10/17/11 Lori Walker-Kalbfleisch ECC Research Paper

Domesticity: Pressure Points Faced by Women In Their Competing Devotions To Work And To Family/Home Life

Introduction and Main Thesis Across the ages, women have had far less in terms of career opportunities compared to men. Ancient cultures held a segregationist attitude toward women that was carried forward with each new generation and each new period of time. The ideology of women and domesticity (devotion to family and home life) has been perpetuated throughout American history. By and large, motherhood, and being the good wife has been the most significant occupational description attached to women since American Colonization began. This essay considers the social and economic pressures placed on American women historically by the societies in which they lived, and provides an exploration of male dominance in the workplace. Male dominance in society often forced women to make a choice between their devotion to work and their devotion to family. Observations of pivotal moments in history will be presented, which will offer perspectives on women taking a more active role in society. The concept of the ideal worker norm in market work will also be explored, providing insights on why it exists in societys view. Next, the entitlements associated with being a market worker in comparison to that of a family worker are offered. Finally, the issue of equal vs. special treatment in market work is raised, in terms of how it affects a womans ability to pursue a career today.

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Historical Perspective Women remained complacent toward male dominance attitudes during the Colonization period. At the turn of the century, women began to work for wages outside the home, and in turn, became more interested in gaining equal rights in society. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was an organized movement that gave women a voice, and was even supported by some men, like Frederick Douglass, who also fought to abolish slavery and improve the lives of freed blacks.1 Resolutions were presented at the Seneca Falls Convention, which painted a vivid picture of the daily lives of nineteenth century women: 2
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world: He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead. He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purpose, her master the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty, and to administer chastisement. He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction, which he considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known. He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies, which exclude women from society, are not only tolerated, but deemed of little account in man. He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life.

At the time of the convention, laws still did not permit women to vote or hold office. Women could not go to college, or take on a profession. They could not be sued or sue someone else. They were not able to keep the money they earned, or even take custody of their own children in a divorce situation. Laws were written by men, and did
Clark, C., Hewitt, N., Brown, J., Jaffee, D., Who Build America? Working People and the Nations History, 2008: p. 395 (Boston, MA, Bedford/St. Martins) 2 Clark, C., Hewitt, N., Brown, J., Jaffee, D., Who Build America? Working People and the Nations History, 2008: p. 416(Boston, MA, Bedford/St. Martins)
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not offer equal treatment for women in the home or at work. Women had no legal identity, other than being someones wife. Despite many improvements and changes for the status of women which occurred after Seneca Falls, and during the first half of the twentieth century, women still did not have equal political and economic status compared to men. With the continued expansion of opportunity going primarily to men, including large groups of male immigrants, the gap of political power between men and women widened. The male majority continued to exclude women from decision making by keeping them held to lower level positions in companies. Early feminists believed that the only way to build a more equitable society for women was to rely on socialist economic principles that would respect the rights of women. During the early twentieth century, many women started going to school, taking jobs outside the home, and living alone. Some of their male counterparts questioned these trends, fearing that accepting women in the workplace would destroy the concept of home and family. In reality, there was very little change in the lifestyles of American women taking place. Most women continued to marry young, and more importantly, they continued to accept the traditional role of being a wife and mother.

Ideal Worker Norms During the Civil War and First and Second World War, womens suffrage organizations led the charge to change perceptions of women in the workplace. They embraced opportunities to contribute and supported the war effort by selling war bonds, organizing political rallies, and working in war production jobs. Several women even

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went overseas during World War I and World War II to serve as nurses and clerical workers with the American forces in Europe, believing their contributions during wartime would earn them the respect and equal rights they desired. There was active public support for womens contribution to the war effort, combined with public outrage over the imprisonment and mistreatment of feminists like Alice Paul, who staged protests claiming the United States had no business fighting for democracy in Europe, when they were denying the same rights and privileges to women at home. As a result of these circumstances, President Wilson led the charge to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment barring states from using sex as a qualification for the suffrage, proclaiming, We have made partners of the women in this war. Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?3 In 1920, American finally won their right to vote. They were going to college and working outside the home, however conflict still existed in most womens daily experience between work and family. There was a certain stigma attached by society to a woman who became too focused on her career, rather spend time with her family. Societys view of domesticity and the very nature of womanhood made it that much more difficult to deal with. Conflict over work and family had an affect over men as well as women. Gender differences were unbending, despite efforts by feminists to change this dynamic over the next forty years.4 One of the primary contributing factors to the female conflict over work and family had to do with the ways women, and society in general tended to excuse their decision to opt for jobs that required less education and lower skill sets. Society has for decades
3 4

