Social Changes: Parenting and Work Flexibility

1399 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: gender equality in today's society

In Reshaping the Work-Family Debate, Joan Williams discusses many different social changes that are necessary for our nation to move forward with gender equality in the workplace. One of Williams’ suggestions is the political and cultural change that would allow for the “missing middle” class to become recognized. She describes the “missing middle” as a broad group that consist of working class people and upper-class middle who don’t like to think of themselves as the poor, working class. However, this is the largest group in America and tends to get skipped over, as the elite, upper class groups are the ones making the policies and the lower class is the class typically being examined by those making the policies. (Williams, 156) Another social change that has been suggested can be found in Pamela Stone’s Opting Out? Stone suggests that rather than implementing leave policies for women, they implement “stay policies.” This would encourage women to come back to work after spending time with their children rather than quitting or “opting out” of the work force after they leave. These new policies would feature more flexibility in both work time and place. It also would not just be for women, and would allow for more long-term flexibility, where leave policies are very short term. (Stone, 224) Kathleen Gerson’s The Unfinished Revolution discusses more cultural changes that are necessary for gender in the work place. Many of the young adults she interviewed discussed moving towards new outlooks regarding both work and family, which would allow for gender equality in both the workplace and the home. Many women declared outlooks of self-reliance, as a fallback. Claiming they want to be able to support themselves and not b... ... middle of paper ... ...akers would recognize that the “missing middle” class has a lot of opinions and suggestions that could make the work and family debate a lot easier for all involved. Works Cited Gerson, Kathleen. The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. Shows, Carla, and Naomi Gerstel. "Fathering, Class, and Gender: A Comparison of Physicians and Emergency Medical Technicians." Gender & Society 23.2 (2008): 161-87. Print. Stone, Pamela. Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. Berkeley: University of California, 2007. Print. Williams, Christine L., Chandra Muller, and Kristine Kilanski. "Gendered Organizations in the New Economy." Gender and Society 26.4 (2012): 549-73. Web. Williams, Joan. Reshaping the Work-family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2012. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Second Shift

    1735 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even Though women have revolutionized themselves in relation to the world many other aspects of society have not. This phenomenon, originally coined by Arielle Hochschild in her book The Second Shift, is known as the stalled revolution. In essence while female culture has shifted male culture has not. This has created an unequal, unfair and oppressive atmosphere for women across the nation. The title of Hochschild's book tells it all. The second shift refers to the second shift of work women are and have been burdened with at home. Although they have made enormous leaps within the economy and workforce their gender roles at home and within society remain the same. Male culture and their ideas of female gender roles have not progressed. As a result needs of females have not been met. Working mothers today work more than any other demographic, a rough estimate of this comes out to be a whole extra month of work consisting of twenty four hour work days.

    Read More

  • Why Men Still Can T Have It All By Mari Anne-Marie Slaughter

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    At what point does work life start interfering with family life to an extent that it becomes unacceptable? Is it when you don’t get to spend as much time with your family as you would like, or is it the point where you barely get to see your family due to long hours at work? Is it even possible to balance work with family life? Anne-Marie Slaughter, the author of “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, believes this balance is impossible to achieve in this day and age. In contrast, Richard Dorment, the author of “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All”, believes that there will never be a day when someone will have it all, certain sacrifices will always have to be made. Both of these articles are similar in the respect that they both examine balancing a demanding career with raising children. The two authors’ views on the subject differ greatly, especially regarding how gender roles have a significant impact on our society.

    Read More

  • Analysis: Why Men Still Can T Have It All

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    College degrees, jobs, and income stream are all quantifiable items, however, a gauge on work-life balance, parenting abilities, and dedication at home cannot be measured by a number. In the past, men have been viewed as the backbone of the family. The typical day consists of getting up the earliest, going to work, coming home late at night, maybe missing out on trivial matters, but ultimately paying the bills. As time progresses, roles in households have shifted significantly. Now more than ever women are extremely active in the workforce, local communities, and politics. The obstacles faced by men and women are inherently different, but men seem to fall under an intensified microscope when it comes to intertwining family life with a career. Richard Dorment dives deep into these issues in his piece, "Why Men Still Can't Have It All." Although the argument may seem bias in favoring the rigorous lifestyle of men, the

    Read More

  • A Modern Division of Labor and Gender Norms

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Iversen, Torben and Frances Rosenbluth. Women, Work, and Power: The Political Economy of Gender Inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Kindle E-Book.

    Read More

  • American Women: Can They Have It All?

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    For years there has been the continued debate of whether women, and in some cases men, can have it all; that is defined as the general assumption is based on the Western model of what and how having it all is defined. For some, the idea of having it all can be defined in the simplest of measures, family, health, and wellness to the American model that is defined so often towards women which would include family, career, health, wealth, and sometimes many more variables. The article, “Can’t Have It All? Blame Our Extreme Work Culture” by Rana Foroohar specifically addresses the challenges that working American women and men face in determining whether or not to attempt to break the glass ceiling, or to “settle” for compromises and balance within their daily lives of family, work and culture. There are many parameters in which the dilemmas outlined in the article can be addressed. Specific focus will be emphasized in how Marx’s theory of the “dynamics of capitalism” and how it relates to our extreme work culture, gender inequality and the invisible labor of women in the home, and Gilman’s method’s of incorporating evolutionary theory to the roles of women; reproduction, economics, and the divided self.

