human
civilization, one among them being the women protesting for their own political right (Bryman
2017). Although such protests were in existence since the era of the French Revolution, it never
gained so much of magnitude. The administration of political rights on the women further
emboldened the women to start agitating for more rights and freedom for themselves (van der
Vleuten et al. 2016). However, in this respect, one major characteristic feature which still

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remained embedded in the human society is the mindset and the opinion held by the people.
People, especially the male gender, still considers the women to the weaker of the two. As a
result, this poses a considerable problem for the divorced women (Somech and Drach‐Zahavy
2016). Divorced women are required to stay without a husband in a society which is highly
prejudiced against them. Such women are required to assume a more ‘masculine’ role for
themselves so that they may survive within the broader society. In this manner, such differences
in the sex roles played by the divorced women has a considerable implication not only on the
concerned individuals but also on the structuring of the society.
This, in turn, becomes one of the concerning field of analysis for the social workers who
are required to ensure the maintenance of peace and harmony in the society. In this regard, the
aid and support of the immediate families of the concerned women, the community they belong
to, their own society, all of them assume an important and significant role to play (Somech and
Drach‐Zahavy 2016). Thus, it depends upon the human society to change themselves in order to
reduce the implications of the assumed ‘masculine’ role of the divorced women to support
themselves. They should be allowed to maintain their individuality as well as their dignity.
1.1 Research Aim
The research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology
that a divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the
society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity.
1.2 Research Structure
Section one of the research provides a broad overview about the aim and purpose of the
research. It states the main problem area of the research which is to understand and analyze the

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implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and
how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to maintain their
individuality and integrity. Furthermore, it also provides a brief rationale for the study.
Section two of the research tries to understand the method which is employed in the
making of the research. In this manner, it is seen that there is qualitative analysis of the data
which is collected from the secondary resources which includes books, journals, articles and
newspaper artless.
Section three looks in to the various sources of literature which tries to understand the
historical back ground of the research study under investigation. In this respect, this chapter
looks at the evolution of the idea of sex roles and how they were differentiated from the
biological gender roles due to the contributions of the feminists. The work of certain notable
feminists have been discussed in this section to provide support to the findings.
Section four attempts to understand the core issue of the research study that is to
understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has
to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to
maintain their individuality and integrity.
Section five provides a concluding chapter of this research study which synthesizes all
the information which have been gathered and analyzed so far. This information is linked and
related to the research objective and a comprehensive picture is developed. This section also
provides certain recommendations on how the position of the divorced women in the society can
be improved with the help of the social workers and the other members of the society.

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1.4 Summary
To summarize this chapter tries to understand the main aim and purpose of the research.
The research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a
divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the
society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity. In this respect, this chapter
provides a systematic frame work on how the research develops in the following sections.

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Chapter 2: Research Methodology
2.0 Overview
This chapter aims to understand the various methodological instruments and mechanisms
that have been employed in the making of this research study. The research aims to understand
the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo
and how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to maintain
their individuality and integrity. For this purpose, a systematic understanding of the different
themes related to the study under investigation is necessary for the effective execution of the
research study.
2.1 Research Outline
The research tries to follow the positivism research philosophy, the deductive research
approach, descriptive research design while undertaking the study (Morse 2015). Moreover, the
research utilizes the secondary sources of data in order to find information and this data is
analysed with the aid of qualitative research analysis technique. It enables the researcher to gain
a subjective view of the research study under investigation. In other words, the sex role ideology
of the divorced Asian women and the various changes they have to undergo in order to sustain
themselves within the frame work of the United Kingdom has been analysed in a detailed
manner in this research study (Braun et al. 2019).
2.2 Research Philosophy
The research area consist of three different types of research philosophy such as
interpretivism, pragmatism and positivism. Under interpretivism research philosophy, the
researcher needs to understand the various differences that exist among the human beings while

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they live and work within the frame work of the human society (Creswell and Poth 2017).
Positivism research philosophy on the other hand, seeks to understand the research study under
investigation in a statistical manner. There is use of logic and rationality in order to reach the
conclusion (Nassaji 2015). Pragmatism research philosophy is quite complicated and hence, it is
hardly used in the making of any research.
2.2.1 Justification of research philosophy
In the making of this research study, the positivism research philosophy has been utilized.
This follows from the fact that there is a need to understand in a systematic manner the changes
in the sex role ideology among the divorced Asian women living within the frame work in the
United Kingdom. As a result of this, there is use of certain statistical data which needs to be
interpreted in a logical and rational manner. As a consequence, the use of positivism research
philosophy has been deemed to be essential in the effective execution of this research study
(Mayer 2015).
2.3 Research Approach
The two different types of research approach that are utilized in the making of any
research work are those of deductive research approach and inductive research approach.
Deductive research approach refers to the situation where there is a pre-existing hypothesis
statement that is attempted to be proven by the researcher with the aid of certain existing
concepts and theories (McCusker and Gunaydin 2015). However, inductive research approach
refers to the situation where there is no pre-existing hypothetical statement in the research. The
researcher creates new theories and concepts in order to prove his or her work.

