women's reactions to job loss: the moral dilemmas of a plant closing

Women's Reactions to Job Loss: The Moral Dilemmas of a Plant Closingx

Suzanna Smith

Suzanna Smith is Assistant Professor of Human Development in the Home Economics Department at the University of Florida. Her research is concentrated on women, households, and rural development in the Southern U.S. and Third World.

ABSTRACT BIue collar women in declining industries tend to suffer permanent job loss as a result of dislocation, and women living in rural areas may be particularly vulnerable to extended unemployment. Relatively little is known about their experiences, in part because existing conceptual models do not adequately represent women's perspectives. In this study it is proposed that an ethic of care, as conceptualized by Carol Gilligan, shapes women's interpretations of the meaning of job dislocation. Gilligan's constructs are applied to a study of middle aged women who were dislocated when an apparel manufacturing plant in their rural Southern community closed unexpectedly. The focus is on three moral dilemmas and the opportunities for growth that occurred as a result of the crisis, as women reconstructed the meaning of the experience. The potential contributions of the ethic of care perspective to other studies of job loss is discussed.

The recent proliferation of research on women's employment has not been paralleled by studies of their unemployment, although women are disproportionately represented among the jobless and are more likely than men to suffer permanent work loss as a result of job dislocation (Flaim and Sehgal, 1985). Blue-collar women who are concentrated in declining industries such as textile and apparel manufacturing have been particularly vulnerable to job dislocation as a result of increased foreign competition, capital reinvestment, the introduc- tion of labor saving technology, and the overseas transfer of manufacturing. These developments have resulted in numerous job cutbacks and plant closures (Flaim and Sehgal, 1985; Southeast Women's Employment Coali- tion, 1986). Nonmetropolitan residents living in counties that are primarily dependent on manufacturing for employment may experience extended unemployment (Brown and Deavers, 1987; Southeastern Women's Employment Coalition, 1986). Dislocated women have been found to suffer high levels of demoralization with unemployment, and to experience economic stresses similar to those of men (Perrucci, Perrucci, Targ, and Targ, 1985; Rosen, 1987; Snyder and Nowak, 1984).

Although women's unemployment has received increased attention in recent years (Perrucci, Perrucci, Targ, and Targ, 1988; Rosen, 1987), scholars continue to

call for additional theoretical as well as empirical work to untangle the dimensions of women's experiences (Radcliff and Bogdan, 1988; Starrin and I.arson, 1987; Rosen, 1987; Voydanoffand Donnelley, 1989). One facet of job loss that has not been explored for either dislocated men or women is their interpretations of the moral issues surrounding a plant closing (Wart', 1987).

In this paper a feminist conceptual framework Carol Gilligan's (1982a) model of moral conflict and the ethic of care - - is applied to a study of women's job dislocation. This model has previously been used to describe other aspects of women's development in adult- hood. Here the constructs are used to interpret women's experience of job loss by describing the moral dilemmas inherentinadjustment, and the consequences forwomen's continued growth. Qualitative data are used in which women describe their experience "in their own words" (Belenky et al., 1986). This is not an empirical test of GiUigan's theory, but is an exploration of its usefulness in explaining women's experiences of plant closings and their subsequent unemployment. Comparable data on men's experiences are not analyzed, but hypothetical differences could be generated and addressed in further research. Before discussing the study, the rationale be- hind the choice of the Gilligan model is reviewed.

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AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES - SUMMER 1991

Models Of Job Loss

One prominent theme in the literature on reaction to job loss is that a stage-like process of adjustment occurs after the event and follows a pattern of intense emotional reaction and gradual resolution (for a review see Berrero, 1980; Briar, 1978; Hill, 1977). This reaction has been often compared to a grief response and includes denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Hurst and Shepard, 1986). Some of the most moving accounts of reactions to job loss are descriptions of the shock of the initial announcement; the painful feelings of betrayal, powerlessness, and loss; and the deep anger at being hurt and disrespected, despite years of loyal contributions to the company (Rosen, 1987). However, most of these studies have been conducted during the months immedi- ately following job loss and may therefore not be descrip- tive of the longterm adjustment process (Snyder and Nowak, 1984).

Role transition and stress models are focused on individual response to a stressful event and subsequent adoption of new roles, behaviors, and ways of thinking. Particular attention has been given to the influence of intervening variables such as perception of stress, sense of mastery, social support, health, demographic characteristics, and economic conditions (Kinicki, 1985; Perrucci et al., 1985; Kasl and Cobb, 1979). These models are useful for examining the immediate impact of an event and short term adjustment, but do not examine the meaning of the event in the context of the person's life course.

From a life course perspective, the impact of an event ultimately would be evaluated in terms of its long-term consequences for individual and family development and would give way to a new life course trajectory (see, for example, McLanahan and Sorenson, 1985). Neverthe- less, life cycle models are not sufficient for understanding women's experiences. Previous observers have noted that Erikson's model of life course development, which is based on observations about men's development, may not hold for women. In addition, the life course is embedded in the social and economic context that structures opportunities, choices, and attitudes toward the loss (Rosen, 1987).

