“Could You Apply for Me?”: Gendered Cognitive and Emotional Labor in the Job Search

• In Event: Sociology of Sex and Gender Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8. Gendered Work Trajectories and Labor Market Inequality

Abstract

As dual-earner couples navigate two careers amid persistent workplace gender inequality, the job search represents a key moment in which work and family intersect. Drawing on 51 interviews with married and cohabiting individuals in which at least one partner is currently searching for or has recently changed jobs, this study examines how couples navigate the job search process, with particular attention to the role of the non-searching partner and the ways these dynamics are shaped by gender and socio-economic class. Findings show that the job search is not an individual endeavor but a relational process involving substantial emotional and cognitive labor. Non-searching partners provide emotional support, as well as instrumental support (i.e., identifying job ads). However, the extent of this labor is highly gendered, with women often “going the extra mile” by anticipating partner’s emotional needs, managing their own emotions, and even going as far as to apply for jobs for their partner. At the same time, socio-economic class shapes the content of this labor: working-class couples emphasize shift coordination and logistical constraints, while middle-class couples focus more on overwork and work–life balance. Overall, this project highlights the job search as a family process, not an isolated, individual experience. Additionally, by conceptualizing job search as a site of unpaid, gendered labor within couples, this study demonstrates how inequality at home may shape inequality in the labor market.

Author

• Cassie Mead, Indiana University-Bloomington