Arlie Hochschild The Second Shift Summary

he Second shift book review
In this landmark study, sociologist Arlie Hochschild takes us into the homes of the working mother as she observes what really goes on at the end of a work day. She did extensive research on married women with children under the age of 6 and Surprisingly, what she discovered shocked us all, Hochschild found that Working mothers leave work only to come home and do more work. Hochschild coined this term as the second shift as she described the work that mothers do at home as a second job where the various needs of the home overpowers the working mother. She addresses the second shift typically as child rearing and housework that usually  falls on the shoulders of the women. Hochschild does a great job of going against the

misconception of Men being the breadwinner as she points out that if you add the time it takes for working mothers to do the required work for their job including housework and childcare. Women work roughly 15 hours longer each week than men. While pointing this out Hochschild addresses the splitting of housework between men and women, she discovers that only 20 percent of dual-career families share housework equally.  Hochschild shows how these women cope with these demands - often, sadly, by constructing new realities for themselves that they can live with. One woman, Nancy Holt, constructs an Upstairs/Downstairs myth. In this myth, she and her husband are doing equal amounts of work because she is caring for the upstairs (basically every room of the house), and he is caring for the downstairs (the garage) and the dog. Hochschild uses this example to show that Housework should not only be assigned as “Women work” but family work. Taking care of the home has always been deemed as the women's role in a family. However it is this concept and the societal norms of what a women and men’s role is that often leads to divorce. Hochschild found that the number one reason for divorce in families is man's neglect of house and children. Hochschild goes deeper than these social norms as she breaks away from the traditional men and women roles in her findings, which shows that the happiest couples are those who share the second shift. Findings show that more stable couples are those who adapt by displaying gender equality. Hochschild uses the stories of many women to give a voice to the voiceless working women whose hard work has been overlooked by many people in america.

One of the many challenges that working women face is the strain between how to become successful in the workplace as well as being a great mother and wife at home. Hochschild examines the revolution of the american women and their changing role in the workforce. She states that over the past 30 years more and more women are beginning to work outside of the household. She notices how although there have been changes in the way that women are seen inside the workforce, the thought still remains that the woman's place is in the home. Although number of women joining the workforce have doubled over the years, the stigma of being a housewife and taking care of the home is still placed on women today. Hochschild does what no one else has cared to do and that is give working mothers a voice and choosing to tell their story. By doing this she has defied the odds that are placed against working women and speak up for the injustices against working mothers. She chooses to go deeper as she looks at the politics of what makes up a family home and proposes a solution to better fit their needs. She proposes that corporations and companies incorporate more family friendly policies for women with

children, as well as better part time
policies for workers that includes benefits so that it gives a better opportunity to balance work with family.

Hochschild presents a strong argument for women as she presents a picture to her readers that shows the stresses and struggles that comes with being a working mom. My only critique would be the absence of some of the most poignant issues that is the acknowlegement of heteresexual couples with children. Without addressing this it presents the argument as being biased because it doesn't include homosexual couples in this study. Incorporating the thoughts and ideas of homosexual couples would be very effective when discussing the ideas of sharing housework because it goes against the thoughts and ideas of traditional and nontraditional roles inside of the family.  I would have also loved for the author to incorporate the male perspective instead of just the female perspective. While this is a study about the working women, allowing room for the male perspective allows us to compare and contrast the differentiating opinions that comes with both the male and female perspective.  Hochschild incorporating these things into her study would not only have given the readers a better insight into the working women's lives but it also incorporates the thoughts and perspectives of everyone, leaving no room for biases or a one sided argument.
I really enjoyed the fact that the author incorporated different stories from her case studies because it allowed us to relate to the different techniques that the different families choose to run their family. One thing that i found interesting about this was that it left room for each reader to find themselves and determine how their lives was reflective of the behaviors that was used in the case studies. I also found it interesting that Hochschild choose to oppose the traditional gender roles that's placed on men and women in a marriage. This allowed readers to question their mindset towards housework and think about how our mind has been trained to associate certain tasks for men and some for women. The points that Hochschild makes provokes a sense of emotion that makes the readers question why we think the way we think, while challenging us to do away with the thoughts that are normalized in our society.

The politics and social issues that are addressed in this book has challenged the way i view life. I was surprised to see that a book that was written in the 1980’s is almost a direct reflection of the issues that we are facing today.  Before reading this book i would have never thought of the work that women do at home as a second shift. Because i was raised with the traditional mindset that the woman’s job is to take care of the family and the men’s job is to provide for the family. However, This book challenged the ideas and beliefs that i have come to know about gender roles, by the authors use of different lenses to look at the distribution of work. It gave me new insight into the stresses and straining that comes with trying to maintain a family as well as a career.Being a single female i'm learning to take these things into perspective before getting married and starting a family. Because often times because of the injustices placed on Married women with children in the workforce, many women are are forced to choose between having a family or maintaining a career. This story provided a mirror which allowed me to see myself, my potential partner as well as the family dynamics of the people in which surrounds me. At a time in my life where I am starting to think about what I want my future and career to look like, this was an important reminder of the cultural precedents and pressures in place that will impact my freedom to live the life I might want. It's hard to comprehend the sheer magnitude of Hochschild's research and what it meant at the time she published it, but its relevance today speaks volumes of how much is left to be done in the field of gender equality.