A preliminary examination of qualitative data from the study of dislocated rural women that is discussed here indicated that the stage, role transition/stress, and life cycle frameworks were each useful. Two major themes that supported these frameworks were recurrent. First, from the women's perspective, the meaning of the plant closing went much beyond the initial period of loss. The job loss was not seen as an isolated event but launched the woman on a new life course trajectory that in turn affected individual development. Second, this transitional process and subsequent development were fundamentally influenced by the women's perceptions of the event, of themselves, and of the options that were open to them. Thus, women's interpretations seemed to have an impact on her feelings about the experience at the time the

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study was conduced. A closer look at the data revealed that no model alone was adequate. The data revealed that underlying these concepts, which were drawn from existing models, was a set of moral principals and dilemmas. This ethic of care had a fundamental influence on women's response to the closing and ultimately influenced their interpretation of the crisis and their individual development.

Conceptual Framework The organizing framework of the analysis is derived from Carol Gilligan's (1982a) research on moral development in women. The framework explains women's interpretation of crises and their development in terms of moral orientation. According to Gilligan, an ethic of care is central to women's individual identity and development. Gilligan introduced her framework as a corrective to Kohlberg's theory of moral development, which she found unsatisfactory in its treatment of women (Houston, 1988). She found that Kohlberg's stages of moral development, which were based on studies of boys' experiences, essentially rendered incomprehensible the very different experiences of girls (Kerber et al., 1986).

Gilligan proposes that as a consequence of early childhood experiences of identification and separation, men and women see themselves in fundamentally different ways (1982a). Men view themselves as separate and autonomous from others, whereas women see themselves as responsible for maintaining relationships or providing care to others. These perceptions of self influence moral judgments because their resolution pertains to conflicts in the relation of self to others (Gilligan, 1982b).

The differences observed in childhood also appear at later stages of development. For adult men, morality is based on fairness and on rights, whereas for women it is based on responsibility. According toGilligan (1982a:32), for men the moral imperative is to respect the rights of others while protecting their own rights to autonomy and self-fulfdlment; in the "logic of fairness" men find an objective way to resolve disputes. Women see life as "dependent on connection, as sustained by activities of care, as based on a bond of attachment rather than a contract of agreement"; the injunction is to care, to alleviate trouble (Gilligan, 1982a:57,100).

The emergent problem in women's development is not the value they place on caring for and connection with others, or even in def'ming serf in relation to others; rather, it is in the "tendency of women 'in the name of virtue" to give care only to others and to consider it 'selfish" to care for themselves" (Kerber et al., 1986:332). This dilemma between self and other is the central moral problem in a culture that values moral autonomy: How can a woman remain true to herself and compassionate toward others, and how can she resolve personal conflicts without hurting others? The essence of the moral decision is, then, the willingness to exercise choice and accept responsibility for that choice.

According to Gilligan (1982a), at each step of moral development the tension between self and other creates a dilemma that must be resolved before moving on to the next stage. In the first stage the individual is concerned with herself in order to ensure survival. In the transitional phase the previous self-concern is criticized as "selfish". During the second phase the individual is principally concerned with moral goodness, which is centered around caring for others. However, if recipients of care are legitimized through the woman's love and self-sacrifice while she experiences inequality or confusion between self-sacrifice and care, a disequilibrium may be created that initiates the second transition.

In the third phase the individual reaches a new understanding of the connection between self and other. Care becomes a principle of judgement that is chosen by the individual and expressed in individual relationships, while serving as a universal principle of condemnation of exploitation and hurt. This results in an increasing differ- entiation of self and other and a recognition that self and other are interdependent. By involving an active give and take between self and other, care does not have to be selfless and passive. This reconstruction of goodness may, however, throw women into conflict with societal ideals of women's caregiving roles and confront them with difficult choices about whether to push through the conflicts or maintain accepted roles.

Despite considerable interest, there has also been widespread criticism of Gilligan's work on several grounds, including essentialism and cultural feminism (Walker, 1983; Broughton, 1983), methodological pro- cedures (Kerbo et al., 1986; Nails, 1983), the suppression of women's anger (Hayles, 1986), a weakness in explaining transitions from one stage to another (Auerbach etal., 1985), a dualism that renders women inferior to men in their moral development (Nails, 1983; Tronto, 1987), its apolitical and acontextual nature (Auerbach et al., 1985) and Gilligan's interpretation oftheKohlberg model (Kerbo et aL, 1986). These criticisms are serious and valid, but do not erase the possibility of a women's morality (Houston, 1988) or the importance of abroader ethic of care (Tronto, 1987). Furthermore, some of the charges leveled against Gilligan's theory may be addressed without entirely dismissing its important contributions. This paper is not concerned with whether or not GiUigan was correct in her criticism of Kohlberg or the accuracy of the Kohlberg model. The purposes are to apply Gilligan's constructs to a particular crisis in the lives of women in one community, and to examine the usefulness of the model in broadening and deepening the understanding of women's job dislocation due to rural plant closings.