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2.3.1 Justification of research approach
This research study under investigation has employed the use of deductive research
approach. This has enabled the researcher to understand the various theories and concepts that
need to be utilized in order to execute the research in a proper manner (Padgett 2016).
Furthermore, there was already an existing research aim provided in the research. The research
aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced
women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the society help
such women to maintain their individuality and integrity. This could be done efficiently with the
aid of deductive research approach as it works in a harmonious manner with the utilization of
research philosophy of positivism.
2.4 Research Design
In the making of an effective research study, there are three research designs which are
used. They are explanatory research design, exploratory research design and descriptive research
design. Explanatory research design seeks to explain the various reasons and the causes of a
particular incident under investigation (Carey 2017). On the other hand, exploratory research
design tries to explain the incident under investigation without seeking to provide any particular
reason or implication of the incident on the human society. Descriptive research design in a
combination of the above mentioned two types of research design (Patten and Newhart 2017).
2.4.1 Justification for research design
In this research study, there has been the use of descriptive research design. In other
words, the researcher has tried to understand the various reasons for the occurrence of divorce
among the Asian women living in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the researcher has also
tried to understand the changes in the sex role ideology of such women as a result of their

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divorce. In this process of exploring for the reasons, the researcher has sought to explain the
implications of this divorce on the women and on the larger society as a whole from a social
work perspective (Swinton and Mowat 2016). As a result, the employment of a descriptive
research design has been deemed to be appropriate in the making of this research.
2.5 Research Strategy
The various kinds of research strategies that are utilized for guiding a research study
includes those of interview, case study, action research and survey research strategy. Under
interview research strategy, the research tries to gather the data with the aid of questionnaire
(Moser and Korstjens 2018). This questionnaire consists of certain questions whose answers are
to be given by the people who have been chosen in the process. The case study research strategy
on the other hand, tries to consider one or two particular cases whose results are then generalized
in order to fit the research study under investigation. Action research strategy refers to the
situation where the researcher attempts to apply the real life incidents in the making of the
research (Moser and Korstjens 2018). Survey research strategy on the other hand, is quite similar
to interview research strategy. Under the survey research strategy, the researcher attempts to gain
the prevailing human opinion about the particular incident under study so that real life feedback
can be taken in to consideration.
2.5.1 Justification of research strategy
In the making of this research, the case study research strategy has been employed. The
research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a
divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the
society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity (Lampard and Pole 2015).
As a result of this, the researcher has tried to understand the impact of divorces on the Asian

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women living within the region of the United Kingdom. In this manner, the various women
belonging to the target population has been looked in to at detail with the help of the various
sources of literature or case studies.
2.6 Data collection process
In the process of making a research study, two different kinds of data collection process
are utilized. They are the primary data collection process and the secondary data collection
process. Under the primary data collection process, the research attempts to collect the data from
the people himself or herself (Archibald et al. 2015). Such data has not been previously posted in
any other form of literature and hence, is the first of its kind. Secondary data collection process
on the other hand, refers to the collection of data from the various secondary sources of literature
such as those of books, academic articles, journals, news paper articles and so on.
2.6.1 Justification of data collection process
In this research process the secondary data collection process has been utilized. As a
result, the various secondary sources of literature such as those of books, academic articles,
journals, news paper articles and so on has been used. In this regard, the researcher has attempted
to find out about the divorced Asian women living in the United Kingdom. For this, the various
secondary sources of books, journals, articles have been looked in to a detailed manner in order
to find the relevant data for the execution of the research.
2.7 Data analysis technique
There are two different kinds of data analysis technique. They include qualitative data
analysis technique and quantitative data analysis technique. Under qualitative data analysis
technique, the researcher makes a subjective analysis of the data that is provided in the research
study investigation. There is an in-depth analysis of the data in such a manner that all the various

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issues and implications are taken in to consideration (Archibald et al. 2015). On the other hand,
quantitative data analysis technique tries to understand the data from an objective point of view.
The researcher makes use of the various facts and figures in order to reach the conclusion. There
is no in-depth analysis of the data from a subjective point of view.
2.7.1 Justification of data analysis technique
In the making of this research study, the data analysis technique of qualitative analysis
has been utilized. In other words, the researcher has made an attempt to find a detailed analysis
of the various reasons that leads to divorce of the Asian women living within the United
Kingdom. Furthermore, the researcher has made an attempt to understand the implications of
such divorce on the changing sex role ideology of such women under consideration. In this
manner, the research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology
that a divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the
society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity (Archibald et al. 2015).
2.8 Ethical Issues
The various ethical issues that have been faced in the making of this research work is that
the researcher has tried to ensure that honesty and transparency is followed in the making of this
research. The data that has been gathered from the various secondary sources of literature has
been presented in their original form and no manipulation of data has been done in the process of
the work. Furthermore, the researcher has also sought to ensure that the validity and reliability of
the data is maintained. All the relevant information have been gathered in the making of this
research study. In other words, no data has been used which cannot hold the validity of the work.

