Wikipedia

Women's work

For the music by Kate Bush, seeThis Woman's Work.For other uses, seeWomen's Work.

Women's workis a field of labour assumed to be solely the realm of women and associated with specific stereotypical jobs considered as uniquely feminine or domestic duties throughout history. It is most commonly used in reference to the unpaid labor typically performed by that of a mother or wife to upkeep the home and children.[1]

Women's work is generally unpaid or paid less than "men's work" and is not as highly valued as "men's work".[2]Much of women's work is not included in official statistics on labour, making much of the work that women typically do virtually invisible.[3]For example, throughout much of the 20th century, the women working on afamily farm,no matter how much work they did, would be counted in, for example, theUS censusas being unemployed, whereas the men doing the same or even less work were counted as being employed as farmers.[4]Similarly, many acts of creativity, such as tapestry, quilting, sewing, and weaving, which are often performed by women, have been traditionally undervalued by the mainstream art world, classified as women's work and thus, until recently, rarely included in art exhibitions, galleries or museums.[5]

Types

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There are several types of work that are considered women's work; they involve child care, housework, and occupations such asnursingthat have been dominated by women in recent decades.

Child care

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The term "women's work" may indicate a role with children as defined bynaturein that only women are biologically capable of performing them:pregnancy,childbirth,andbreastfeeding.It may also refer to professions that involve these functions:midwifeandwet nurse."Women's work" may also refer to roles inraising children,particularly within the home:diaperchanging and relatedhygiene,toilet training,bathing,clothing, feeding, monitoring, and education with regard topersonal care.

Women-dominated industries

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See also:Pink-collar worker

Women's work may also refer to professions that include childcare such asgoverness,nanny,day careworker,au pair,or professional positions such asteacher(especially teaching children) andnurse.

House work and home production

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"Women's work" may also refer to roles related tohousekeeping,such ascooking,sewing,ironing,andcleaning.It may also refer to professions that include these functions, such asmaidandcook.Though much of "women's work" is indoors, some is outdoors, such as fetching water,groceryshopping or foodforaging,andgardening.

Until theIndustrial Revolution,society was primarilyagrarianand women were just as involved in working on farms as men.[1]

Aproverbialcouplet runs:[6]"Man may work from sun to sun, But woman's work is never done".

Related concepts includegender role,wage labourandemployment,femaleworkforce,andwomen's rights(cf.gender roles and feminism). The term may bepejorative,because historical advertisements have promoted the misrepresentation of women as only house maids.

Many working women juggle a 'double-day shift,' which includes balancing a full-time job with full-time household responsibilities, a convention still prevalent in modern workplaces. The labor undertaken by women within the household is frequently overlooked and undervalued.

Effects on relations between men and women

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The termmicropowerrefers to having greater power in the home; which means that it is easier for men to avoid house work and care labor. Micro power may also be a tool men use to prevent women from entering the workforce. When women are kept in the private sphere, men remain the sole provider financially, which provides headway in American society.

Working women in rest time

In contrast to women's work, "men's work" involves the usage ofphysical strengthor work outdoors, also considered macro power which is defined as public sphere power; mechanical, electrical or electronic knowledge and skill; employment ( "bread-winning", "bringing home the bacon" ); most dealings with money; or higher reasoning to perform tasks. "Men's work" is higher paid and is viewed to have greater value.[7]Among some people, men's work is considered to be the opposite of "women's work" and thus does not include activities within the home or with children, though "men's work" traditionally includes work that involves both (such as repairing appliances and disciplining children).

Effects of women's work on women and girls

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Women's work and therefore women themselves can be "rendered invisible" in situations in which women's work is a supportive role to "men's work".[8]For example, inpeace negotiations,terms and language used may refer to 'combatants' to indicate the army in question.[8]This use of language fails to recognize the supportive roles that women fill as contracted people of the army such as army cooks.[8]

In places where water needs to be collected and transported by hand and brought back to the household, women are found to do a large percentage of this chore.[9]For example, InSub-Saharan Africa,women make up 62% of the number of people who are responsible for water collection and transportation.[9]Girls make up another 9% of those who fulfill water collection and transportation responsibilities.[9]Men contribute 23% to water collection and transportation with boys responsible for 6% of the chore.[9]The gender distribution of water collection and transportation greater impacts women and girls by contributing to "Time Poverty".[9]This makes it more difficult for them to find the time to participate in activities such as "schooling,paid work...orleisure".[9]