The focus of this paper is the central moral dilemmas and decisions that confront women as they evaluate the impact of a plant closing and determine how they are going to carry on with their lives. The study population was middle-aged women living in a rural community, a group that is considerably different from Gilligan's young

Smith: Women's Reaction to Job Loss.

adult, highly educated urban sample. The crisis these older women faced was different, i.e., job loss due to a plant closing versus decision making regarding abortion. The success of the application of Gilligan's concepts to this different group is assessed. The discussion is inter- pretive rather than statistical, drawing on women's own words to crystalize the central moral dilemmas in their response to the closing.

In this application of Gilligan's model, it was expected that women would see sudden job loss as a crisis and that they would evaluate the closing in terms of right and wrong. These interpretations of the morality of the closing would also encompass other moral dilemmas regarding women's individual identity and their decisions about the future. These decisions in turn would affect women's development.

The Plant and the Women The data used as a basis for this discussion were drawn from a study of women who lost their jobs when a multinational apparel plant closed in a rural nonfarm Georgia community. The plant was known as a desirable place to work because the company paid a respectable starting hourly wage and production bonus and offered an excellent benefit plan that included vacation pay and

affordable family medical and dental benefits. In July, 1985 the closing of the plant was announced. Within two months all production had ceased and over 300 women had been laid off. All employees were entitled to govern- ment unemployment insurance benefits. The company provided severance pay and some assistance in preparing for a job search. Women who were 55 and older received full retirement benefits, which were quite substantial for those who had worked at the plant for a number of years. Women under 55, however, received only a portion of their retirement benefits, regardless of their years of employment at the company. When this study was conducted a year and a half after the closing, the distribution of retirement benefits was still a point of contention.

All plant employees were eligible for federally spon- sored job training programs. Considering that many of these women had spent all of their work lives in one manufacturing plant, job retraining could have been a virtual necessity for locating jobs outside the manufacturing sector or in similar jobs at comparable wage and benefit levels. Although some women did choose to enroll in classroom training programs, the nearest voca- tional technical schools were located almost an hour's drive away; this distance was too far to travel for many women who were maintaining family and community responsibilities.

Study participants were located through the snow- ball sampling technique. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at homes or work sites. Participants were asked to respond to a number of psychosocial and work- related interview items, but they were also asked to discuss one qualitative question, "Would you describe

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your reaction to the plant closing?" The response format was open-ended and participants in general quite freely recounted a series of events and corresponding emotions and activities. They were prompted about their reaction to the announcement of the closing, what occurred in the few months thereafter, and up until the time the survey was conducted. When participants had difficulty, the interviewer provided more direction (e. g., "How did you feel about the plant closing?" "How do you feel about it now?"). The subsample included here (n=65) was com- posed 0f women who had been dislocated when the plant closed 22 months prior to the study. About half had received a high school diploma, the Graduate Equiva- lency Degree, or technical U'aining. These women were concentrated in the middle years of the individual and family life cycle; the majority were 40 years and older and had teenage or young adult children riving at home. Two-thirds were married. Sixteen percent were black. The quotes presented below were selected from 31 participants. The codes at the end of each quote correspond to a list of demographic characteristics found in the Appendix.

The Reactions Women's interpretations of the plant closing and their experience of job loss centered around their notions of the moral goodness of the closing and the concepts of responsibility and care. In one sense the women who were affected by the plant closing did not have a moral choice to make because they were the victims of corporate-level decision making. However, the closing directly engaged them in thinking about the corporation's moral responsibilities in the decision to close the plant and in treatment of workers. In addition, women had to make choices after the closing and those choices were theirs. This confronted women with their dependence on the plant and their responsibility for their own future.

Survival: Reaction to News of the Closing At a basic level, concerns about the experience of job

loss revolved around survival and powerlessness in the face of one of the most significant losses of a woman's life. In their descriptions of the deaths of family mem- bers, particularly their mothers, the women revealed their sense of profound loss, as if they were cut off from a basic source of survival and nurturance.

It's the day the world stopped. They just came in and said it. It hit me so hard, like [saying] "Your mama jast died." (081)

I thought my world had ended because I had worked since I was 19 years old and raised my children there. At that time I thought I 'd have a nervous breakdown, felt the whole world was pulled out from under me because I 'd never been without a job, had worked since I was 13 years old. It was as near a death in the family as has ever been one. (093)

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Had been hearing rumors but [still] it was a surprise. The shock was [like thinking] "I know my mother's going to die", but when it happens it really hits you hard. It's harder to live it than to talk about iL (042) Again revealing the family metaphor, these women

defined the loss not only in terms of the job , but as a loss of the community of women who shared a daily routine.

