Post 34

Juggling work and family came be difficult for mothers and fathers. As explained in our reading and the material that was presented, trying to balance family and work can hurt a woman’s career. According to Joan Williams, the press and media displays a pretty “distorted impression of work and family.” The impression that the media portrays to society is misleading. In the video clip, Joan William categorizes family and work into three different classes. The first group is the low wage women, then the missing middle, and last the professional women. With these three different groups women experience a variety of struggles. The low wage women get hit the hardest when it comes to juggling work and family. This group usually consist of single mother women. The reason low wage women are at a high disadvantage, is because they usually they rely on friends or family members for child care arrangements. As read previously in our reading, child care arrangements are more likely to break down then any other care arrangements. According to Joan Williams, the children of this group or more likely to experience illness and health issues. They are also more likely not to have health insurance. These findings presented by Joan William correlates with material from the reading, Gender on Trial because both explains the struggle and challenges these mothers face when working in inflexible work places. Joan William also explains the issues of the missing middle women. These women are usually married however, those who are married “experience a high divorce rate” (Joan William). The reason for this is both the father and mother usually work. However, to try and balance work and family, they “tag team” in child care arrangements. When one get off of work the other leaves for work. This hurts the relationship of the two simply because there is no balance with work and family. They do not have the time to spend with each other as a whole. The last group that Joan mentioned was the professional women. These women work long hours and many are viewed as “unhappy.” Usually, the reason that women quit their job is because they want to be the nurtures and primary caregiver for their child. Also, because men are viewed as the “breadwinners” and according to Joan William, men usually work the longest hours 50 to 60 per week. Women therefore, quit there job so that their partner can work the long hours. In the reading, “Gender on Trial,” it also states that men are the “breadwinners” and women traditional roles are to be “nurturers.” Both the reading and the material explains and demonstrates how balancing work and family can be challenging and also bring problems. In one report a women who was working for a small job ended up giving birth early to her premature child. She was then laid off from work after they told her she still had her position and was getting maternity leave. Women experience situations like this in many workplaces. Some occupations are stern about time off, flexible hours, reduced hours, and part time. Work/ life balance is a big issue that many parents face.