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

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