The hardest part was walking out after 19 years of working with the same people, like being a family and leaving them, [knowing I] would never see them again. I never really liked to sew, but had gotten so used to the people, they were like family. (046) The women expected the plant would "be there for

them" throughout their working lives and were shocked at the sudden loss of security.

I was shocked. It was like someone took something and knocked my knees out from under me...I was depending on the job. [I had to ask myself], "What am I going to do? (101)

[I was] really shocked. I thought I would retire from there, thought I had a job for the rest of my life. First thing I thought was, "What shall I do with the rest of my life?" (049) Older women, single mothers, and those with health

problems saw their conditions as handicaps to survival. I have always been self-supported, a survi-

vor. I hated [the plant closing], hated sitting around. That was my only source of income and I had to have it to survive. It's really hard for someone who has no one else to help. (090)

When [the plant] closed I was worried because I didn't know if at my age I could find a job. And I'm a diabetic, scared it might hinder me. (098)

At my age, and I have some health problems, people don't want to hire high risk. (095) For women who had husbands, a retirement pension,

or their health, the problems of those with fewer resources became part of their interpretation of the closing. In their responses these women indicated that part of their responsibility was to put aside their own needs to express concern with the well-being of others.

It wasn't as bad for me because I could draw unemployment and widows pension if I wanted to so I was more concerned about the others. (094)

My heart broke for people without insurance, grocery money. It grieves me for other people. (035) In the following examples women again reveal con-

ceres about the well-being of those more vulnerable, and the women's impaired ability to provide adequate care.

I was devastated, especially by the insurance. [My daughter] Kim has a [major nervous system disease]....All I had was that insurance

and her medical benefits were so high. (103) [I] didn't want to travel [45 minutes for a

job]. I couldn't do that with responsibility for elderly at home. (062)

These examples support Gilligan's contention that even when experiencing their own pain, women take responsibility for the care and protection of others.

Following the immediate impact of this crisis, however, these women were confronted with the meaning of their care and responsibility taken in the context of the plant closing. From .their perspective, by deciding to close the plant, the corporate heads had inflicted hurt on its employees, thereby creating a situation that intrinsi- cally involved moral issues, dilemmas, and decisions. This realization led to a transitional struggle whereby women reconstructed the meaning of the closing by reexamining their own morality of care - - and their previous notions of goodness, selfishness, and responsibility - - in light of the immorality of the closing.

Confrontations between Goodness and Power These women had been "good" employees - - loyal, reliable, and responsible. They were astonished to find that the plant did not take into account their personal contributions or needs in4naking decisions about their fate. The corporation had been selfish and irresponsible for creating the tremendous upheaval in their lives as individuals and as acommunity of coworkers. The women felt betrayed, as if they had sacrificed their lives for a larger good that, in the end, was corrupt.

I gave them 28 years for little or nothing. They didn't care. I had 11 years of perfect atten- dance, but when the plant closed, they didn't care. I was dedicated to the company. I was raised to give the best I had. I was not well some days but went to work anyway. Now I wish I hadn' t. I would never be so devoted to a company again. When it came to me, they didn't care. (026)

I'll never have the same feeling about a company agai n . They took the work overseas and didn't care about the people. (070)

I was sad, was hurt to think I had worked with the company for 32 years and planned to stay to retirement....To think they'd close us down and move to another country, that hurt us more than if it had just closed down. The people from Puerto Rico learned through us. We felt betrayed. (128) These women were unwillingly thrust into the com-

plicated economic transactions of a corporate structure in which they had little say and, from their viewpoint, had exploited their commitment to the plant. From one theoretical perspective the women's responses could be inter- preted as a function of sewing machine operators' relatively low position on the occupational hierarchy and their sudden realization of their class-based powerless-

Smith: Women's Reaction to Job Loss

ness. In fact, Tronto (1987) pointed out that "[it] moral difference is a function of social position rather than gender, then the morality that Gilligan has identified with women might be better identified with subordinate or minority status" (p. 649) (Auerbach et al., 1985, make a similar observation). In this study, however, the women articulatd their recognition of their subordinate position on the basis of gender, and their small and powerless place in the corporate structure. The women criticized corporate representatives for their disregard of the women's feelings and lack of recognition of their exten- sive contributions.

It was very impersonal. They had no feelings for the girls. Men in charge from Newnan were designated to do the dirty work. (003)

Corporate actions represented a lack of care and concern for the workers as human beings, not just as employees.

It's not fair to see the machines taken out from under you to be moved overseas. I didn't like the big companies buying out [this company]. I think they are the reason [the plant] closed. They didn't care about us as people and expected more and more. (007) The written word can not fully convey the sound of

these women's outrage at the impersonal actions of a group of powerful men who were making decisions about the women's future. The fact that these actions were being taken in a corporation outside the community further alienated the women and blocked their access to power.

Dilemmas of Dependency The experience of the closing revealed for many women the depth of their attachment to and dependence on the plant, not only as a source of income and benefits, but of identity and community.

