Breaking Down Doors: An Introduction to Women's Work

For centuries, women have been expected to fulfill the ideal role of both perfect wife and mother, and this meant putting the family first before their own needs. If for whatever reason, a woman acted out of the norm--- chose to speak her mind, chose to work outside the home--- then her husband was criticized for not handling her properly. Throughout the history of man, women have stayed home and taken care of the family and home with rarely any assistance from the husband. Since he was the breadwinner, it gave him the perception that bringing home the money was sufficient work, that it was all the work he had to do. It was left to the mother, the wife, to feed, clean and clothe the children. If a mother chose to not pay attention to her family, she was ostracized. This still holds true for today. The mother is criticized for not placing the needs of the family first far more often and severely than is the father. For example, if there is a newborn in the family, and the mother chooses to go back to work immediately after its birth, she is told by society that she's not doing her real job. Society doesn't criticize the father for leaving a newborn child to attend work; he is, in fact, applauded for considering the financial needs of his family An argument has been set forth that since women can breastfeed, they must---for the health and proper development of the child--- stay home during the early stages of childhood. Thus, the woman is placed in the difficult position of having to balance the multiple roles expected of her with the roles she wants to carry out for herself.

Though women have acquired the legal right to work, there is still plenty of sexism in the workforce. On average, women get paid .75 cents to a dollar less that men make for doing the same type of work. Women are also encouraged to take up the stereotypical jobs such as secretarial, clerical, nursing, childcare, social work, elementary teaching and so forth. Many statistics also show that women are staying away from the maths and sciences. The business world also lacks strong female figures; while there are plenty of secretaries and assistants working for major corporations, the number of female CEOs and women in power are few. These statistics demonstrate the unfortunate condition facing the women who do fight to work outside the home.

When a woman chooses a career, she also considers the effects it would have on her family life. While the"wife's presence in the labor force means higher income," the jobs women do take illustrate their concern for making time for the family (Duker). This doesn't encourage them to go after high-paying, high-demand jobs. Most women take on a typical 9-5 office workday so that they can be home to cook dinner, do the laundry and oversee the children's homework; they come home to a second shift. But household work is not compensated. Mama's apple pies do not have any value. At first, the thought of a woman leaving her family to go and find a job elsewhere was unfathomable. But the fight for women's rights was not to be deterred; it was just as much about economics as it was about making a stand. "In a sample of Irish Roman-Catholic families with at least one child of elementary-school age, we have shown that both in the working class and in the middle class the working wife exerts more influence in family decision-making than the non working wife" (Heer). Because they had a source of income, women began to fight for the chance to have a say about how the money was used in the home. This paved the way for the notion of equality within the home. But a job hinted at financial independence and many men felt threatened by the idea.

Being able to go into work hasn't been an easy fight for women to win.Through
times of necessity, they were called upon to work and women have taken advantage of these periods in our history. During times of war, women were called in to complete the tasks that men were normally assigned to. A common advertising appeal was made by Rosy the Riveter; you could do it, you can help with the war, she declared! And they did. When the male population was off to war, women began to work in industrial plants, the manufacturing factories and small businesses. They worked in mill stations and developed weapons through long strenuous hours. Women had to endure bodily injuries, emotional trauma, and even the risk of death at the work place. Meanwhile, they still had to go home and put food on the table. Working both inside and outside the home is not a 21st century phenomenon; women have done it for
decades. Unfortunately, when the male population came back, women's jobs were taken away. It was a priority for the male to have a job, to maintain the idea of a male breadwinner. But women enjoyed having that temporary feeling of power and when it was taken away from them, there was conflict. "Dominance of the wife may be assumed to be a deviant patter" (Heer).However, once women experienced that sense of freedom, there was no going back.

They began to take on stereotypical jobs. There has been an established ideology of what jobs are suitable for working mothers and what aren't. Being a secretary of a business is logically suitable. Being a businesswoman, meanwhile, will take too much time away from her family, and thus was not a logical path for a mother. Women should be nurses, and not doctors; they surely could not be on call 24-7. What about her family?

