Reifying the privatepublic divide examining rhetorical strategies in the debate on maternity leave policy in the USA

• Published in: Equal opportunities international Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 513 - 531
• Main Authors: Bourne, Kristina A., Lentz, Paula J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Group Publishing Limited 14.08.2009
• Subjects: Group discussion; Maternity leave; Rhetoric; United States of America; Women
• ISSN: 0261-0159; 1758-7093
• DOI: 10.1108/02610150910980800

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the rhetorical strategies women use as they debate the efficacy of maternity leave policies in the USA and how these strategies reify the publicprivate divide. Designmethodologyapproach Using rhetorical analysis, the characteristics of women's discussion are examined in an online forum. Findings Participants rely on two primary strategies public strategies e.g. employing facts, logic, statistics for most of their discussion and private strategies e.g. relating personal experiences as a strategy of last resort when the public strategies fail. Further, their personal recountings lack detail and ultimately limit the ability to strengthen the posters' arguments. Research limitationsimplications While this paper focuses on a US context, the approach lends itself well to examining the cultural assumptions underpinning specific policies and extending the study of the complexities of the assumed publicprivate divide in additional settings. Practical implications The paper suggests that in order to advance arguments for or against change in a cultural climate that so clearly divides the public and the private, women will need to invest more of their personal experiences to argue more effectively the impact of a social policy on their lives. Originalityvalue This study uses online texts as the focus of analysis and in doing so examines the rich, authentic interaction of women from a variety of organizational backgrounds.