She joins a long list of women who quit their jobs not because they can’t, or don’t like to, but simply because their families don’t create the alignment necessary to keep them in the workforce. She was tired of balancing both work and responsibilities at home. If managing the kitchen and house, taking care of the many guests and family, and playing the role of wife and daughter-in-law were the priorities of her household, she decided that it was pointless to struggle to keep a job. I thought he gave up too quickly. This is unacceptable in this day and age, I argued. She told me that she had tried, but she could no longer bear the physical and mental stress.
It is exhausting to hear these stories even in these so called modern times. In my mother-in-law’s and mother-in-law’s generation, women hardly went to work. Even when he did, it was economic necessity that drove him to work. He chose what he saw as a safe career option, working in schools, hospitals, banks and government organizations. they are not ready to seek career progression, for fear of less flexibility to work longer hours, transfer and take leave. They took care of the house and chores, took help from parents and relatives, and struggled to make it work, but they could not quit their jobs because the house needed money.
Women of my generation did better. We can choose our career, choose a job that we enjoy doing. We can better communicate with ourselves, help where we need it, and use our financial independence to make decisions that matter to us. Although many of us were expected to play our roles in the household as well, we can ask the men in our lives to step in, and we can make concessions as needed. There were tough days at work and at home, but we got through. The next generation will do even better what we had assumed. These women knew they were equal to men, with most of them demanding that they not take on more responsibilities at home. Men and families obliged in many cases. But many still treat the woman and her career very differently. No man ever asks how he will handle his job after marriage or having a child. These questions are reserved for female.
My view is that women should participate in the world outside their homes. We make up half the population, and we must be involved in the big decisions that the world makes, because it affects our lives and the lives of our children. If more and more women choose to stay at home and not participate in the community around them or expand their circle of influence to make an impact on the larger world, we will be poor for that choice. The unethical practices we have in the food industry, the chemicals and junk we consume from grains and fruits to packaged food and prepared food, if women had made those decisions, I think this could have been avoided. Yes, I think. I think women may not have chosen profits for the good of the eaters. I would also think that global warming and climate change would not look at us so strictly if women were in positions of power who would make decisions for the world.
Maybe I get romantic. But I believe that women bring a significant complementarity to decisions. many people think working woman As a wearer of pants; Some even expect him to behave like a man. But miss this point. Within the home and in the outside world, the woman brings a different perspective, a different angle to problem solving, and a different skill to address issues. We can’t miss it; We need women’s participation in the world around us.
Household responsibilities should not deter a woman from pursuing the financial independence she desires. Even for that subtle level of independence, being employed is a choice a woman should be able to do without reservation. We remain a society that imposes additional burdens and responsibilities on the woman, even if she shares the financial burden of the household. For even the most accomplished and determined woman, giving birth to a child is a natural setback in her career path. Many people are torn between the needs of the child and the compulsions of the job and choose to take a break from work. Even though we may argue that this break is a necessity, many other barriers to career pursuit prevail as we remain inappropriate towards the role of a woman at home and outside.
I remember how easily I could interrupt work with calls and questions from home, while the husband was treated with more respect. Even in the work from home scenario, I know many friends who tell me how to take their jobs lightly and ask them to feed the family, take care of the kids, entertain guests, and keep the house. Time off is expected. The family members fail to take the working woman seriously, they are sorry.
A whole family is needed to enable a woman to be independent to get to work and pursue a career. Everyone needs to get on board to accept that she should go to work, if she chooses to do so, and support her. We don’t need definition of role, we need spontaneity. Every adult must learn to be in charge of their own needs for food, cleanliness, and their own tasks. And they should be able to do all the household and family tasks voluntarily and uninterruptedly. It’s a shame to say this in this modern age, but we still run homes in which no one knows how to cook or clean. We do not believe so seriously that the world also belongs to women, not now.
(The author is the chairperson of the Center for Investment Education and Learning)