Changing Roles in Household - Essay Example

ESSAY: CHANGING ROLES IN HOUSEHOLD Introduction It has been observed that gender roles have been changing gradually over the years both at home and in the work the work places. Research findings indicates that men and women are changing their roles from the traditional ways and in the modern societies it is realized that both at home and work, people tend to share their responsibilities in fair proportions not considering one type of gender only. In the traditional society, gender roles were clearly defined and some roles were purely meant for the male gender while the female gender had their roles well defined. This happened both at home and in business world, women were not allowed to carry out some duties meant for men and most men were also not allowed to carry out the duties meant for women. This caused discrimination between the two sexes and there was no sharing of responsibilities even if one person might be unwell (Kuiper 2008). In modern society however, people tend to share their roles, no work is specified for men and women. According to a research by the US Families and Work Institute in March 2009 of about 3500 Americans, indicated that people are turning away from the traditional gender roles and currently people are sharing roles both at work and the tending of the household chores and the children. Men can today stay at home and help take care of the children, a role that initially they could not do. The following illustrations therefore try to affirm the changing household roles and its business and the economic impacts. The Body Katherine Lewis’s article on “Gender Roles Changes at Work and Home” she indicated that in the modern society, gender roles tend to converge and most of the young women are seeking jobs with more responsibilities and more demanding just like men. These kinds of jobs were initially viewed to be male dominated. In a survey carried out in 1992, 80% of young men were realized to seek jobs with more responsibilities and this was against the women’s 72%. This shows that more women had begun seeking for more demanding jobs than initially perceived. It is therefore clear that women are today on a similar aim with the males in their ambitions and expectations in jobs and dreams. Women have nowadays become more enthusiastic and hardworking to manage the work pressure. (Wolfinger & Gouiden 2009). Max Haller’s article on Female Employment and the change of Gender Roles, tries to relate the participation of women in the labour force with the increase in industrialisation. The changing female attitudes from the traditional perspective on jobs currently improve their employment opportunities. This has effect on the household’s income due to their contribution and there is economic motivation and job satisfaction. It is therefore true that the rate of female employment is dependent on their economic situations and the social cultural factors that also determine their roles. At times it is also depended on the prevailing cultural and religious norms (Bartlett & Ferber 2009). The journal on women and the economy indicates that traditionally women have been viewed to be dependent and of low productivity. The traditional economics at a large extent ignored the experiences of women and few of them secured employment in most of the institutions. But this has since changed and women are currently moving away from the households roles such as taking care of the children to accessing the paid workforce which was male dominated. The assumption that men are the only bread winner of the households and that women were providing emotional support alongside other household duties affected and underestimated the production possibilities of the country’s individuals and especially the women. These made the women to underestimate their potential and capabilities. The magazine on What Women Want Now indicates that several years ago, the few women who worked, just needed very little income just for their pockets while their husbands took all the responsibilities of the households and payment of all the bills. Currently according to a survey carried on some US women, it is realized that almost 40% of the women are the breadwinners of their homes, making the men to only bear the remaining 60%. This means that the women’s roles are gradually changing due to the changing pressure on family responsibilities and the increasing cost of living in homes. (Bartlett & Ferber 2009). It is important to note here that, years back very few women secured positions in active politics in the United States, few ladies secured chances in the medical colleges. These were mainly dominated by male, they were the rulers and women were to be their subjects. This has however changed as the roles are currently shared between the two sexes. Many women have taken part in active politics for example Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and others, many women have been admitted in medical colleges and there are about 145 foundations designed to improve women empowerment. The sharing of roles in the work places is also applied in the household’s duties (Gibbs 2009). The Los Angeles Times article by Emily Alpert, shows that men are finding it very difficult to feet in the women’s roles, especially in the household duties while on the other hand, women are thriving very easily in the men’s job. A study carried on some households indicated that only 1% of the stay- at- home fathers exist in several married couples. In a similar study on about 51% of the Americans households, it was noted that on those households with children, only 8% indicated a positive feeling when left home with their fathers. This therefore shows that women are very flexible to adapt very fast in new roles and they fit very fast in men’s roles but it is quite challenging for the male counterparts to carry out the roles of women. This trend is however changing and men are trying to undertake the roles that were mainly for women by slowly adjusting to the demands (Wolfinger & Gouiden 2009). Another article in the Los Angeles Times by Sharon, illustrates how many of the women are entering into the art industry. It is realized that many of the women draws and make very good sculptures than even the men who were the original members of the industry. Women never took part in the caving and paintings and art drawing in the traditional set up, it was male dominated. This is an indication that household roles are changing and sharing of the responsibilities is currently very common improving the economic status of the households and the nation due the large labour supply that increases the amount of GDP (Mizota 2013). The Wall Street Journal on Real Time Economics, tries to address the existing gender wage gap among many of the employees. There is a suggestion that both men and women should be subjected to more equal wage ration because their roles in the households are not so different. It is also noticed that the contribution of women and men to the economy are equal. Some arguments are however forwarded for the existing wage gap. Such arguments include factors such as most women do take time off from work, some of the also have les training on the job. There is therefore need to narrow the gap in the wage rate going by the current economic standards of the country and the situation of living standards in homes (Wolfinger & Gouiden 2009). On another article in the journal, it is indicated that women who have taken the challenge to take up the responsibilities and roles that were dominated by men are succeeding highly. It is noticed that the women are more ambitious than the men in the business sector; they work very hard and are quite determined. It is noted that of the women holding high ranking offices in the Wall Street, have families. This clearly indicates their level of responsibilities both at home with their families and at work (Gibbs 2009). Women have been the great factor on the huge success of the United States for over a long period of time. It is therefore noted that they should be empowered to bring them fully into the workforce so that they can fully unlock and maximise their potential for the improvement of the county’s economy and for their personal development (McKinsey 2011). He also notes that women should be encouraged to take part in the leadership positions and not just always be subjects because they also have the abilities. This will ensures distribution of the household roles and responsibilities (Gibbs 2009). Conclusion From the above illustrations from the articles on magazines and the journals, it is very evident that the household’s roles are changing from the traditional perspective to the modern ways. Traditionally, there were clear distinctions on what women were to do and what men were to do; there were no interchanging of roles and responsibilities. Women are however, currently taking part in once male dominated careers and professions while males are also moving into the female roles. There is therefore equitable distribution of labour in the current business sector where one is appointed due to his competency and abilities and not the gender of the individual. This has led to peaceful coexistence and mutual responsibilities in the households. The amount of income flow in the households has also increased and thereby the burden of responsibility in the houses has greatly reduced since the two partners in the household can bear the burden together (Wolfinger & Gouiden 2009). References. Gibbs, Nancy. “What Women Want Now” The Time Journal, July, 2009, pgs.1-5 http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1930277_1930145_1930309,00.html Haller, Max. “female employment and the change of gender roles: the conflictual relationship between participation and attitudes in international comparison” The Sage Journals Dec, 2014,pgs.1-2 http://iss.sagepub.com/content/9/1/87.abstract Bartlett, Robin L., Marianne A. Ferber, and Carole A. Green. 2009. "The Committee on Economic Education: It’s Effect on the Introductory Course and Women in Economics." 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