Article Review: Women, Work, and Policies

I recently read this article by the New York Times that I thought required more than just a highlight on the monthly links post.  The article is entitled, Why U.S. Women Are Leaving Jobs Behind.  The author describes the difference in parenting policies enacted by the U.S. compared to Europe.  This is always an interesting topic for me because I’m vehemently opposed with creating a façade that women have a choice, but really they’re arranging it so that only one choice ends up being the better option.

The article discusses how the European policies seem to give favorable maternal leave, daycare subsidies, and higher protections to women once they have children.  Whereas the U.S. workers barely get sick leave, and only a few qualify for 12 week leave after the birth of a child.

And in the U.S., without any real support, women (and their partners) often have to make a decision as to whether their job is worth it when 1) the woman is likely getting paid less than her male partner; 2) there are very little affordable daycare options; and 3) most employers create unwelcome and demeaning environments that make it less likely for a woman to want to return to work.   With all these realities, the article still states that it seems U.S. women are leaving work “voluntarily.”  I’m not really sure how that’s being decided.  I think most women see the writing on the wall and take the path of least resistance (and why wouldn’t they?).

Unfortunately, this cycle continues to perpetuate stereotypes that hinder women.  This is seen when the article highlights the poll result conducted on recent Harvard Business School male graduates, which showed that these males readily assumed that their work would be more important than their wives and therefore they (the men) wouldn’t have to do as much child-rearing.  Whereas women were just yearning for a more equal partnership.

Ultimately, if women are leaving the workforce (“voluntarily” or not)  to raise their children; no one is making it easier for them to return (and many do plan to return after a few years); in fact, taking the time off is often viewed negatively.  This is emphasized at the end of the article where the main subject resigns herself as being “unhireable” because she’s been out of work for so long.  That makes me sad.  It makes me sad for all women, but especially those that put in the hours to gain professional credentials  (or want to earn those credentials) but are treated as less-than because they opted to raise a family.  I mean, that’s nonsense.  Women shouldn’t have to decide between earning and using their education versus raising and caring for their family. That should not be ok with anyone.  It’s especially maddening when the Europeans seem to have figured out how to provide basic help for their families.  I always double back and ask: if they can do it, why can’t we?  Especially when NY Times points out that women in the U.S. work less than their European counterparts, but when we do work we find more success.  Imagine the strides we could make if those that wanted to work after motherhood were encouraged in both spirit and law?