Blog #14

Britton theorizes that the entire employment structure is gendered because our jobs are presumed to be a separate matter from our home life. How many times have we heard someone say, “When I come to work I leave my home life at home and vice versa? It’s unthinkable to want to blend home and work life but in the case of working women, we have to. Because women are traditionally the caregivers to children and the caretakers of the home, it is often the male who will spend additional hours at work until the job is done. As a result, the male has the advantage of being perceived as “committed and devoted” to his work, always willing to go the extra mile and therefore more likely to get a promotion or considered for a leadership position. Working women with children on the other hand are often hesitant to sacrifice valuable time that they could otherwise spend with their children.
What Britton is highlighting is that the structures of most organizations are not designed to cater to working women with children. How many employers offer on-site daycare, flexible schedules or paid maternity leave? The answer is a no brainer and because the employment sector is not structured to meet the needs of the working mom. It is considered a perk or privilege when employers do offer flexibility for employees with children. However, because not many employers offer these “perks”, women seek more flexible careers thus reinforcing the gendered occupation roles depicted in popular culture. For example, whenever we see a teacher on TV (unless it is science or math) a teacher is always a woman and the same applies to the occupation of a nurse-always a woman. And when occupations are gendered from the ground up, meaning that the structures are designed to reinforce gender roles to begin with and then these images are retold through the media and furthermore through the absence of adequate support from the agencies, what we ultimately end up with is a workforce structure that gives every opportunity for advancement to the person that is willing to give it all up for the job-most likely a male.