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2.9 Accessibility Issues
The various accessibility issues that were faced in the making of this research study was
the constraint in time and the limited amount of monetary resources which was available. Due to
the limited amount of time, no primary sources of data collection was possible with the aid of
interviews. Secondary sources of data had to be relied in the making of this research.
Furthermore, the constraint in money made it impossible to analyse the living condition of all the
divorced women living in the United Kingdom. Only the Asian women were considered and the
implication of their divorces on the changes in their sex role ideology.
2.10 Summary
This chapter therefore aimed to understand the various methodological instruments and
mechanisms that have been employed in the making of this research study. The research aims to
understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has
to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to
maintain their individuality and integrity. For this purpose, a systematic understanding of the
different themes related to the study under investigation is necessary for the effective execution
of the research study.

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Chapter 3: Historical Background
3.0 Overview
This chapter aims to understand the historical issue of the problem of divorce. In other
words, the reason for divorce and its prevalence in the early time period of human existence has
been looked in to. In this manner, the sex role ideology of the two genders has been examined in
detail in the first section. Furthermore, the position of both the two genders that is the men and
the women are analyzed in this section of the research study in order to understand the roles
played by them in the society after their divorce. This had enabled the researcher to gain a
comprehensive understanding about the historical roles played by the women in the society
before and after their divorce.
3.1 Theme 1: Sex role ideology as existed in the society before marriage
Since the inception of the human civilization, it has been seen that the women gender has
always been considered to be subservient to their male counter parts. This flows from the fact
that the male genders have considered women to be secondary in nature to them (Levan and
Richmond 2016). Form the early stages of their birth, the men were taught that they are superior
to women because of their biological orientation. On the other hand, it meant that the women
gender was provided a degraded role in the society because of their biology. The biological
orientation of the two genders determined the roles played by them in the society. It led to the
differences in their cultural upbringing and the importance given to them by the other members
in the society (Flannery and Smith 2017). For instance, in the case of the male gender, they were
given a higher status in the society as compared to the female genders. Furthermore, according to
Rajadhyaksha et al. (2015) it was believed that the public sphere was the domain of activity of
the male gender due to the fact that they had the physical strength necessary in order to carry out

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more tiresome and hectic work. On the other hand, the women gender was considered to be the
weaker of the two because of the fact that they were more emotional in nature. While on one
hand the men were more rational oriented and used reason to justify or examine a particular issue
in the society, it was opinioned that women were more concerned about having a deeper
subjective understanding of the issue (Huyge, Van Maele and Van Houtte 2015). This subjective
interpretation that was made by most of the women were considered to be their weakness and
hence, people found the females of the world to be incompetent to participate in the public
sphere which necessitated a more logical orientation of the people. In this manner, the female
gender was given a much lesser status in the society as compared to their male counterpart.
This differences in the way that a man and a woman was seen in the eyes of the public
was further reiterated in the various cultural practices of the society. In the under developed
communities of the world, such as those belonging to the eastern hemisphere of the globe, van
der Vleuten et al. (2016), believed in the aspect that the men had a higher say in their life choices
than the women. This also meant that in the institution of marriage, it was the opinions of the
man which were taken for consideration and not the opinions of the woman. This is due to the
fact that the men were considered to be more ‘important’ for the structuring and functioning of
the society (Levant and Richmond 2016). The people believed that women were only important
for giving births to the male gender. In this respect, it can be observed that the birth of the female
gender was not hailed to be important in the human society.
Thus, it shows the sex role ideology of the two genders played in the society before the
institution of marriage. Since the ancient days, until today, not much differences have occurred.
According to Cox and O'Loughlin (2017), the women gender are still seen in a subservient light
were their wishes and desires are subsumed under those of their male counter parts. Furthermore,

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the opinions of the women are not taken in to consideration before they are compelled to marry a
person of the choice of their parents. This particular factor was in wide prevalence in the earlier
times of human history and can be observed in some of the communities within the different
nation states of the word. From this it follows, in the opinion of Luyt (2015), that the role played
by women is seen in a very negative light in the human society. They are considered to be beings
without any rights and freedoms and also, they do not have the liberty to make their own life
choices. It is the other people of the society, namely their parents and their close relatives who
makes their choices for them. They were not free to participate in any of the debates that
occurred in the public sphere and therefore, did not have any legal and political rights of their
own (Husnu and Mertan 2017). This had a significant repercussive impact on their social life in
the form of restricted freedom of themselves within their own household. Due to the secondary
position of the women in the society, the sex role ideology of the women can be opined to be
secondary in nature. This has a significant impact on their marriage life where their husbands
often fail to give them the much needed respect and admiration that they deserve. This also flows
from the fact that since women have lived much of their lives in a depressed and oppressed
state,. They themselves start to believe that they are not worthy of any respect and undertakes a
very forlorn image of themselves in the context of the society.
3.2 Theme 2: Sex role ideology as existed in the society during marriage
This section examines the role played by the two genders during the course of their
marriage. This is significant and important to understand because the nature of marriage and its
importance in the eyes of the society has not undergone radical changes in the modern times. In
this respect, the understanding of the historical background becomes important in this context.

