one thing I don't appreciate
One thing that I don't appreciate is closed-minded feminists.
An article in the New York Times (click here to read it) entitled "Off To Work She Should Go" talks about the decreasing number of married mothers who return to work after having a child. The author (Hirshman) felt it necessary to express herself after hearing the results from the study "Trends in Labor Force Participation of Married Mothers of Infants." Hirshman summed up the results:
"Sixty percent of married mothers of preschool children are now in the work force, four percentage points fewer than in 1997. The rate for married mothers of infants fell by about six percentage points, to 53.5 percent. The bureau further reports that the declines 'have occurred across all educational levels and, for most groups, by about the same magnitude.' In sum, sometime well before the 2000 recession, wives with infants and toddlers began leaving the work force. And they stayed out even after the economy began to revive."
Here is my least favorite section:
"Should we care if women leave the work force? Yes, because participation in public life allows women to use their talents and to powerfully affect society. And once they leave, they usually cannot regain the income or status they had."
Is the only way a human can "participate in public life" or "powerfully affect society" by joining the traditional work force? And, how much a person uses their talents or affects society has almost NOTHING to do with the income level they have. I would venture to say that a person who is earning money buy only using their talents is NOT meeting their full earning potential.
"And despite the happy talk of 'on ramps' back in, only 40 percent of even high-powered professionals get back to full-time work at all. That the most educated have opted out the most should raise questions about how our society allocates scarce educational resources. The next generation of girls will have a greatly reduced pool of role models."
So, I'm officially taking the stance of disagreeing with Ms. Hirshman. What a limited view she has. I wonder if she is able to live up to the standards she has for success. Considering she has a law degree but is a feminist author, I'd say - by her standards - SHE wasted some "scarce educational resources."
An article in the New York Times (click here to read it) entitled "Off To Work She Should Go" talks about the decreasing number of married mothers who return to work after having a child. The author (Hirshman) felt it necessary to express herself after hearing the results from the study "Trends in Labor Force Participation of Married Mothers of Infants." Hirshman summed up the results:
"Sixty percent of married mothers of preschool children are now in the work force, four percentage points fewer than in 1997. The rate for married mothers of infants fell by about six percentage points, to 53.5 percent. The bureau further reports that the declines 'have occurred across all educational levels and, for most groups, by about the same magnitude.' In sum, sometime well before the 2000 recession, wives with infants and toddlers began leaving the work force. And they stayed out even after the economy began to revive."
Here is my least favorite section:
"Should we care if women leave the work force? Yes, because participation in public life allows women to use their talents and to powerfully affect society. And once they leave, they usually cannot regain the income or status they had."
Is the only way a human can "participate in public life" or "powerfully affect society" by joining the traditional work force? And, how much a person uses their talents or affects society has almost NOTHING to do with the income level they have. I would venture to say that a person who is earning money buy only using their talents is NOT meeting their full earning potential.
"And despite the happy talk of 'on ramps' back in, only 40 percent of even high-powered professionals get back to full-time work at all. That the most educated have opted out the most should raise questions about how our society allocates scarce educational resources. The next generation of girls will have a greatly reduced pool of role models."
So, I'm officially taking the stance of disagreeing with Ms. Hirshman. What a limited view she has. I wonder if she is able to live up to the standards she has for success. Considering she has a law degree but is a feminist author, I'd say - by her standards - SHE wasted some "scarce educational resources."
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posted by kathryn at 12:46 AM
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