Unit D - Blog #34

Joan Williams' book, Unbending Gender, talks about the unyielding family roles that continue to persist in our culture. There are two realms of work for her, outside work and family work. Outside work is a job or career that pays for your time while family family work includes child care, taking care of elderly, or the sick. She argues that women disproportionately are in charge of family care work even when they hold jobs themselves. If a woman is a stay at home mom, she feels devalued almost as if society finds her useless and unwanted. But then when a woman goes to work, we want her to stay home. Working women still carry out family work roles which leads to a society where males are expected to do outside work and little to no family work. This type of society is hurting children in the process because mothers are overworked or feel undervalued and fathers continue a track of not helping in the family work arena. While Williams suggest legislation to help assist in paid leave and childcare, she is more concerned about how society views family life as a whole. She believes that is the true crux of the problem. Unless we change our ways of thinking, there is no way to change the actual problem. Overall women must take less of the family work and men must start participating in it.