    Read More

  • Persisting Gender Roles: A Barrier to Progress

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    Traditional gender roles challenge people’s goals and aspirations by having a preset notion of what each gender is allowed to look and act like. Although this problem is still very relevant in today’s society, it would be a lie to say that steps aren’t being taken to correct this societal issue. “Let’s keep showing how we can all move beyond traditional gender roles and a culture where dads get high fives for taking their kids to the park but shame for taking parental leave or flex hours to care for a parent. Where women are shamed and guilted if they don’t solely fulfill the traditional role of wife and mother at home, whether they have children or not. Let’s keep doing the research that shows businesses are actually more profitable and higher functioning when they promote diversity, and all workers have time for life. If we keep talking, then maybe I...may live to see the day when true gender parity has finally arrived”(Schulte

    Read More

  • Poverty, Women And Their Role In Society By Stephanie Coontz

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Patricia Hyjer Dyk talks about poverty and how it complicates the family life. On the other hand, Stephanie Coontz focuses on how families have changed from the 20th century to the 21st century; focusing on the negative and positive aspects of both. Dyke doesn’t talk much about how the family system and the earning system has changed, while Coontz focuses on that; however, in both the authors’ articles, women and their role in the society are significantly covered.

    Read More

  • The Gendered Division of Labour Within the Domestic Sphere

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    Berk, S. (1985). The Gender Factory: The Apportionment of Work in American Households. Plenium Press, New York.

    Read More

  • Evolution of Traditional Values: A Perspective on Gender Equality

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, many women choose their own lifestyle and have more freedom. They can choose if they want to get married and have kids or not. Coontz said “what’s new is not that women make half their families living, but that for the first time they have substantial control over their own income, along with the social freedom to remain single or to leave an unsatisfactory marriage” (98). When women couldn’t work, they had no options but to stay with their husband for financial support. Working is a new way of freedom because they can choose to stay or leave their husband and make their own decisions.

    Read More

  • Why Women Still Can T Have It All

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ever since the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, there has been a push for eliminating sexism and providing equality between men and women, especially in the workplace. The United States, along with most of the world, has made great strides in gender equality since then. Women can vote, and have careers, and men are able to stay home with the children if they choose to. But are the sexes really equal now? There are three common answers to this question. Some say yes, while the most common answer is no. The debate does not end there, however. It is typically assumed gender inequality is oppressing women and limiting their rights. Regardless, there are those who say the system is harming men instead. So, if gender inequality still exists,

    Read More

  • Housewife to Career: The Growth of Women in The Labor Markert

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    For centuries, women has always been dominated and controlled by men. Society has viewed women as the weaker gender and relied on men in order to survive. As time went on, things have changed, society has became more advance and so are women. During the World War II, women have increased their role in the society by replacing the men’s in the labor market and also increased their status in the society. Today, the growth of women in the work force continually to raise and so are their status. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Bureau of Economic Research, statistics have shown 58.1% of women were in the labor market in 2011 (USBLS) compared to employment rate during the war was 35% of women in the labor market in 1945 (Bussing-Burks). So what factors must have interested women to move from being housewife to the work force? Explanations can be derived through observations of their relationship in the household, their relative status in the society, and their rationality in decision-making.

    Read More

  • Gender Identity Essay

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    She is expected to live under the shadows of her husband commands and seize the stereotype of "the ideal housewife." A women’s identity is define by the idea of her gender and the internal forces that force her to fallow this notion. In many cases, the simple idea of pursuing a political career causes dismay in society. However, in order for a woman to achieve a level of equality that is just, there must be a change in the infrastructure of the women’s role, politically, and economically. In the article “Autonomy and the Struggle for Female Identity: Implications for Counseling Women,” McBride strongly declares, “Much of the feminist literature over the last 20 years has focused on the injustices done to women in our society, the need to validate women for their differences from men, and the need to move toward equality politically, economically, and socially ” (McBride 22). McBride concurs with the idea of providing women a place in society to encourage social acceptance in their work, and help them shape their own positive identity in their respective fields (22). This is not an issue that has risen in our society recently, but is an issue that we have taken for granted, and seen as a normal aspect of a women’s

    Read More

  • Working Mother Vs Housewife Essay

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood” was an interesting and informative article of what life was like when living in the shoes of a housewife in 1977. That was a time when women were going off to work in order to help support their families due to The Women’s Rights Movement. Society frowned upon those women who remained a housewife. They were viewed as blood sucking leaches living off their husbands. Terry Hekker believed that she would be one of the last housewives before their extinction. Some of the main beliefs that Ms. Hekker wanted to explain is there are misunderstandings about the role of a housewife, benefits can be gained and that the occupation of a housewife is an acceptable job for women. Terry Hekker proves that society back then left some women affected negatively by the “do-your-own-thing” philosophy. The author brought up a few arguments...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Family

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    The roles women typically play in the family may not always be consistent with success in the occupational arena. Staying home to care for a sick child may conflict with an important meeting (Broman 1991:511). Sometimes there has to be a change of plans when it comes to the family. Most people believe that family comes first no matter what. Men 's engagement in paid work fulfills prescriptions of hegemonic masculinity by facilitating their ability to gain status in the public sphere. A man can judge his worth by the size of a paycheck (Thebaud 2010:335). Most research shows that women are more likely to be effected by the household and men are more likely to be effected by their job. Some people feel that the goal is to reach higher on the occupational

    Read More

  • A womans work is never done

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, women have made optimistical progress towards equality and their role in the society has been changed dramatically since the last century. Many women stepped out of their home and start to work at factories and offices. The number of working women with children has more than doubled in the past 50 years. While working conditions for women may have improved, there is a lack of appreciation for the notion that work for most women doesn't end at the door of a factory or office. Despite an increase of women's participation in the labour force, women's share of housework has hardly changed in 50 years.

    Read More

More about Social Changes: Parenting and Work Flexibility

Open Document