Women and the Work Force

Yet another thought-provoking article in the NY Times about women opting out of the work force:

Is this shift evidence for the popular notion that many mothers are again deciding that they prefer to stay at home and take care of their children?

Maybe, but many researchers are coming to a different conclusion: women are not choosing to stay out of the labor force because of a change in attitudes, they say. Rather, the broad reconfiguration of women's lives that allowed most of them to pursue jobs outside the home appears to be hitting some serious limits.

Comments

[dmz]

See Miriam Peskowitz's book
Who is winning the Mommy Wars. Miriam Peskowitz, author of Spinning Fantasies, a feminist reading of some Talmudic passages writes about her decision to leave academe after the birth of her daughter due, in part, to the lack of proper part-time work and benefits. She argues for workplaces that are more family friendly in terms of flexibility, pay and benefits for working mothers and fathers

[Karen]

Wow, thanks Devora, I never made that connection though I am familiar with both books!

[Archana]

I really thought this article was very important - sending a signal to all of society to change the way that industries are structured to accommodate women workers. It seems we have all the opportunities, but not enough support to succeed.

[Soferet]

BS"D
For sure. If things are structured in such a way as to discourage women from working outside our homes while raising children, then there will be fewer people to compete against in the job market.

[Andrea]

I do think that industry needs to change - not for women workers but for ALL workers. Unless this problem is reframed as a family issue and even a general life issue instead of a "women's thing", we will not see sufficient change.

But what jumped out at me in this article was not that industry needs to change but that home life needs to change. Men need to commit to sharing the responsibilities of childcare and chores so that their wives can work if they want to - and women must demand that this happens.

[Archana]

This was a good article - Oprah magazine has a few very well-written articles on similar subjects of work + motherhood in the May edition.