I felt frustrated and helpless. Every day was another day of life wasted. It meant a lot to meet the public, have a challenge in life. When you're cut off it does something to you... Felt I wanted a job that I was doing something .... I was too young just to go home and retire. The job was maintaining your life. It was likea death. I 'd give them back all the money to have my job again .... Feel like I was a middle age person and in three months I was old. At fast I fixed myself like I was going to work, then I started slipping. Going to work for the public is what makes you keep yourself up, maintain communication, go out. When you're at home you feel blocked off. (029)

Had to make a terrible big adjustment, Had worked for a long time, raised 7 kids, had a lot of illness in the family. Finally [I] was clear enough to have some money of my own. Then the plant closed and I couldn't reach what I was working for. (038) With their sense of self and their occupational skills

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based on the plant, the women found it extremely difficult to gather the confidence to reclaim themselves and go on with a new life.

At first I thought I 'd like being at home, cookin g, cleaning, going places. Then I thou ght...I owe people, what am I going to do? My husband's got enough on him. This got on me so bad, thinking, why did it have to happen? I started thinking about all the good benefits we had, vacation pay. Woo, it was really tough at first. I thought I would enjoy it but so far I haven't. I 'd like to go back to work [there]....I went to [another plant] for seasonal work. Since then I haven't looked for a job. I feel like I always compare it with [the plant]. All those good things we had...good insurance, good vacation pay, good pay, we had everything, and to have it close!...J used to be mad about going to work. Now I look back and think those were some of the happy days of my life because I know what I could do, could do the work quickly. (011)

It's hard to get used to not going to work, not getting a paycheck. I'm still not used to it. When you do it for 27 years you wake up at the same time every morning expecting to go to work....They got the best part of our lives. Not only mine but a lot more of these ladies. Now I'm old and can't get something else to do. I had a trade, but I can't learn a new one, like a young person can. I wish the plant would reopen. If it wouldn't help me it would help some young people who can't [find] work. (066) These responses expressed regret, and a deep, almost

nostalgic sadness about their loss. Following Gilligan (1988), this melancholy may he attributed to the sense of isolation that comes with the discovery of the fragmen- tar,/connection between the plant and the women that was exposed after "separation," in this ease quite liter- ally, the plant closing and job dislocation. The plant was no t "there for them." Because of the betrayal the previous attachment that had been presumed to exist could not be sustained in memory.

According to Gilligan, if a woman is to progress to another stage of development, she must move from accepting respons~ility for others and assuming others are responsible for her care. To do so she must pass through a painful transitional period in which she becomes assertive, or passively accepts dependence and self-hurt. At this juncture occurs an internal psychological debate - - whether it is acceptable to worry about one's own needs as well as others. This is followed by attempts to determine how to help oneself. The transition begins with reconsideration of the relationship between self and other and self-scrutiny of the morality of care.

In this small town and its surrounding rural environment, the plant had been a frontier outside the boundaries and traditional expectations of domestic life, but within

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acceptable limits of feminine responsibilities. Conse- quently, the plant closing brought a loss of independence and autonomy that were associated with working outside the home, and also appeared to bring significant changes in women's status and family roles. As one woman said,

Nothing good [came out of the plant closing] because I like working, don't like being at home. My husband grumbles though because I've been complaining about being bored at home. It's good for me to be home to pay bills and be here when my husband [gets] home, but [my] children are in school, and as for me, it would be better for me if I was working. (012) Struggles between individuation and identification

acted out in the family context may be particularly threatening to traditional gender roles and power bases. Both men and women may view women's assertiveness and interest in meeting their individual needs as a loss of feminine sensitivity and compassion. The struggle may threaten a woman's psychological survival, causing her to return to the former security of relationships based on dependency (Gilligan, 1982a). Thus, resolution of internal conflict may require a return to domestic roles and routines that service traditional feminine roles.

In the following examples, women expressed their deep feelings about the change in their roles and increased dependence on husbands.

I can understand now how people commit suicide or have a nervous breakdown. I was used to my own salary and spending money. I had to ask my husband for spending money....There for awhile I thou ght I didn' t want to get up. Now I've put it aside. I've got to get on with my life. I work in my yard and house, took up needle point and cross stitch. (026)

I missed being independent, when we would go on vacation I would put my own portion in the pot. I 've learned to be dependent. I guess I've learned who's in charge. (003) In the following example a young mother explained

her concerns about family obligations, her dependence on her husband, and her desires to establish her own identity and income.

I was going to school hut had minor surgery. By the time I could go back to school, [my] husband didn't want me to go. I don't want plant work again, wish I had gone to school....Now I'm fixing to have another baby, so I can't go back now. Then I'll be older and have a nursery bill and might not be eligible for JTPA. I always worked. My husband says don't worry, but he puts in long hours. But after you've worked all this time and paid for things you feel guilty, like you're not doing your part...not carrying your weight. You worry about emergencies...lose a sense of security. (072) According to Gilligan (1982a), to emerge from the

moral dilemma between self and other described here, a woman must confront the reality of the situation, envi- sion the self in different ways, and trust inner voices that provide direction. She must take responsibility for self by acknowledging that one makes individual choices and therefore is also responsible for the consequences.

