The experiences of women as occupational beings

Conference paper


Wells, G. 2018. The experiences of women as occupational beings.
AuthorsWells, G.
TypeConference paper
Description

All people are occupational beings with the right to engage in occupations that they want and need to do; the fulfilment of this right is referred to as occupational justice (Townsend and Wilcock 2014).

Occupational injustice occurs when people are restricted or prevented from engaging in the occupations of their choosing (Durocher et al 2014). Throughout their lives women are expected to fulfil certain roles and occupations because of their gender. This impacts upon the occupational choices that they are able to make and can result in them experiencing occupational injustice.

Drawing on the findings of a PhD study exploring the experience of living alone for 11 women aged 70 – 80 years, this presentation will demonstrate how the gender of a woman influences her experiences as an occupational being. Individual unstructured interviews and photo-elicitation with each of the women generated findings that captured the experiences of the women in their own words and images. This reflects the interpretive phenomenological and feminist philosophical and methodological approaches influencing the design of this study.

The findings provided evidence that the women had experienced occupational injustice earlier in life. However, once living alone in later life they described being able to do what they wanted, when they wanted to do it. Consequently they viewed living alone in later life as a mostly positive experience.
Understanding the complexity of the impact of gender on the experiences of people as occupational beings will contribute to an enhanced understanding of the occupational narrative of an individual.

Gemma has recently completed her PhD in Health and Wellbeing at Canterbury Christ Church University where she is now employed as a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy.

KeywordsLater life; older women; occupational beings; occupational therapy; feminism
Year2018
ConferenceRoyal College of Occupational Therapy Conference 2018
File
FunderCanterbury Christ Church University PhD Scholarship
The Constance Owens (Liverpool) Award
References

Slaughter M (2012) 6 – “What’s new” and is it good for you? Gender and Consumerism in post-war Europe in Regulska J; Smith B (Eds) (2012) Women and Gender in Post-war Europe. From Cold War to European Union. Oxon: Routledge
Townsend, E. Wilcock, A. (2004) Occupational justice and client centred practice: A Dialogue in Progress. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 71(2):75-87
Turner M (2006) The Women’s Century. A celebration of changing roles. Richmond: The National Archives
Whiteford, G. Hocking, C. (2012) Occupational Science. Society, Inclusion and Participation. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Wicks, A. Whiteford, G. (2005) Chapter 12. Gender, Occupation and Participation in Whiteford, G. Wright-StClair, V. (Eds) (2005) Occupation and Practice in Context. London: Churchill Livingstone. Elsevier
Wilcock A (2007) Occupation and Health: Are They One and the Same? Journal of Occupational Science 14(1): 3-8

Publication process dates
Deposited22 Aug 2018
Completed13 Jun 2018
Output statusUnpublished
Permalink -

https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/88w43/the-experiences-of-women-as-occupational-beings

  • 778
    total views
  • 246
    total downloads
  • 10
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Occupational therapy through a feminist lens
Wells, G. 2022. Occupational therapy through a feminist lens.
EMPOWERing older people and their communities to manage their own CARE (EMPOWERCARE): Evaluation study of a social innovation initiative across four European countries
Hatzidimitriadou, E., Wright, T., Stirrup, V., Kuzbit, P., Thompson, T., DeBraal, P, Burton, C., Price, A., Stein, M., Wells, G., Manship, S., Martin, A. and Chung, P. 2022. EMPOWERing older people and their communities to manage their own CARE (EMPOWERCARE): Evaluation study of a social innovation initiative across four European countries. International Journal of Integrated Care. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.ICIC22333
Supporting students through a rapidly changing landscape
Wells, G. and Harvey, S. 2020. Supporting students through a rapidly changing landscape. 28 (8), pp. 29-31.
Childfree women as occupational beings
Wells, G. 2019. Childfree women as occupational beings.
Running a research consultation group with parents and carers of children with complex health needs who use children’s rehabilitation therapy services: practical considerations and insights
Hutton, E., Apps, J., Wells, G. and Cowie, C. 2017. Running a research consultation group with parents and carers of children with complex health needs who use children’s rehabilitation therapy services: practical considerations and insights.
Consulting parents and carers of children with complex needs who use rehabilitation therapy services about research - what issues are important?
Hutton, E., Apps, J., Cowie, C. and Wells, G. 2018. Consulting parents and carers of children with complex needs who use rehabilitation therapy services about research - what issues are important?
The locality health and social care mapping project Shepway qualitative report presented to East Coast Kent Public Engagement Directorate and the PCT Board as part of the full Shepway mapping report
Smith, A. and Wells, G. 2009. The locality health and social care mapping project Shepway qualitative report presented to East Coast Kent Public Engagement Directorate and the PCT Board as part of the full Shepway mapping report.