Managing work and family life through religious participation. A comparative approach between Muslim, Hindu and Christian migrant women in Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the influence of religion on the reconfiguration of work-family relations promoted by three groups of migrant women to deal with the Portuguese economic crisis and labour market contraction whose effects have been more marked than in many other E.U. countries. Comparative ethnographic research has brought to light how female religious participation generates social capitals and converts them in material and work-family reconciliation resources thus mitigating vulnerabilities or triggering beneficial results that affect the lives of families in both the short and long term. Despite the differences in mobilizing religious resources to manage work and family life within the three groups, the achievement of such a ‘balance’ depends on a similar religious construction of female self which is developed against an individualized notion of personhood.

Keywords: work-family balance, religious participation, gender dynamics, social capitals, Portugal