Women in men's work

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Women who are in jobs or positions that are predominantly viewed as "men's work" may masculinize themselves in order to be viewed as rightly in that job or position.[10]For example, it was found that "Hillary Clinton'slanguage became more masculinized the higher she climbed the political ladder ".[10]

Women in politics

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Women are making significant strides in terms of their presence in the political field.[11]The number of women being elected into government positions is increasing, and they are proving to be a significant voting demographic.[11]There are still significant changes to be made in regard to women being seen as equals in the political sector however, as there are deeply routed gender stereotypes embedded in our institutions which view politics as a "masculine" field of work.[11]The 2008 presidential campaign was seen to be a pivotal moment for women's participation in politics.[12]Hillary Clintonwas the first woman to run for president who was seen as a true contender, andSarah Palinwas the first Republican woman vice-president nominee.[12]Both women however faced many criticisms on their political ability due togender stereotypes.Clintonfor example, was often deemed as being too cold and "unlikeable" to be president.[12]In contrast,Palinwas often accused of not being intelligent enough, or being too pretty to participate in politics.[12]It was also often questioned whether she would be too busy with motherhood to fully dedicate herself to being vice-president.[12]Gender biases and stereotypes as such, are the reality for women participating in politics, or what has been considered as "men's work". These gendered ideals of labour can be looked to as a significant contributing factor to the underrepresentation ofwomen in politics.[12]

Women in STEM

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TheGlobal Gender Gap Indexcompared to the female share of STEM degrees in different countries.

Only 28% of theSTEMworkforce is made up by women.[13]In early education, there are approximately an equal number of boys and girls who take math and science courses.[13]However, the number of women who choose to further their studies in science or math in post secondary school drops significantly.[13]A contributing factor to this is theimplicit biasthat science and math fields are typically seen as "male", while arts and humanities are more often seen as "female".[13]Thisbiasnot only impacts the ways people view women in these fields, but it also creates an inner bias where women are less likely to pursue a career in science or math.[13]

There is often also a negative association with women who partake in "men's work".[13]Unless a woman is quite obviously successful in their job, they are often seen as less competent than men in these "male" positions.[13]In contrast, if a woman is competent and successful in a job that is considered to be more "masculine", then she is much less likely to be viewed as likeable.[13]Both likeability and competence are needed to be truly successful in these fields, which creates another barrier in having a proportionate number of women to men in theSTEMfields.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abBorck, Larissa (September 2019)."'A woman's work is never done': women's working history in Europe ".Europeana(CC BY-SA).Retrieved2019-09-27.
  2. ^Seager, Joni (2018).The Women's Atlas.Oxford: Myriad Editions. pp. 123, 126.
  3. ^Seager, Joni (2018).The Women's Atlas.Oxford: Myriad Editions. p. 125.
  4. ^Wilkerson, Jessica (14 August 2019)."A Lifetime Of Labor: Maybelle Carter At Work".Unless a woman earned wages on somebody else's farm or in another woman's home, her employment would be listed by the census taker as "none". It didn't matter how much her labor propped up the family farm or that it sustained a family. Women were listed as dependents of men, and men were identified by their type of employment.
  5. ^Gipson, Ferren (2022).Women's work: from feminine arts to feminist art.London: Frances Lincoln.ISBN978-0-7112-6465-6.
  6. ^"A woman's work is never done".
  7. ^Seager, Joni (2018).The Women's Atlas.Oxford: Myriad Editions. pp. 123, 126.
  8. ^abcEnloe, Cynthia (2004). "Gender Is Not Enough: The Need For A Feminist Consciousness".International Affairs.80:95–97.doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2004.00370.x.
  9. ^abcdefSeager, Joni (2018).The Women's Atlas.Oxford: Myriad Editions. p. 138.
  10. ^abOch, Malliga (2019). "Manterrupting in the German Bundestag: Gendered Opposition to Female Members of Parliament?".Politics & Gender:6.
  11. ^abcKrook, Mona Lena (2017)."Violence Against Women in Politics".Journal of Democracy.28(1):74–88.doi:10.1353/jod.2017.0007.ISSN1086-3214.S2CID152103794.
  12. ^abcdefDolan, Kathleen (2014).When Does Gender Matter?: Women Candidates and Gender Stereotypes in American Elections.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-996844-2.
  13. ^abcdefghi"The STEM Gap: Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math".AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881.Retrieved2021-02-26.
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