Growing up in an Apostolic church, I was taught that women were not supposed to work and were supposed to take care of the house and children. Men were supposed to be the main supporter of the house and be the breadwinner while the woman stayed home to cook and clean.
While this is a modest lifestyle, when I was told this is what I should strive for as a woman, I was very unhappy. Why am I discouraged from working just because I am a woman? Why do people say women can’t do certain jobs? Why are women looked down upon in the workplace? These are the questions for us to dive into in this article.
Why am I discouraged from working just because I am a woman?
While there is nothing wrong with being a Proverbs 14 woman, life should be more than just being a housewife.
When I was told by my family that I should find a man to marry, I was speechless. Why marry to be in an unhappy marriage? Being a housewife is suffocating. Your only purpose being to raise the kids, take care of the house, and your husband without any gratitude is a burden on women.
Women should be able to go out and work if they want to and their husbands should support them. But unfortunately, many cultures still teach and encourage women to be the caretakers of the house. It is more common for minority women such as Hispanic and Asian, to be housewives while their husband works to support their families. According to Pew Research in 2012, 36% of Hispanic women and 36% of Asian women were housewives compared to 26% of white women and 27% of black women being housewives.
Why do people say women can’t do certain jobs?
Whenever I tell my family that I want to do a physically extraneous job, they look at me funny saying I can’t do that because I’m a woman. This is a common belief in society. There are many debates about whether a woman can uphold physically demanding jobs. It all truly comes down to if a person is able to put in the work to build muscle strength, then they are capable of doing the job. There are many strong women in the military, police department, and fire department. They didn’t get in just by doing the bare minimum, they were put in these physically demanding jobs by training hard to get into their respective positions.
Why are women looked down upon in the workplace?
Women face many struggles in the workplace. With sexual harassment and inappropriate comments, women with children are also harassed when it comes to maternity leave and being able to have a flexible schedule. In a study done by Motherly in 2022, after the pandemic women became pessimistic about their ability to balance work life and motherhood with 23% of women not believing it’s possible to combine them. With this pessimistic view and the workforce unconsciously supporting it, women are unable to go to the workplace confidently.
Women should be able to have the choice to go into the workplace without judgment and discouragement. Being in the workplace is rewarding for mothers and allows them to do something they are passionate about. We should be uplifting and supporting mothers who are taking a big step into the workplace and balancing childcare and working.