It wouldn't hurt to have the husband support his wife through her struggles to find independence. Even though that might sound ironic, the husband plays a crucial role in helping the wife advance. If the husband is willing to compromise with the duties that are related to the household than the wife has a better chance of become successful. If a husband is hesitant to support the wife, she might not want to follow through with her intuitions. The male population is very important in the success of women. They essentially have to power to help their wives succeed. If a husband and wife are very supportive of each other, able to come up with solutions to their problems, then there shouldn't be a problem of both of them succeeding together. There truly is no need for competition. Both spouses working is beneficial for the entire family.

There are those who like their wives to have a mind of their own. With the help of the husband, women can find freedom and happiness---and a happy woman is a happy wife and mother! With the support of the husband, the wife feels as though she has backup and can venture into new fields. If the husband does not want to help, then she has to worry about who's going to cook, who's going to clean the house, who's going to take care of the children and so forth. An article published in The American Physiological Society, illustrates the amount of commitment it takes between the husband and wife for both their careers to become successful. One male cardiothoracic surgeon described, "the difficulties he had in balancing his work with family, but stated that it was in fact his wife that was always there to take care of family responsibilities" (http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/Balancing.htm).Women should not need permission from their husbands to work, but they surely need their support.

In reality, not all husbands are going to support their wives working. If the husband is not supportive of having the wife in the work field, it does not signify that she should give up. There are husbands who want their wives to only be housewives, to only care about the well being of the family. Most of these men are concerned about how society would view them if they allowed their wives to work. They don't want to give the impression that they need the extra financial help, that they are in such a dire economic state that the wife must forsake her kids to go out and work. While stay-at-home dads are increasing in number, they are still viewed as "deadbeat dads" rather than noble husbands. But society should not criticize those men who choose to stay at home while the wife works. Instead they should be praised more, since a women's job is never ending. All men need to stay at home, jobless, for at least a month to realize just how much work is put into the household without any form of compensation.

A significant number of women believe that women must stay at home and place the family before themselves. While it is admirable for a woman to choose stay at home, taking for her family, it should not be the norm, it should not be expected of all. If there are women who want to stay home instead of achieving success at the workforce, then it is their choice. But there must be a choice! If there is a choice, then women who choose to not follow that pattern will not be stigmatized as much. They should be allowed to choose whichever lifestyle they want without having to be compared to those who chose the family over the career. For example, society shouldn't say a housewife is more respected than a working woman. They shouldn't say it is more suitable for a mother to be a nurse rather than a doctor. They shouldn't say that men being the breadwinners should be a priority. All should be given the equal opportunity and the equal compensation.

But given equal opportunity does not guarantee equal representation. While technically women can apply for the "male" dominant jobs, it does not guarantee that they will be equally chosen. Some businesses claim they do not discriminate, but statistics prove otherwise. The issue of time commitment and maternity leave play vital roles in hiring woman. The notion that woman might have children, entails that they would need to take time off from work. This ultimately suggests that they will have to be paid for a specific amount of time without any work It is logical that companies wouldn't want to hire women; it is not beneficial economically. So we must ask how we can change this reality. Perhaps tax-breaks should be given to those businesses that hire women significantly more than their rivals. Perhaps governments should provide a majority of the maternity-leave compensation. Perhaps this would level the playing field a bit.

Women with families and their husbands fall under 3 categories: women who work with the support of the husband, women who work with the disapproval of the husband and women who do not work. In a study of the marital disagreements of wives, it was estimated that "the wife with the approving husband group does not perceive conflict more frequently than either of the other two groups in any area, and presents it less frequently in six areas, increases the importance of our findings"(Gianopulos). Thus a support system within the marriage is very essential. Having both the wife and the husband working might not necessarily mean it is easier, but having the support and strong friendship of each other can make a stressful situation of balancing family life and careers a bit less painful.