For some women, the process of resolving this dilemma resulted in decisions to return to school, to post- pone employment until a desirable job was available, or to spend time with children. According to these women, their decisions had favorable outcomes.

I went to [county t]ech and took an interest test. I got to go to school and it was good to make a change, find out I was a good person and could do some things. (100)

I wanted to be careful about taking a new job. Not just jump into anything...Don't know if I would go back to a job like that. I've got more freedom now, even though not much prestige and money. (059)

I guess you could find a job if you wanted to take anything. I don't want to do that and don't need to. A lot of females' health problems came from job stress, like having to make production. (018)

I got an 8 year old daughter and I can't take just any job, especially the third shift where they're hiring, and I can't find a babysitter at night, and I want to be there for homework, put them to bed. My husband is not there everyday, my son is in high school. It's hard for me to find what I need. It's not worth it to take a job for $3.35 and hour and travel and pay for child care. (0063 The struggles described in this section reflect the

tension between autonomy and control of self, and continued dependence on others. Although morality was defined previously in terms of others, now responsibility and definitions of "rightness" rest with the self. This means accepting the self, including periods of despair or trade-offs in the decision, and responsibility for decisions and their consequences. By thrusting women into the position to examine their dependency on the plant and to make decisions about the future, the closing presented women with a new chance to take control of their lives and to grow from the crisis.

Growth out of Crisis The plant closing set in motion the events that created opportunities for women to recognize their self worth, to claim the right to make individual choices w and to accept responsibility for those choices. Among women who seem to have accepted responsibility for self, there was an almost incredible recognition of the freedom of personal choice that resulted from their struggle. In a sense, the plant closing liberated them from an inequi- table relationship in which they sacrificed their personal


interests and aspirations in order to fulfill what they perceived as their responsibility to keep the plant running on a daily basis. Although the success of the corporation could be attributed to the women's sacrifices, their invis- ibility in the corporation had denied them this recognition. The closing freed women from being controlled by a machine, as well as the physical and psychological demands of "meeting production", in which workers must meet a set production level determined by the company, and must increase their production speed to earn additional money.

I worked two months in [another] sewing factory and it made me sick. Now I 'm working out of [my] home as a beautician. A lot of people say losing [their] job was terrible, but it was one of the best things that happened to me. I will take the cosmetology test in Atlanta next month [the final step in pursuing her educational goals]. (049)

[I'm] doing good at [the other plant]. [I] don't mind the night shift except Sunday nights. I like housekeeping, it doesn't wear me out. I can talk to people [while working] in bathrooms...[You] can't talk on machines. Glad not to be working on machines any more....I like my job. (051) For these women the plant closing signaled, to use

GiUigan's words, a "developmental advance" whereby they assumed new responsibility, ended their mourning, and completed activities that resulted in certain benefits and personal satisfactions. In effect, they restructured the meaning of the events in their lives. They described themselves in positive ways, and with a sense of control over their lives.

Things have never been better for me. If [the plant] hadn't closed I wouldn't have left because of the number of years I had in and retirement and health insurance. It's the best thing that happened to me...may not have married if [I] kept working. Ijnst worked because I had to, I didn't like it but it was the best thing around. I had five kids and needed the insurance. (007)

When people sew you don ' t have to think....You wonder if you can do anotherjob...am I capable? Can I think? [ll went to work [at another plant] and got more responsibility and found out I could think again. (050) Some women discovered their abilities and opportu-

nities apart from the plant, redefined themselves on the basis of enhanced seN-esteem, and reconstructed their life course. Although I would like to end this discussion on such an optimistic note, there are some exceptions and complexities here that, ff ignored, would grossly misrep- resent the nature of the experience of job loss and recov- ery. Some major concerns about the application of Gilligan's model to the study of plant closings are discussed below.

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Discussion and Conclusions This paper proposed that Carol Gilligan's interpretation of moral development could be applied to the experience of sudden job loss. Qualitative data from a study of dislocated women in a rural Georgia community were used to examine the central role that an ethic of care and its inherent dilemmas played in shaping the interpretations of a plant closing. It was suggested that women responded to the plant closing in terms of their their personal investment of caring and their feelings of responsibility toward the plant.

In the end, many women found that they had eared too much, sacrificing much of their lives for a presumably greater good. They felt hurt and betrayed by the corporation's impersonal approach and disregard for their loyal contributions or their feelings. Women were forced to reconsider their relationship with the plant; as a consequence of examining their dependence, some found opportunities for growth.

