Connected to our common theme about maternalism, this article speaks to the issue of women and family-life and their career development. I think it was super interesting and spoke to the biological necessity to take time off of work to start a family but how hard it is to reenter the workforce after starting a family. It talked about how a woman's career goals should not be inhibited by the fact that they have to have children and take time off to start a family. They say that there is almost an expiration date on a woman's career due to them wanting to start a family. Its really interesting and I would love to here your guys' take of it.
"A woman’s dreams are not to be tied up by the name of a special bond she shares with her baby or the natural instinct that makes her take over family responsibilities. As a person who believes that the society as a whole has a role to play if we want more women in the corporate world, I’d like to reiterate that even the question, ‘Who decides the expiry date of a woman’s dreams’, holds good only when women are at least given an opportunity to weave their dreams by minimizing the constraints imposed!! "
full article:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/women-business-devika-r/?trackingId=covzrenoh%2F91IRgg6n4VJQ%3D%3D
Hi Mackenzie,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting LinkedIn article! A part of the article that stood out to me was:
"Finally, for ‘Women in Business’ to be a reality, efforts have to be taken by a woman herself. She should be ready to let go off few special moments or occasions, be not guilty of them and realize that it is difficult to have it all."
The essence of this statement places the onus of change on the individual woman. I always feel conflicted when authors put this pressure on individuals, as it seems to negate the fact that there are certain structural elements at play (i.e. the social idea that it is women's domain to take care of the child) that should be resolved before we call upon individual women to change how they think about their choices in life. Similarly, I felt conflicted when reading The Feminine Mystique, which makes a similar case for individual women to seek personal fulfillment outside the home, without addressing the structural elements at play that inhibit women's choices.