Date of Publication

2026

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Sciences major in Organizational and Social Systems Development

Subject Categories

Sociology

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Behavioral Sciences

Thesis Advisor

Mary Janet M. Arnado

Defense Panel Chair

Zaldy C. Collado

Defense Panel Member

Yellowbelle D. Duaqui

Abstract (English)

In today’s world, institutional processes continue to impact single mothers, revealing various systemic challenges evident in Philippine society. This study is to conduct an institutional ethnography about motherhood penalty, a phenomenon where mothers face wage disparities, limited career advancement opportunities, and other challenges given the situation, and examine how institutional arrangements shape the daily experiences of employed single mothers in the Philippines. Grounded in Dorothy Smith’s framework, this research utilizes institutional ethnography to uncover how ruling relations and textually mediated processes perpetuate systemic inequalities. Data were collected through ten unstructured interviews and three participant observations with single working mothers and one unstructured interview with a solo parent association leader from diverse occupations and income levels in the Philippines. Findings showed that single mothers’ everyday lives are organized around school schedules and workplace shifts, with caregiving largely invisible in institutional records. Data analysis mapped the convergence of legal texts, organizational policies, and other coordinating documents with workplace (ideal worker norm, gendered norms, labor market segmentation, performance systems), school, and government ruling relations to produce the motherhood penalty. The study concludes that the motherhood penalty emerges where these institutional relations converge, rendering caregiving invisible and its consequences legible only as individual performance deficiencies.

Keywords: motherhood penalty, laws, workplace, policies, government, school, employed single mothers, ethnography

Abstract Format

html

Abstract (Filipino)

Patuloy na naaapektuhan ng mga prosesong institusyonal ang mga single mothers sa Pilipinas na nagpapakita ng sistematikong hamon sa lipunan. Layunin ng pag-aaral na ito na magsagawa ng institutional ethnography tungkol sa motherhood penalty, ang penomenon kung saan nakararanas ang mga nanay ng hindi pantay na sahod at limitadong oportunidad sa trabaho, at kung paano hinuhubog ng institutional arrangements ang kanilang araw-araw na karanasan. Batay sa balangkas ni Dorothy Smith, ginagamit ang institutional ethnography upang matukoy kung paano pinananatili ng ruling relations at mga tekstong institusyonal ang sistemikong hindi pagkakapantay-pantay. Nakalap ang datos sa pamamagitan ng sampung unstructured interviews at tatlong obserbasyon ng nagtatrabahong mga single mothers at isang unstructured interview ng isang lider ng samahan ng mga solo parents. Ayon sa mga natuklasan, umiikot sa iskedyul ng paaralan at trabaho ang araw-araw na buhay ng mga single mothers, samantalang nananatiling hindi naitatala ang kanilang gawaing pag-aalaga. Ipinakita ng pagsusuri ang pagsasalubong ng mga legal na teksto, patakaran ng organisasyon, at iba pang dokumento na nag-uugnay sa ruling relations ng trabaho (ideal worker norm, normang de-kasarian, labor market segmentation, performance systems), paaralan, at pamahalaan upang mabuo ang motherhood penalty. Sa punto ng pagsasalubong na ito, hindi nakikita ang gawaing pag-aalaga, at nakikita na lamang ang mga kahihinatnan nito bilang personal na kakulangan ng indibidwal.

Keywords: parusa sa pagiging ina, mga batas, lugar ng trabaho / pinagtatrabahuhan, mga patakaran, pamahalaan, paaralan, mga nagtatrabahong single mothers, etnograpiya

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Single mothers—Employment; Working mothers

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Embargo Period

8-12-2026

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