Despite this apparent success in the application of Gilligan's framework, there are two major findings that indicate its limitations, at least in the application to dislocated women. First, not all women experienced the closing in the same way. Some were deeply angry at the betrayal of their rights and the injustices in the distribution of retirement benefits. Second, their experiences were embedded in social relationships that placed women in a subordinate position in the corporation and in their families; these relationships appeared to affect their experience of job loss. In the following sections these two issues are discussed in more detail.

Issues of Anger and Rights In previous sections of this paper two moral dilemmas were discussed. First, women's reactions to job loss were described as "Confrontations between Goodness and Power," suggesting a highly charged personal conflict in which women felt their "goodness" was up against an ambiguous, unearing corporate structure outside their control and sphere of influence. In the next section, "Dilemmas of Dependence" were examined and it appeared that the conflict with the corporation had dissi- pated. Reactions appeared more nostalgic, and more passive relative to the previous conflict. What happened to the intense anger expressed in response to the closing? Other theoretical models would suggest that in the cycle of adjustment, these women had completed a period of mourning and were in the process of resolving their grief and anger about the loss. A more complete and meaning- ful interpretation may be to conceptualiTe anger as central to the experience of job loss, rather than as one step in a series of stages of resolution and adjustment.

In her critique of Gilligan, Hayles (1986) raised the importance of anger in understanding women's experiences and argued that Gilligun suppressed the sound of women's anger. Hayles suggested that "as long as male

42

culture is dominant, anger is threatening and must be repressed....[A]nger is worse than useless for the subser- vient person, for it causes one's own heart to be rent while leaving the object of one's anger untouched. Anger is thus not only dangerous for others; it is also dangerous for oneself (p. 31)". Many of the women in this sample may have turned their anger inward, hurting and isolating themselves but sparing themselves the danger of con- frontation with legal and political systems and feared reprisals from those in power.

Nevertheless, some women had not turned their anger inward. They continued to see the plant as responsible for their era'rent situation. They used the language of reciprocity, emphasizing fairness and individual rights and making no mention of caring and personal responsibility.

For a long time and I still am, I got a feeling of anger. I don't think they did me fair. I don't think they did as much for me as I did for them. I 'm scared to go back into an industrial plant because I 'm afraid the same thing would happen again. The ways companies got a hold on workers...they tried to get us to feel better but we didn't believe it. All jobs I look at start at peanuts and I had worked all my life to build up more. I look at all the things I did to be a better worker, not being off, coming back six weeks after having children, not being late for so many years. Now my children are 15, 16, I don't have anything to stay home for. I 'm trying to prevent that from happening to me again by not going into the industry. (012)

They_gave us a little money but didn't do us justice. [I'm] still upset about it. All those years you put in and then [you get] not much severance pay or pension....Felt like [the company] should have done retirement by years [worked] not [by employees'] age. (102) Also, some women felt they had been treated un-

fairly relative to other workers. The cente~ of the conflict was the corporate decision to award full retirement benefits to workers who were 55 or older, regardless of duration of employment at the plant.

[I] felt treated unfairly by the pension plan. People who were 55 gota good deal of money .... even people who hadn't made production.People under 55 got [several thousand dollars] for 21 years. Severance pay was 10 weeks to hourly [employees] but supers got 20 weeks and could keep their insurance. They should have treated everyone the same. (075)

This corporate decision had placed some women in the community in advantaged positions relative to others, with middle aged women facing a substantial loss in retirement pensions.

In this study, age appeared to be related to women's perception of injustice. Middle aged women suffered a

considerable economic loss that disrupted their long- range plans for financial security during retirement, as well as their family's immediate financial needs. In addition, other research (Rosen, 1987) suggests that these women may be less likely than younger women to see job training as a viable option and therefore may remain unemployed or accept lower paying jobs. Thus, for this age group, the job loss event initiated a number of major changes in the women's career trajectory that threatened their long-term financial security. Furthermore, the powerful impact of these changes and the women's evalua- tion of their disadvantaged position relative to other age groups, may have served as the source of continued anger and their interpretations of the closing in terms of fairness, justice, and discrimination. Thus, not all women perceived the plant closing solely in terms of the "ethic of care" that GiUigan proposed.

Issues of Power and Control Contrary to some critics' viewpoints (see Auerbach

etal., 1985), in a limited way it does seem possible to use Gilligan's work to examine moral dilemmas in a social context. Here the model was useful to describe reactions to a particular event (the plant closing) in relation to the social structural characteristics that are part of the context (i.e., age, conditions of the closing, and unionization). By including the event and the social structure, the experience of moral dilemmas is put into the social context. What was not adequately captured, however, is the issue of power inherent in women's work and family relationships. The experience of job dislocation appeared to be related to the loss of economic, personal, and social resources that had served as a source of power prior to the plant closing. In this community's distressed rural economy, the women had limited job prospects. Without union protection, there was little recourse for recouping financial losses. With the dissipation of the community of coworkers these women lost a sense of belonging and mutual support that had developed over years of daily participation in each other's work and family life. Job loss also meant the loss of an important source of personal identity beyond their family roles. As a result, some women found themselves deferring to their husbands even when this seemed to be at the cost of their autonomy and sense of personal efficacy. In short, these data indicate that the gender relations of production and repro- duction served to control or limit women's options and roles but within certain parameters of autonomy. The plant closing merely exposed the existing inequities in these relations and women's powerlessness in the situation.

