The Least Worst Choice : Why Mothers Opt Out Of The Work Place

In today’s economy, it is a hard fact that many women will have to enter the workforce. In her article for The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t have it All”, Anne-Marie Slaughter examines the difficulties faced by women who either have children or would someday like to do so. Having given up on the task of holding a high powered government position while being the mother of a teenager, her kairotic moment, the author discusses the changes that would be necessary in order for women to find a real work-life balance. Although Slaughter 's target audience is primarily women who seek high powered positions, the article contains ample information that should appeal to both men who seek to balance the needs of a growing family with their work responsibilities, as well as workplace policy makers who could help usher in the necessary changes. Her goal in sharing her experiences is to argue that women can succeed at the very top level of their organizations, “But not today, not with the way America’s economy and society are currently structured” (Slaughter).

Jobs are currently available to women of any race, background, or ethnicity, and the age to go into an area of work has gradually decreased; for instance, some careers allow students to begin a job starting at the young age of fourteen. But working was not always an option for women. World War I was the stepping stone that pushed women into the workforce. As men were being drafted into the military, women stepped up into factory jobs, creating the necessary technology for America’s victory and emergence as a world power. In today’s government, women are joining the workforce because the economy calls for it. With high costs of raising children, college debt shooting through the roof, and gas prices going up, women are taking on similar roles to their husbands and providing two set incomes as opposed to

A woman has many decisions and sacrifices to make when balancing work and family. Ann-Marie Slaughter is the author of “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” where she explains what it is like to hold a higher ranking position and have children at home. She begins by building her credibility with personal facts and sources, citing other women in younger and older generations. Slaughter fills her essay with high emotion to empower women to be able to have a higher profession without giving up the time with the ones you love. She describes what it is like to lead her business life, and struggle to guide her children, when she doesn’t even have time for herself.

There is data to support the idea of a mother taking time off or a woman reducing her working hours to part-time will hurt her significantly in the career world. The reason for this sudden break in a woman’s career being motherhood. The most popular reason for working less hours is in a law firm is for a mother to take care of her child. Taking this additional time off decreases the chances of the mother receiving a partnership immensely. When doing this, the mother also risks the idea of herself being seen as “not serious about her career”, permanently damaging her chances of promotion at the private practice. However, mothers are no less likely than childless women to receive a

It is still common in today’s society to dismiss women’s experiences in the workforce. According to pureresearch.org, women are more likely than men to adjust their career in order to take care of their family. Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article has given me a lot of insight on how America is structured in terms of women in the workforce. She explains in her article “Why Women Can’t Have It All”, the difficulty of keeping a high profile job while taking care of her family. Her experiences is very common among women all over the spectrum of the workforce.

With the rise of the modern age economic survival has become difficult for families based on a single income. This economic need along with modern attitudes toward gender equality has resulted in women being represented in the workforce in greater numbers. However, until the 1960’s women faced severe discrimination when trying to enter and maintain a position in the workforce. Often qualified women would be passed over for men with less experience and education. Employers were fearful that women were too emotional and were not equipped to handle the stress of the work environment. Also driving the decision to not hire or promote women was the concern over the additional health care expenses and leave time pregnant

The article “Female Company President: ‘I’m Sorry to all the Mothers I Worked With’” by Kathrine Zaleski, president and co-founder of PowerToFly, argues that women can be both successful mothers and employees if employers take the initiative to accommodate them. At the beginning of the article, she regretfully recalls moments in her career in which she judged other women for trying to balance family life and a career. After she gave birth to her own daughter that she realized that she held wrong and harmful attitudes towards female employees with children. Our society required her to choose between a career and raising a child, and she decided that something needs to change. She decided to co-found a company

For years, society has encouraged women to engage in labor force participation and to create a career outside of the household. The feminist movement discouraged women to continue their roles as caregiver because it was considered a low status position in society. To be considered successful in life, one needed to achieve a high paying career and as everyone knows the job of mom is free of charge. The movement also portrayed the traditional family structure as a way to keep women confined to their homes, rather than a structure built with the main idea of women having complete focus on the most valuable job of their lives “Motherhood.” The feminist movement was to fight for women’s rights but at the same time the movement forced mothers to make a difficult decision of either entering the workforce and leaving children in daycare or continuing the homemaker’s lifestyle. After many years of liberation for women in the workforce there has been a decline in the number of women who continue a career after childbirth. Contrary to the feminist belief, mothers are finding a greater sense of fulfillment staying at home to raise children rather than focusing on a career. Data taken from the U.S Census Bureau in 2005 shows the amount of stay at home mothers is about 5.6 million (Zamora). More women are replacing the 1950s “housewife” stigmas and renouncing their roles in society with a new high status of “domestic engineers.” Although mothers who chose to stay at home might have a harder time reentering the workforce and many think it will make families struggle financially, more mothers of young children should stay at home instead of returning to the workforce. This will allow mothers to have more efficacious time to spend with children. Along with the unaffordable cost of quality child care causing

