Equality For Women at Work but Mothers Should Stay At Home.

                In my own home I grew up in a very traditional setting where mom stayed home to rear the children and my father worked full time to provide for us. As we aged, more children came into the home, and my mother growing lonely, my mother picked up a job at a farm. She was there late spring until early fall to help with the planting and harvest of the crops. She was gone more often but it helped to bring in extra money. In relating this to issues common in our society today, should fathers be the main providers with mothers to take of the house duties? It is important to discuss this issue considering how this kind of mentality can be hurtful, why there needs to be equality for women even if this is the ideal for parenting, and what reasons why this might be a good idea.

                Although, there are many good intentions with this idea of a working father and stay at home mom, this can set off the wrong mindset for young girls and women. This kind of mentality as a woman, in all honesty, is that no matter what I do, how much I achieve the only thing I will do is to make sure there is a clean house and that my kids are well dressed. That is not the mentality I want for my female friends, sisters, and future daughters. That is not to say motherhood is extremely important, but that before they become mothers they can be doctors, CEO’s, astronauts, whatever good thing they want to be. Their first goal is to become someone they are proud of, then when the time is right, where they want to start a family, they can put those things away and focus on being the mother their children need. In addition, in these times, it is almost inevitable that both parents will have to work. The same opportunities that men have in climbing up the ladder in business, equal pay, and treatment need to be provided for women.

                We no longer live in a world where we grow our own crops and the house we have is the one we made. Today, we have mortgages, credit, and money that makes the world run. Moreover, the income of both parents is sometimes necessary to provide for a family. In unfortunate cases, a spouse may die early, and the burden of finances will lean on one shoulder. It is important that opportunities exist where gender is not discriminated against. Bill Snyder, in his article, Can Women be Strong Leaders Without Being Labeled “Bossy?,” for the Stanford Business of School makes clear that, “ In order to get ahead, an executive must be seen as strong and competent, yet if a woman makes a point of seeming competent, she won’t be seen as warm and could face a backlash and not get promoted.” Therefore, if a widow enters the work force she doesn’t have the same opportunity to make the same money as her male counterparts without having to work harder than them. Death is also not the only cause for finances to fall on only one spouse, consider other causes such as disabilities, divorces, the loss of a job, etc. We can’t always rely on our husbands to provide for the finances, sometimes the roles will have to switch and by then I hope that someday the opportunities to be successful in a career are the same for women as they are for men.

                Although I have brought up many reasons that seem against having a father as a main provider and a mother as a stay-at-home mom, I do believe that this might be the way to go. I believe if we put too much on our plates our dinners will fall to the ground and maybe edible, but not as delicious as it could be. Women are gifted with the ability to carry children and science over and over again has proved that nurturing is a characteristic that comes more natural to women. Why not take advantage of this in parenting and use it to help raise kids? Sometimes mom just gets it in a way that dads have a harder time in understanding. Not that dad is excluded from parenting but when mom and dad aren’t being pulled in doing a career and taking care of everything at home they can be better parents who are happier, less stressed, and enjoy this time of parenting in their lives.