One of the issues that raise controversy in many areas is gender equality. Nature as well as quantity each gender is the focal point of their status as well as activeness in the family (Ruppanner, 2013). Over time, the issues regarding gender equality have dramatically become higher, more so concerning household and work field. Anne Marie Slaughter elucidates some of the general reasons that women encounter while trying to maintain their rigorous occupations as well as family in her essay, “Why Women Can’t Have It All?” Similarly, Richard Dorment explains how men deal with comparable issues concerning work-life balance in his article “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All?” The interpretation by both writers disputes previous articles that have assumed that gender equality is no longer an issue. As such, in this paper, I will conquer with Anne Marie Slaughter that gender equality regarding occupation is quite favorable to men since women deal with more issues, for instance, gender discrimination and motherhood.
Firstly, in her article’s introduction, Slaughter indicates that it is hard for a woman to try being a mother and hold a high-ranking job simultaneously. She elucidates that her fourteen-year-old son is becoming disobedient to adults, disrupts classes, fails in mathematics, and does not do his homework. She believes that her son’s behavior is attributed to her absence due to job commitments (Slaughter, 2015). She illustrates this when she articulates that it is becoming hard for her to fail to attend to her son when she clearly knows that he needs her (Slaughter, 2015).
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Additionally, Slaughter discusses how she started receiving numerous criticisms regarding her work-life balance which disturbed her. The criticisms Slaughter received were very disappointing comments. These people were disappointed that Slaughter would leave her previous high-level job to concentrate on the well-being family. In their opinion, compromising a good occupation for a family's well being is an unnecessary move (Slaughter, 2015). I agree with her choice. It is apparent that mothers are naturally nurturers, and as such, to them, the family will always come first.
Moreover, Slaughter elucidates her prior belief that the type of occupation a woman has is not a determinant of whether she can or cannot "have it all." However, she later contradicts this notion by stating how she was guilt-filled of being amongst a score of women who believe they are blameworthy if they can't be able to have an active home life and also rise the professional ladder as fast as men (Slaughter, 2015). Consequently, Slaughter elucidates how having an occupation which is time demanding takes a huge part of family’s and household’s time. According to Slaughter, it would be a challenge to work in a high-level government job and at the same time be the parent she sought to be.
Also, Slaughter enlightens on how the high-level occupations don’t prioritize family and household. She gives two examples of situations that support her claim. One of the circumstances she explains is Michele Flournoy's article published in ‘The New York Times.' Michele Flournoy is an undersecretary of defense for policy who decides to quit her job to be with her family. The most noteworthy part that mesmerizes me is that instead of taking her reason for resigning as a standard Washington excuse, they took it at face value. An emphasis from Slaughter shows that those judging Michele Flournoy implied it was impossible for someone to resign from her job just to spend time with her family. They instead suggested that her resignation was a cover-up for something else. The second circumstance Slaughter uses is as a backup for her claim that high-level occupations don't prioritize family is when she discusses this issue with fellow women in a senior job as hers. The women respond that they thought that they are to choose between taking care of their families and pursuing their careers (Slaughter, 2015)Regarding this point, I think nobody should choose between having a family and pursuing their careers. Despite how important the occupation may seem, the family should always be a priority.
Finally, Slaughter explains why it is necessary for women to be more flexible as compared to men. Consequently, the flexibility of women makes it easier for an organization to choose a man for a job. However, such a decision of bypassing flexible women for men has a dire impact on the organization. She argues that women’s flexibility is advantageous to an organization since it assists in tapping into the organization’s talent pool. As such, prioritizing in men workforce simply because the organization wants to avoid flexibility lowers its innovation scope (Slaughter, 2015).
On the other hand, Richard Dorment introduces his piece with an argument that men and women are equal in the occupational field. According to Dorment (2013), the number of women in the labor force is similar to the number of men. He states that men in the workforce execute their roles for more extended hours and experiences high-stress levels and yet they are asked to provide more assistance. Dorment believes that such requests are unwarranted since men are executing their said roles the best way they can. Although I may agree with Dorment that men experience longer working hours and high stress levels, I think they still are still not doing the best they can in taking part in family and household well being.
Depending on an individual's classification of work's definition, Dorment states that both men and women execute a similar amount of work. He estimates that while men work fifty-eight hours per week, women work fifty-nine hours a week (Dorment 2013). This estimation for women includes the unpaid work they do. Additionally, Dorment claims that working men are typically unhappy with their lives as compared to working women. According to Dorment (2013), eighty-seven percent of men are likely to state that they are happy with their lives in contrast to ninety-three percent of women.
Furthermore, Dorment discusses on how men feel unneeded and unappreciated for their roles. He elucidates on how women always request for more support and when they offer their support, men always receive negative feedback that whatever they are doing is in contrast to what they are told (Dorment, 2013). However, this theory by Dorment that men’s don’t receive appreciation for the simple household tasks they execute or the tasks are said to be executed wrongly is quite true from my observation.
Lastly, Dorment explains the amount of pressure men receive dictating they maintain their masculinity. He reveals how the popularity of paid paternity leave is increasing. However, he states that it is unnecessary and people’s notion on those men who take paternity leaves is that they are short of masculinity.
Though both writers' opinions regarding gender equality in the occupational field differ, they both deem motherhood and childhood as a critical factor in having a job. Slaughter encompasses a response from a female high-level job workers' perspective regarding women considering choosing their families or careers. On the other hand, Dorment elucidates on the on how childbirth can affect women's profession. Moreover, both writers believe that of recent there is an increase in the number of men that are being involved in household roles. However, Slaughter thinks that women still experience much difficult time in work-life balancing as compared to men. Conversely, Dorment is more inclined towards the notion that both genders experience an equal number of issue that interrupts the balancing of their work and life.
Generally, it is apparent that feminists would love to inquire if the credit women receive equates to the amount of responsibility they carry. For feminists, acts such as tending to kids, cooking, and cleaning may not be receiving the credit they deserve. Although it may not be all the feminists who think exactly alike, a good number may disagree with my take that means also don't receive credit matching their roles. As a matter of fact, I think men do more household work, but most of the time it is overlooked. Therefore, I think men can be involved in household work if women will appreciate their efforts more often.
Overall, both Slaughter and Dorment explore gender equality concerned with an occupation. As seen, I support Slaughter’s take that women experience a difficult time maintaining work-life balance as compared to men. On the other hand, Dorment insists that both men and women experience similar issues regarding work-life balance. Nevertheless, both articles are informative and excellent sources of insight pertaining to gender equality in the work field.
References
Dorment, R. (2013). Why Men Still Can't Have It All. Retrieved from https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22764/why-men-still-cant-have-it-all-0613/
Ruppanner, L. (2013). Having it all: in pursuit of gender equality and work-life balance. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/having-it-all-in-pursuit-of-gender-equality-and-work-life-balance-19243
Slaughter, A.M. (2015). Why women still can’t have it all? They Say, I Say , 676-696. New York,
NY; W.W. Norton