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The institution of marriage was in existence since times immemorial and is still widely
prevalent in the human society according to Somech and Drach‐Zahavy (2016). In the earlier
times, it can be observed that people were married at a very young age. This situation was
especially prevalent in the under developed and developing countries of the world where people
were highly influenced by their religious scriptures and guidance. As a result of the interpretation
of the teachings of such religious scriptures. Particularly in the Asian countries, it can be seen
that people preferred to get their children married at a childhood age, ranging as low as ten years
of age on an average (Richmond, et al. 2015). There are various reasons due to which child
marriages was prevalent in this part of the word, one among them was that of patriarchy. The
imposition of the patriarchic nature of the society is the primary reason for the existence of the
secondary role of the women as played by them in the society. Due to the impact of patriarchy,
the fathers and the male gender of a household believed that the honor of the house rested in the
female of that household. The protection of such an honor was the most important need and the
only way to protect this honor was to get them married to a decent person of the society. The
faster that they would be able to get their girl child married off, they better protected their honor
would be. In this sense, it can be seen that the girl child was often seen as a burden of the
household (Lam and Lefkowitz 2016). There was an imminent tendency among the parents to
get rid of their girl child. The best way to do this was in the form of marriage as in lieu of
marriage, the parents stood to gain a considerable portioned dowry. In other words, when the
parent of a girl child sought to get her married to a man of the society, such parents had to give
certain amount of dowry to the parents of the male person in return for such marriage.
Besides child marriage, there were other forms of oppression done on the female gender
which was related to the institution of marriage. According to Ojeda et al. (2016), such

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oppression ensured the continued subservient role played by the female gender in their married
life. For instance, the female gender was not allowed to participate in the public sphere. Thus,
their educational opportunities was restricted to a significant extent by the male members of the
society. They were discouraged from educating themselves and instead, they were compelled to
engage in various household works. They were made to believe that serving their male counter
parts was the ultimate responsibility of the female gender (Thompson and Bennett 2015). Due to
such an existing view, the female gender often found it difficult to find any employment
opportunities. As a result of this, they could not sustain themselves in an independent manner
and had to depend on the activities of the male members in order to enjoy a decent standard of
living. This financial dependency on the male members made them a burden on their parents. In
this manner, the female child of a family was sought to married off to a bachelor of the society
without taking the opinions of the women in to consideration (Papazyan, Bui and Der-Karabetian
2016). She was seen as a burden whose responsibility had to be borne by their husbands.
In this manner, it can be noticed that the women were often forced or compelled to marry
a male person who were often strangers to them. In the words of O’Neil, Denke and Blazina
(2016), this is due to the fact that while women were encouraged to marry even before they hit
puberty, the male members were encouraged to pursue their education and to find employment
before they could marry. This meant that there often existed a considerable age gap between the
couple. Furthermore, according to Gerdes et al (2017), the women were often subjected to
various other physical and mental harassment in the course of their marriage even if they married
at a later stage of their lives. Domestic abuse, the restrain on the exercise of their freedom,
forbidding them to participate in the public sphere, all culminated together to the suppression of

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the female gender. In other words, after marriages, the females were not allowed to participate in
any of the activities in the public sphere nor had a say in any of the matter in the society.
In this manner, it can be observed that the role played by the women before and during
their marriage was almost similar during the ancient days of the human society. According to
Horne and Johnson (2018), the institution of marriage did not change the lives of the women for
the better. Instead, it turned in for the worse as the women had to live with a stranger and was
under his protection. He had the ultimate responsibility of her and could treat her in any way he
preferred. In this sense, it can be seen that women were often treated as a ‘property’ of their
husbands, which meant that any physical abuse and mental abuse done by the partner was not
legally punishable (Berryman-Fink, Ballard-Reisch and Newman 2015). As a result, the women
continued to play the role of a secondary gender in the course of human history.
3.3 Theme 3: Sex role ideology as existed in the society after divorce
This section seeks to examine and understand the issue of divorce as it existed in the
human society in the ancient days. Divorce is considered to be that state where a man is legally
separated from his wife in the eyes of the law. The factor of divorce has always occupied a
significant place of debate in the human society due to its nature which favors the male gender
and oppresses the female gender.
The historical underpinnings of the factor of divorce can be understood by looking at the
various reasons due to which divorce existed. According to Bell (2017), the higher status enjoyed
by the male gender in the society meant that they had all the power imbibed within them. This
was also pertinent in the case of marriage. For instance, if a particular male member of the
society was unhappy with his wife,. Then he had the power to be separated from her. This
separation would be accepted by the society as they believe that the comfort and the happiness of