These relations were centered around control of women as a social class, not simply conflicts between autonomy and dependence, as Gilligan suggested. Gen- der-based relations of power appear to transcend public- private boundaries and were filtered through women's perceptions. Consequently, they permeated the social


and personal context and structured the interpretation of the experience of job loss. Thus, while I have summa- rized what some women have said "in their own words", a politics of power may havebeen operating beneath the women's surface optimism (Hayles, 1986). As Hayles (1986:39) suggested, these women may have been unable or unwilling to articulate these relations - - because of the ethic of care that guided theirjudgrnent, their place in the dominant power structure, and "because the voice may not be able to speak any other way."

The issue of power and control is particularly important because presumably it will be critical to the resolution of conflicts between self and other, which is neces- sary before the individual can advance to another level of moral development. According to GiUigan (1982a), to successfully advance in moral development individuals must take responsibility for themselves and their choices. In this study, some women did find advantages in the closing for their individual development, such as freedom from dependence on the plant and from alienating production work. Gilligan suggests that these women would be able to stand alone or lean on each other, but without the dependency that characterized their previous relationships.

From a feminist perspective, however, this "development" removes women from the social and political context of the dosing and relations of power inherent in that context. What are the choices for rural, middle aged women who worked in one plant for twenty years? Unless they pursue an advanced degree or technical training and work outside the community, a developmental "advance" does little to empower them in their families, community, or society. Even though the "adnpters" may have resolved a moral dilemma, it may have been at the expense of their ability to make a financial contribution to their families and communities, of the development of their skills and abilities, and of their self-worth. By not view- ing the plant dosing from a rights perspective, feminist scholars and others concerned with human and workers' rights may jeopardize the establishment of opportunities or protections for women and other rural workers. Look- ing at women from only an ethic of care perspective may passively allow further exploitation of this segment of the labor force.

Nevertheless these findings suggest that perceptions of the dosing may be inextricably tied to the worker's definition of self, of morality, and of his or her relationships. Thus, Gilligan's framework may provide a starting point for understanding the moral dimensions of response to job loss. In addition, Gilligan's work provides some explanation as to why women's voices may be misheard or overlooked in studies of job loss (I-Iayles, 1986). Additional work on moral dilemmas and development, particularly indepth longitudinal studies of changes in moral dilemmas among men and women, would be relevant to studies of the long-term effects of job loss.

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Notes 1. Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Series

No. R-00958. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Council on Family Relations, Charleston, SC, March 15-17,1990. The author would like to thank Constance Shehan and Jaber Gubrium for their helpful com- ments.

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Appendix

Characteristics of Cases Quoted 003 Married, over 60, high school education, white, no

children*, retired 006 Married, 35-39, high school education, black, 2

children, unemployed 007 Married, 50-54, high school education, white, no

children, retired 012 Married, 40-44, high school education, black, 2

children, unemployed 018 Married, 40-44, high school education, black, 3

children, unemployed 026 Married, 50-54, high school education, white, 1

child, retired 029 Divorced, 60+, high school education, white, 1 child,

retired 032 Widowed, 50-54, high school education, white, no

children, unemployed 035 Married, 50-54, high school education, white, no

children, unemployed, 038 Widowed, 60+, 8th grade education, white, one

child, retired 042 Married, 40-44, high school education, white, one

child, employed 043 Married, 60+, high school education, white, one

child, unemployed


046 Married 40-44, high school education, white, one child, employed

049 Married, 35-39, tech school, black, 2 children, employed

051 Married 50-54, 8th grade education, black, 1 child, employed

059 Married 40-44, high school education, 2 children, employed

062 Married, 55-59, 8th grade education, white, no children, employed

066 Married, 60+, 10th grade education, white, no children, unemployed

070 Married, 40-44, high school education, white, one child, employed

072 Married, 35-39, high school education, white, one child, unemployed

075 Married, 45-49, 10th grade education, white, no children, employed

081 Married, 45-49, high school education, black, 5 children, employed

090 Divorced, 35-39, tech school, white, 2 children, employed

093 Divorced, 50-54, 10th grade education, white, no children, unemployed

094 Widowed, 60+, 10th grade education, white, one child, employed

095 Married, 50-54, 8th grade education, white, one child, employed

098 Divorced, 55-59,jr. high school education, white, no children, employed

100 Married, 35-39, tech school, white, 2 children, employed

101 Married, 50-54, high school education, white, no children, employed

102 Divorced, 35-39, high school education, black, 2 children, employed

128 Married, 60+, high school education, white, no children, unemployed

*no children living at home

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women's reactions to job loss: the moral dilemmas of a plant closing

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