Gilberts concludes that the nation (United States) is neutral to the question “Should moms stay at home" (85). It is a choice; there are policies for the women with children that would like to work. These policies "...give equal consideration to the diverse values that influence how women

Women are becoming more independent and seeking careers so they do not have to rely on anyone, but themselves. Although women are stepping out of the unjust expectation of being housewives they unconsciously step right back in it. Due to American culture’s beliefs for the female role, women typically outnumber men in careers such as educator, health and child care, and social worker. It is less likely for a woman to be hired in male-dominated industries that have to do with construction, management, and engineering. For years’ women have been fighting to gain equality in the world of careers and even though there are women CEOs and managers, they still do not get paid equally to men. American women who work full-time, year-round are only paid 78 cents for every dollar that is being paid to a male. For fifty years women have been trying to break free from the social rules society has on them and when women finally break free from the housewife role they still are not seen as equal to men in the career

It has been reported that in 1970, women held an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent; and as of 2012, women hold an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent (Data & statistics, 2014). With an increase in unemployment by two percent, job security after graduation is a concern for many women. “Within the United States women are more likely to live in poverty than men and still face significant barriers to economic security and stability, including: occupational segregation; barriers to moving into higher-level positions; low wages and unequal pay; inadequate workplace flexibility; and pregnancy and sex discrimination.” (Data &

In this book, it explains how women are becoming the family’s primary breadwinners in today’s society. Women are now receiving higher positions in major companies and taking the role of a male to provide for their families. This book also engages in how there are not many women that have these higher positions. It has been said that women simply do not ask to be promoted within the company. Also, when women are promoted it has been said that women do not negotiate their options and what would be suitable for them. Many jobs such as firefighters, police officers, and detectives have been labeled as a masculine job, and can be argued that they are more suitable for men. This book explains how the woman 's progression level has remained nearly the same over the years, standing firm at three percent of chief executive jobs and less than sixteen percent of corporate officer jobs since 2002.

Working women in America are in a difficult and complex state. Women in the workforce are encouraged to compete "like men," which conflicts with the demand for their time during "the second shift". Complete dedication is expected both in the workplace and in the home, and little support is provided by the opposite sex and the government. If the government acquired a larger responsibility for working families, it could implement several policies that have already proven to alleviate the burden on working women and promote gender equality in other industrialized nations.

Spend long hours working outside is also a reason why they need to send their children to child care for the whole day, or leave their children alone at home because not all solo mothers have much helps from their families. Therefore, they need to look for quality early learning, but some of them can’t find quality childcare or day nurseries with lower or no cost. D (2017) reported, “In Oregon, Massachusetts and New York, a single mother of an infant ages 0-3 would have to pay more than half of her income for day care at a center” (n.p). Some of solo single mother qualify for the child care subsidy, but they have to wait list for a long time. In 1993, Polakow pointed out that “many women worked night jobs while their children were asleep, fearing that discovery might lead to neglect charges” (p.50). Without adult’s supervision, their children are more likely to roam the street. Therefore, being single mother are very stressful because they can’t balance between work and children. Berryhill and Durtschi (2017) have noted, “Mothers who work demanding or inflexible jobs may experience that the demands at work may decrease maternal resources, especially when the demands come at the cost of being able to fulfill their role as a mother. The workplace can be an additional source of stress, especially if the job pre-vents mothers from attending to childcare needs” (p.239). Thus, the single mothers don’t have quality time with their children, or take care of their children because

Today's women are being scrutinized if they decide to enter the work force and have children. There seems to be a stigma that you cannot be a career woman and have a family. Women find themselves entering the work force before they have children and then choosing to stay after the children are born. Some women find that their families require two incomes or in some cases their income may be the sole source. There are also positive outcomes of working mothers. Some studies show that while the lack of a mother's presence can impact a child negatively, a mother that does not work may have a severe impact on a family. With a dual income household, many mothers are able to make more choices for their families when it comes to nutrition and