23DISSERTATION
the male people of the community is much more important than that of the female person (Hutt
2017). Even if the wife was not at fault, he would still have the power to be separated from her.
The position of the female after this stage of divorce is deteriorated further within the society.
The women were already treated as a secondary gender in the society. They were not
given much rights and freedom by their family. They did not have the right to be educated or be
employed. After their marriage to their husbands the women gained some amount of right as the
head female member of the household (Suar and Gochhayat 2016). Even though it did not mean
anything significant, the rights and the freedom of the wives depended upon the nature of their
husbands. In other words, if their husband allowed it then the wives had the freedom to
participate in the public sphere. However, they were mostly seen as the people who gave birth to
the male members of the future generation (Seron et al. 2016). Failing to do this and giving birth
to a girl child was seen as a grave mistake on the part of the wives. This besmirched position of
the women was further degraded after the issue of divorce.
Various reasons existed for which divorce accorded in the ancient period of human
history. One of the most common reason for divorce was that of the failure of the wives to give
birth to a male child. According to Lawson, Crouter and McHale (2015), society was ignorant in
nature as not much information was available to them. Furthermore, the factor of the patriarchal
nature of the human society meant that all the blame was put on the female gender. The males
were considered to be the most important constituent of the human civilization and it was their
presence due to which the society functioned in an efficient manner (Szirom 2017). The women
were only considered important so far as they gave birth to a male child. Failure to do this meant
that the husbands had no further utility for their wives and hence, separated from them.
Furthermore, divorce even existed even if the women did nothing wrong. It depended on the

24DISSERTATION
whims and fancies of the male counter parts to decide who their wives would be. In this manner,
they often engaged in the marriage to different women and lived with all of them simultaneously.
According to Allen and Barker (2018), they did not factor in the emotional strain that would be
faced by the wives as a result of this. Although, in such instances, the man did not divorce any of
his wives, but the women enjoyed a very subservient nature as each of them would be trying to
occupy a respectable position within the household and within the society. This situation further
degraded the position of the women in the eyes of the society.
In the ancient days, the position of the women further degraded as a result of their
divorce. After divorce, the women were subjected to a number of problems (Fineman 2016). The
firs problem faced by them was in the economic field. In the words of Casad, Salazar and
Macina (2015), since the women were highly discouraged from undertaking any part in the
employment services, they did not have any means to sustain themselves after divorce. They
could not work as the human society did not allow women members to work except in certain
positions. These positions were so less remunerative that it was not possible for a divorced
women to enjoy a decent standard of living from the income earned by working in such jobs
(Gittins 2017).
Another important problem faced by the women after divorce was that of the social
stigma they were attached with. Due to their secondary position on the society and the fact that
they were rejected by the man who had undertaken the path to protect her, the divorced women
were looked down upon by the other members of the society (Dainton 2015). The chance of her
returning back to her own family would be very slim as there was a tendency among the parent
to disown their girl child after marriage and even more so after they were divorced. No other
male members of the society would marry her as she would be seen to be the person who was

25DISSERTATION
earlier married to another person but was left by him. The husband and his family, furthermore,
would not take any responsibility for her either financially or socially. All this meant that the
divorced women were put under severe distress and humiliation after divorce. In this regard,
according to Platt and Polavieja (2016), it can be observed that the percentage of the women
voluntarily divorcing her husband was quite less in the earlier time period. They were scared that
they would not be able to cope with all the social and the financial problems that would follow
thereafter. As a result, they would often decide to remain with their husbands, no matter the level
of oppression they would have to endure as a result of it.
3.4 Summary
To summarize, this chapter has tried to understand the historical background of the
position of the women in the context of the institution of marriage. In this sense, the societal
position of the women before their marriage, during their marriage and after divorcing their
husbands, has been examined in detail in this chapter. The research aims to understand the
implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and
how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to maintain their
individuality and integrity. The understanding of such historical underpinnings has therefore
enabled the researcher to gain a wider and comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand.

26DISSERTATION
Chapter 4: Core Understanding of the Research Study
4.0 Overview
This chapter seeks to understand the issue of divorce as is existing among the Asian
women living within the region of the United Kingdom. The reason for their divorce and the
lives of the women following such divorce has also been looked in to in this chapter. Examining
and analyzing the changes in the sex role ideology of such women following the divorce is the
main aim of this section of the research study under investigation. In this respect, the work of the
social workers in aiding such people has also been analyzed in detail.
4.1 Theme 1: Nature of the existence of divorce among the Asian women living in
the United Kingdom
The process of globalization has brought about many changes in the composition of the
different nation states of the world. One of the major changes of globalization that can be noticed
in the contemporary word of today is that of migration (England 2017). Due to migration, the
different communities of the world have migrated to the various parts of the globe and have
significantly changed the demographical composition of the native places. For instance,
according to Dixon (2017), many communities from the under developed and developing
countries of the world have migrated to the developed and advanced nation states of the globe in
search for a better life opportunity. In this manner, it can be observed within the context of the
United Kingdom that there exists a host of multicultural communities within the country. In this
respect, the United Kingdom has come to be known as a multi-cultural country where different
people belonging to different communities coexist within the country in a harmonious manner.

