The coronavirus pandemic has hit the world hard, and no retaliation has been made. It has exposed different sectors and affected employment greatly. Companies are closing down and reducing their workforce while entertainment industries, such as nightclubs, are no longer functional as the majority of the people are in lockdown. Most people are now working from home and have to deal with housework and their professional work. The lockdown due to coronavirus has exposed many social perspectives, such as gender roles, where the role sharing between couples, even when they are at home, is unequal. The article by Hinsliff in the Guardian Newspaper tries to explore the gender roles in the society, particularly regarding housework, tutoring children, and other jobs in the house. According to Hinsliff, the lockdown has greatly affected women in society. Now that the couple is at home with the children, housework should be shared. However, this is not the case. Women are doing most of the work from taking care of the children, performing regular house chores, tutoring the children, and not forgetting their professional jobs. Although some men support their wives, there is no equality as women are doing the donkey work while the men concentrate on their professional jobs. In addition, most women have been sent on unpaid leave while others have been terminated for companies to deal with the economic pinch of the virus. This has resurrected the old gender inequalities in society.
Gender inequality has been a hot topic for the last few decades. Gender inequality in society is particularly against women who are granted few opportunities in a male-dominated society. For example, men stand a high chance of getting higher payments in jobs than females, even though their level of experience and expertise is the same. This gender discrimination is based on traditional stereotypes regarding women. Women and men have assigned gender roles in society. Often, makes are expected to handle the technical and highly complicated tasks while women are expected to handle the simple jobs. Furthermore, men are not seen as caregivers, while women are expected to be kind, caregivers, and highly responsible people. These gender roles affect the position of women in society by undermining their ability to displaying similar performance as men.
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I agree with Hinsliff's (2020) judgment in her article. Currently, the majority of the people are in lockdown due to the need to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Often, married or cohabiting couples spend most of the day away from each other and see each other in the morning before leaving for work or after work. The new setting has disrupted this schedule, and they are forced to stay indoors together with the children. For those who often have commuting house helps, it has become almost impossible to commute using the train or bus service. This means the role of taking care of the children and tutoring them has been squarely left on the parents. The sharing has become a major problem, where the women are left to do all jobs in the house. Although the women have professional jobs too, most men are ignoring them and letting them do all the work––after all, it is their job to take care of the kids. In addition, the employers of women are not going easy on them either. Despite the understanding that women have other chores in the house, like taking care of their children, the employers are indifferent about this. The bosses argue that if women are unable to work at home, they should request for unpaid leave. Pregnant women also experience the same challenge and have to work under difficult conditions to avoid being sacked.
This is very inconsiderate of the males and the bosses. People are living in the 21 st century, where roles are not defined. Men can work on 'women' jobs while women can work on 'men' jobs. The task of taking care of children, house chores, and tutoring children should be shared equally between the couple since the children are theirs, and it is their responsibility to take care of the children and perform the house chores. All of them have professional jobs, and therefore every individual should sacrifice for the good of the family. The bosses should also be considerate about women who are working from home and should ease the pressure. Home is not a very conducive environment for working.
This article relates to sociology topics regarding gender inequality and gender roles. The article expounds on the perception of society towards women. From the article, it is clear that the perception of society towards women as caregivers and housewives has not changed. Most women are overworking in trying to balance the daily house chores, taking care of the kids, and being competitive professionally. The article also explores the influence of women in society. It is clear from the article that women play a huge role in shaping the community. Women are both workers and caregivers in society. This promotes economic and social growth in society. The article also explores the oppression and objectification of women in society. It is seen that women are still objectified and oppressed in society. Men and employers are expecting women to perform at work regardless of the amount of work they do at home of taking care of the children and handling house chores.
In conclusion, traditional gender roles are still evident in society. The majority of the people in society expect women to behave in a certain manner. During this lockdown period, women who are working from home are expected to take care of the children, perform house chores, and deliver in their professional careers. Pregnant women are also expected by employers to perform in strenuous conditions, or else they lose their jobs. This article expounds on sociology regarding gender roles, oppression, and objectifying of women in society. Every individual should advocate for equal rights to create a better society.
References
Hinsliff, G. "As the lockdown bites, it's women who are taking the strain." The Guardian 17 April 2020. Online Article. <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/17/lockdown-women-working-mothers-coronavirus-home-working>.