Simply taking a case study, one can see how much the support of each spouse contribute to both marital and familial success. A successful woman by the name of
Christin Carter-Su,is a professor of physiology and a mother of two. She says to become a successful mother/career person, the following needs to be established within a relationship, "choosing a mate carefully, getting lots of outside household help, building a strong support network, forming friendships with other working families, forgetting about domestic perfection and delegating"http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/Balancing.htm Each family establishes guidelines for themselves that allows them to juggle work and family.

Other research has also been administered to see if there is a way to have it all for working women. Research done by David, I, Soybel Md. an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School analyzes the percentages of females entering the medical field and not necessarily staying at the level or those who have changed their occupation to registered nursing. He states that about half the entering class in medical school are women. He notes that while it is arduous on the women to find ways to manage both lifestyles, he says men are in the same realm as well. Recently male residents have been "taking paternity leaves, something that was not offered 20 years ago" http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/Balancing.htmTimes are changing; the male population is realizing that they need to support their wives, their daughters, their mothers in their pursuits of happiness and independence. Dr. David Soybel says, " You might be able to do it all, but not all at the same time." It is essentially a balance of work and family life. No one said it would be easy, but it is possible.

Through the progression of time, more and more working women will take on higher positions. In 2006, only 10 fortune 500 companies were run by women. Some of these included companies like Avon, Ebay, Sara Lee money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/womenceos In 2007,there was at least 10 female-headed companies in the top 50 stakes of the 500 listed; they included Xerox, Ebay and PepsiCo. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/womenceos/

There have been many advancements on the issue of working women. However, a little progress made does not imply that progress is achieved. There is a present trend of more and more female college students pursuing doctorates in hopes of higher paying jobs. Society is observing changes. In an article entitled, “Effects of the Employment of Mothers on Parental Power Relations and the Division of Household Tasks, the author writes, “the employment of mothers may be seen as part of a general trend toward a decrease in the differentiation of sex roles (Wladis). Other variables that might be included in this trend are: increased participation of fathers in routine household tasks, a change in power relations from male dominance toward husband-wife equality, and corresponding changes in ideology about sex roles in the family (Wladis).

In reality, the struggle to maintain a happy and balanced career and family life will take many decades for women. We have seen some changes made, but we must still demand to utilize the rights we have so long fought for. Women should not sacrifice a fulfilling career in order to maintain peaceful relations within the home and companies should not favor male workers for economic reasons. Once we have the support of our husbands, fathers and governments, then we will see progress---real progress---made. Then we will have made it.


Bibliography:

Duker, Jacob M. Housewife and Working-Wife Families: A Housing Comparison Land Economics, Vol. 46, No. 2. (May, 1970), pp. 138-145. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0023-7639%28197005%2946%3A2%3C138%3AHAWFAH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X

Gianopulos, Artie and Howard E. Mitchell. Marital Disagreement in Working Wife Marriages as a Function of Husband's Attitude toward Wife's Employment Marriage and Family Living, Vol. 19, No. 4. (Nov., 1957), pp. 373-378. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0885-7059%28195711%2919%3A4%3C373%3AMDIWWM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7

Heer, David. M. Dominance and the Working Wife Social Forces, Vol. 36, No. 4. (May, 1958), pp. 341-347. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-7732%28195805%2936%3A4%3C341%3ADATWW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q

Heer, David. M. Husband and Wife Perceptions of Family Power Structure Marriage and Family Living, Vol. 24, No. 1. (Feb., 1962), pp. 65-67. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0885-7059%28196202%2924%3A1%3C65%3AHAWPOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O

Hoffman, Lois Wladis. Effects of the Employment of Mothers on Parental Power Relations and the Division of Household Tasks Marriage and Family Living, Vol. 22, No. 1. (Feb., 1960), pp. 27-35. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0885-7059%28196002%2922%3A1%3C27%3AEOTEOM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I

CNN-2007 Fortune 500- http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/womenceos/

CNN-2006 Fortune 500- money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/womenceos

Medical Profession Case Examples- http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/Balancing.htm