27DISSERTATION
However, a major problem that can be observed to be prevailing in the context of the
United Kingdom is the different positions enjoyed by the women as depending upon the
communities they belong to (Barnett, Öz and Marsden 2018). Even though most of the
communities have migrated to a developed country such as that of the United Kingdom, they
have not brought about any changes in their cultural practices or in their customs and traditions.
In this respect, it becomes important to analyze the position of women as enjoyed by them in the
context of the Asian community living within the region of the United Kingdom.
The Asian community is considered to be a superstitious community by orientation. As a
result, according to Levant et al. (2017), they adhere to the religious teachings in a consistent
manner. The position of women in this part of the world, as a consequence, have not changed
since the inception of the human civilization and the birth of such religious practices. The
migration of the Asian community to the developed countries of the world have done little to
bring about a change in their perception about the gender roles played by the two genders in the
society (Pinsof and Haselton 2016). Thus, the women are still considered to play a secondary
role as compared to the higher status of the men in the society. In this regard, it becomes
important to understand the changes in the sex role ideology of the Asian women who live within
the community of the United Kingdom. In the Asian community of the United Kingdom, divorce
is still seen to be something of a social stigma. According to Millett (2016), even though the
position of the women has improved to a considerable extent where they are allowed to make
their own life choices, they are often discouraged from participating in any divorce situations. In
this manner, it can be seen that the Asian community often compel their women to stay in their
marriages even if they face any kind of problems from their respective husbands.

28DISSERTATION
In the event that the women have to undergo a divorce with their husbands, certain
changes can be noticed in the sex role ideology that is played by them in the society. In the
words of Newton (2016), society is not favorable to the women in any manner. The patriarchal
nature of the society is still in existence in the modern world, even after the imposition of the
feminist trends in the globe. People still give a lot of importance and significance to the male
gender as compared to their female counterpart. In this manner, when a female undergoes a
divorce from her husband, she as to ace a lot of challenges and obstacles (Horstman 2016). Often
times it is noticed that such females are not employed. As a result of this, they face a lot or
monetary issues as a result of their financial constraints. They struggle to provide the necessary
means of subsistence to sustain themselves in the form of food and shelter. Furthermore, the
divorced women also faces a lot of societal issues. For instance, they are looked down by the
other members of the society (DeKeseredy, Dragiewicz and Schwartz 2017). Remarriage often
becomes a problem for them as no one in their community would marry them as a result of their
divorces. The women themselves are so mentally and emotionally broken down that they find it
difficult to keep up with the constant struggles they have to undergo in the course of their
divorced lives. In this respect, according to DeKeseredy, Dragiewicz and Schwartz (2017), it can
be observed that the divorced women prefers to behave in a more ‘masculine’ manner in order to
fend off all the different types of problems that they encounter as a result of their divorce. This
follows from the fact that the society is more forgiving to a male divorced member than a female
divorced member. The women, as a result, starts to find employment after their divorces, begin
to think in a more logical and rational manner as to how she would live her life (De Vaus et al.
2017). In essence, she tries to give up her emotional side which makes her a woman in the first

29DISSERTATION
place. She starts to believe that being emotional would mean a weakness on her part. In this
regard, she tries to assume the gender role of a ‘man’ and tries to forego her ‘woman’ nature.
4.2 Theme 2: The activity of the social workers in the context of the divorced women
In the recent contemporary period, a trend has been noticed among the Asian community
in the region of the United Kingdom. There has been an increase in the number of divorced
women in this community and this has led them to seek aid and support from the different social
workers and self-help groups in the society (Konstam et al. 2016). This is a quite an interesting
trend as the number of divorce has arisen exponentially in the context of Asian community. Even
two decades back, the number of divorced women was considerably less in this Asia community
and was largely from the middle income class group. However, in the recent time period. People
of all class groups have started to file for divorce within this community. The increase in the
rates of divorce can be attributed to the factor of domestic abuse. In the ancient times, the women
gender was encouraged to overlook the instances of domestic abuse (Stone 2017). They were
taught by the members of the community that they should try to bear and adjust themselves with
the actions of their husbands. This flowed from the fact that the women had no standing of their
own in the society. They were depended on their male counterparts in order to survive in this
human civilization. However, towards the end of the twentieth century, the human society
eventually acknowledged the important position of the women in the community. They realized
that women were equal to that of the men and hence, they deserve certain rights and freedoms
that are guaranteed to their male counterpart. According to Bourassa, Sbarra and Whisman
(2015), discrimination among the two genders was made a punishable offence by nature. This is
important to understand in the context of the institution of the marriage as the superior position

30DISSERTATION
of the men in their marriages, now changed drastically after the twentieth century. They could no
longer get away with domestic abuse under the pretext of patriarchy.
The women started to realize that they were suppressed for so long and now they would
not have to bear with their husbands if they so desired (Killewald 2016). They could file for
divorce which would be socially accepted in the eyes of the law. As a result of this new found
freedom from years of suppression and oppression, the women started to exercise their rights in
the form of filing for divorce. As a result of this, the percentages of divorced women has
increased to a significant level in the region of the United Kingdom, pertaining to the Asian
community. The women therefore, are required to cope with themselves and their dependents
after this initial period divorce. This is where the element of social work comes to play an
important role.
Divorce has a serious psychological implication for both the concerned genders. The men
and women in the marriage, in the words of DeKeseredy, Dragiewicz and Schwartz (2017), both
suffer as a result of this separation. However, in the event that that women has separated from
the man in the case of domestic abuse, the women suffers more than the male counterpart. There
are several designated social workers whose main purpose is to aid the divorced members of the
society to find themselves in a stable position after undergoing this mental trauma (Tamborini,
Reznik and Couch 2016). This research study under investigation aims to understand the
implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and
how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to maintain their
individuality and integrity. As a result, the work of the social workers with respect to the Asian
divorced women are taken in to consideration in this research study.

