ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sociol.
Sec. Sociological Theory
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1608368
This article is part of the Research TopicParenthood and Parental Wellbeing: Exploring Diverse Trajectories and InfluencesView all articles
Reproductive Capital: Theoretical Foundations 1 Reproductive Capital: Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Evidence from the Workplace
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Life Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
- 2Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment, Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom
- 3Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom
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The workplace encompasses structural and personal tensions related to both reproduction and non-reproduction, and ambiguity and ambivalence permeate policies, practices, and social interactions. This article critically examines the concept of 'reproductive capital' and its interaction with other forms of capital: ageing, biological, cultural, economic, social, and symbolic. The concept of 'reproductive capital' emerged from a latent thematic analysis of interviews with 80 people (67 women and 13 men) and their accounts of how the workplace affected their reproductive journeys. The aim of this study was to explore and record participants' diverse fertility journeys and the effect of work on their preconception/infertility experience. The workplace was an alienating space for people accessing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment, who were subjected to scrutiny and judgement. Challenges faced by individuals included matters surrounding disclosure and subsequent consequences, desired/expected support, and what was received. Some participants challenged the pronatalist policy status quo and sought changes to make the workplace more inclusive. Participants' accounts highlighted numerous situations in which reproductive capital was present. Contextualising theory through empirical data allows for a broader understanding of how socio-economic, socio-cultural, norms, and values influence individual and organisational behaviour.
Keywords: Reproductive capital, Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), Infertility, Workplace polices and fertility, Bourdieu's theory of capital, symbolic violence
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 01 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hadley, Mumford, Carroll and Wilkinson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Robin Andrew Hadley, Department of Life Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
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