31DISSERTATION
The work of the social workers is quite difficult in this regard. According to Perelli‐
Harris et al. (2017), a range of problems are faced by the divorced women as has been explained
above. For instance, the women are emotionally weakened. They do not have any support system
as a result of them ending the ties with her husband (Reed, Lucier-Greer and Parker 2016). They
cannot move back to their parents’ house since society does not see this in a favorable light.
Furthermore, they are often required to take care of their children who prefer to stay with their
mothers rather than the fathers. Apart from the emotional problem, they are often subjected to
certain societal challenges (Asanjarani et al. 2017). Even though the women gender has started to
enjoy all the rights and freedoms as compared to her male counterpart, this issue is relatively
new. People still see the female gender to be secondary as that of the male gender and therefore,
start to malign and doubt the character and personality of a women who has been divorced. In
this respect, according to Olivetti and Rotz (2016), it can be seen that the blame for divorce in
the modern time period is still placed on the wives, rather than that of the man. Since it is the
duty and obligation of the wives to oversee the harmonious growth and development of the
household, any obstacle in this in considered to be a failure on the part of the women. As a result
of this, the members of the society blame the women for the divorce (Vanassche, Corijn and
Matthijs 2015). Besides such emotional and societal challenges, one another severe challenge
faced by the divorced women is that of finances. Since women are still discouraged from taking
any active participation in the field of employment, especially within the Asian community, such
women do not have the necessary finances to sustain themselves. Before marriage, they were
dependent on their parents and after marriage, on their husbands. As a result, they often face a
severe obstacle after divorce as to how to sustain themselves (Rotz 2016). This is one of the most

32DISSERTATION
important factor due to which the women try to make amends with their husbands instead of
divorcing them.
In this context, social work becomes important. According to Brown and Wright (2017),
it is the responsibility and obligation of the social workers to ensure that there is prevalence of
harmony and peace in the society. This harmony and peace has to be maintained for all the
different members coexisting in the community, including that of the divorced women. Since
most of the divorced women do not have any support system, it depends on the social workers to
ensure that they are properly integrated in to the functioning of the society. According to
Andersson, Obućina and Scott (2015), the divorced women often face a sense of self dejection as
a result of their divorces. They lose self confidence in themselves and start to see themselves as
the weaker and vulnerable person of the society. In this respect, it becomes important for the
social workers to ensure that the confidence of the divorced women are boosted. They can
undertake certain measures in this respect for instance, they can educate the women about their
importance in the society. Furthermore, according to Abramovitz (2017), the divorced women
can be made aware of the various forms of domestic abuse and be appreciated for their courage
to come out of this form of mental trauma. The social workers can also undertake certain other
measures in the sense that they can try to provide employment to the divorced women. It is
believed that with financial empowerment, the self-confidence of the people increases. If such
women are made to participate in a remunerative work, then they would be able to gain a source
of income which would guarantee their independent position on the society (Mirowsky 2017).
Furthermore, this factor of finances would enable the divorced women to find a stable position
for themselves in the society in respect of the other members of the society. In this manner,
according to Holt (2016), the social workers, as a result, should try to provide all the necessary

33DISSERTATION
support in the form of emotions and finances to the divorced women. They are the in a
vulnerable state as a result of their situation and this state can only be overcome as a result of the
hard work of the social workers.
4.3 Summary
To summarize, this chapter understands the aspect of the social work and its importance
in the field of divorce. Divorce has a concerning societal and psychological implications on the
people who has to undergo it. As a result of this, they have to depend on the activity of the social
workers whose primary objective is to instill peace and harmony in the community. The
research aims to understand the implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a
divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the other members of the
society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity. As a result, this chapter
effectively analyses the importance and significance of social work in the context of divorced
women in the Asian community belonging to the region of the United Kingdom.

34DISSERTATION
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation
5.0 Conclusion
In conclusion it can be observed that the problem of divorce is quite challenging for the
female gender living in the human society. They have to face a number of problems in the
society with respect to the fact that they have decided to live separately from their husband. In
the ancient days, such an activity was widely discouraged and was rarely in existence. The
women were never allowed to seek divorce from their male counter parts. In the event that
divorce was absolutely necessary, it only depended on the whims and fancies of the husband. In
other words, it was only under his direction that divorce could be granted between the couple.
However, while this male counterpart had the freedom to be accepted in the society as he is, the
divorced women lost his dignity and integrity. The women already enjoyed a subservient
position in the society as a result of their biological orientation. The fact that they were rejected
by their husband meant that something was inherently wrong with them. As a result, the other
members of the society sought to be separated from them and prevented any form of
communication being taking place with such divorced women. Situations changed for the better
towards the end of the twentieth century when the women were granted all those rights and
freedom that were guaranteed to their male counterpart. In this respect, any form of
discrimination between the two genders was prevented and both of them were give equal status
in the society. However, the effective implementation of this equality is still in need in the
society. Even in the developed countries of the world such as the United Kingdom, the factor of
divorce is widely frowned upon in the society. For instance, in the Asian community of the
United Kingdom, the women are discouraged from undergoing a divorce from their husband. In
the event that they do so, they are societally discriminated against and lose their position in their

35DISSERTATION
own community. In this respect, the role of the social workers come to the lime light. The work
of the social worker is to ensure that the society maintains its harmonious and peaceful nature. In
this respect, it becomes obligatory on the social workers to provide for a decent standard of
living to the divorced women of the society. Since they are socially discriminated against, it
depends upon the social workers to ensure that they are able to find a job which is remunerative
to them. This enables the divorced women to find a stable position for themselves in the society.
Furthermore, the social workers try to ensure that the psychological implications of divorce is
minimized among such women. In this respect, they seek to provide them with certain
educational guidelines and teachings which inspires the divorced women to find their emotional
strength back. All these different actions of the social workers in the context of the divorced
women is considered to be important as it is due to the activities of such workers that the women
are able to find a place for themselves in the society. The research aims to understand the
implications of the changes in the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and
how the social workers and the other members of the society help such women to maintain their
individuality and integrity. In this manner, the research has succeeded I understanding the critical
role played by the social workers in the context of the Asian divorced women living in the region
of the united Kingdom.
5.1 Recommendation
Women have always enjoyed a secondary position in the society when compared to their
male counterpart. They are seen to be the weaker of the two and hence, not much importance has
been given to them. However, in the contemporary times, there has been a need to change the
status of the women. The position of the women can be reformed in the society if certain changes
are brought about. In this manner, certain recommendations have been made in order to ensure

36DISSERTATION
that the position of the women, especially, the position of the divorced women are changed for
the better in the human society. The first recommendation in the form of providing education to
the women. In this regard, it can be stated that the first and foremost requirement of the human
civilization s to provide the necessary education to the women and the men alike, in the same
level (Berkman et al. 2015). No human being should be discriminated against based on their
gender. The education received as a result would go a long way in providing self-confidence to
the women and ensuring that they are able to fend for themselves in the future. According to
Beaumont (2016), better educational opportunities would automatically lead to a better life
standard of the people as a consequence of their career growth. Thus, it can be observed that of
the women are provided with the necessary education, they would be able to find better
employment opportunities which would help them to be financially independent. Thus, they
would not have to depend on anyone for their finances. In this manner, the biggest worry of the
divorced women that they would be left without finances, would be tackled by this
recommendation (Hafford-Letchfield et al. 2017). In this regard, the activity of the social work is
important. The social workers should take it upon themselves to provide the important
educational opportunities to the women at all ages of life.
The second recommendation that can be provided to the improvement of the living
standard of the divorced women is by bringing a change in the mindset of the community itself
(Berns 2018). It has been observed that even though the under developed communities of the
world have migrated to the advanced countries of the western hemisphere in the hopes of finding
a better life opportunity, they have failed to bring about a change in their culture (Das 2016). The
developed countries are guided by the principles of liberalism and broad outlook to life. In this
regard, the communities should be encouraged to reform their backward cultures and traditions

37DISSERTATION
as a result of adherence to such principles of liberalism. This would help the women of such
communities. The stigma which is attached to the factor of divorce flows from the traditional
mindset of the people. They are of the idea that women cannot provide for themselves and that
they should not be left alone in the society (Pearse and Connell 2016). In order to protect the
honor of the family, it is imperative that women should be kept married. In this manner, the work
of the social worker becomes important. They should ensure that those women who want to be
separated from their husband on legal grounds, should have the opportunity to do so (Duberley
and Carmichael 2016). Moreover, there should be any kind of societal pressure or financial
constraint impeding a women from following her decisions in a logical and rational manner.
5.2 Future Scope of Study
This research is significant as it enables the audience to understand the various challenges
faced by a divorced women in the society. Furthermore, the work of a social worker has also
been analyzed in this context. The research aims to understand the implications of the changes in
the sex roles ideology that a divorced women has to undergo and how the social workers and the
other members of the society help such women to maintain their individuality and integrity. In
this regard, the future works can draw data and information from this research study regarding
the invaluable work done by the social workers in aiding the divorced women to find their place
in the society by giving them important financial motivations and self-confidence.

38DISSERTATION
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42DISSERTATION
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43DISSERTATION
McCusker, K. and Gunaydin, S., 2015. Research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed
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44DISSERTATION
Olivetti, C. and Rotz, D.E., 2016. Changes in marriage and divorce as drivers of employment
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45DISSERTATION
Reed, K., Lucier-Greer, M. and Parker, T.S., 2016. Exploring parental divorce among emerging
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46DISSERTATION
Thompson Jr, E.H. and Bennett, K.M., 2015. Measurement of masculinity ideologies: A (critical)
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