Foner, E. Give Me Liberty! An American History, 2009: p. 694 (New York, NY, W.W. Norton & Company, 2nd Seagull Edition) Williams, J. Unbending Gender, 2000: preface (New York, NY, Oxford University Press)

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assumed that women do not aspire to the same level as men in market work, because they are more focused on family work. While this is a broad generalization, it is not uncommon. In order for a woman with a family to be successful in the workplace, she must be able to juggle more than a man would, given the same situation. Feminists answer to this obstacle back in the 1960s and 1970s was to simply have women work full time, and childcare would be delegated to the market. Otherwise known as the full-commodification strategy, as stated by Economist Barbara Bergmann,5 this worker norm created a double standard that perpetuated worker norms, as they are known today. The ideal worker norm has become synonymous with career sustainability. Market workers understand what it means, and how to achieve it. Having a sustainable career requires a consistent focus on professional growth, and maintaining that growth year over year. Many women struggle to find ways to develop a sustainable career due to family expectations and obligations. Other women experience enormous internal guilt when job-related demands add pressure, which then results in family obligations being cast aside. Despite the fact that todays market work experience is far better than it was during the early to mid twentieth century, the ideal worker norm remains unachievable for most women, even today.

Entitlements Entitlements come into play when observing differences between men and women in market work. In the mid nineteenth century for example, womens roles at home evolved with the availability of servants due to the fast growing number of 5 Williams, J. Unbending Gender, 2000: p. 40 (New York, NY, Oxford University Press)

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immigrants looking for work. Servants took the over the physical chores, and women began taking on a role of homemaker and teacher of values for the children. While this new entitlement for women offered them a certain amount of authority at home, it did little to challenge the husbands entitlement and power over his wife, and did not help usher her into political life.6 Today, there are still entitlements undermining women in market work. For example, when a man is focused on his career aspirations, he depends on taking entitlements with his wife being supportive of his needs, taking care of all the family organizational issues, tending to doctors appointments, school play rehearsals and cleaning the house. A man does not typically worry about doing the laundry, running to the grocery store and cooking dinner. In order to achieve the same success as a man in her career, a woman must first claim her intentions, and then hope she can gain the support she needs from her husband to accomplish everything at home. The situation demands a series of shifts; calling for the elimination of the idealworker norm in market work, elimination of the ideal-worker norm in family entitlements, and changing how society talks about gender.7

Equal vs. Special Treatment Most Americans are familiar with the clich statement, If you want to be treated equally stop asking for special treatment. There is value in this wisdom, however when it is applied to market work, there are other conditions that affect ones ability to achieve 6 Clark, C., Hewitt, N., Brown, J., Jaffee, D., Who Build America? Working People and the Nations History, 2008: p. 365 (Boston, MA, Bedford/St. Martins) 7 Williams, J. Unbending Gender, 2000: p. 4 (New York, NY, Oxford University Press)

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the same level of success besides equality. Being unencumbered with family responsibilities is an example of the inequity employers observe when awarding the better jobs to married men over married women.8 The best way to administer equality in the workplace involves taking into consideration the fact that allowing more latitude for women with families will ultimately result in acknowledging that men and women can and should be the breadwinners in a family, not just men. Another way equality can be achieved is through the deconstructing of masculine norms in market work. There is little disagreement among Americans with the concept that family and work do in fact conflict, and that there is a disparaging difference in the perceptions of a successful man vs. a successful woman in business. Historically, male dominance in society has driven the sacrifices women have struggled with in choosing a life based on domesticity, or one focused on market work. Critics of womens rights during the nineteenth century disagreed with the notion of fixing the problem of unbending gender attitudes. They claimed that restructuring the workplace and changing laws was unrealistic. Today, most people would disagree with those critics. The concept of the ideal worker norm is accurate, and it was in fact very realistic to believe that business could thrive with changes to worker norms. Today, it is not accurate to say that the ideal worker norm is masculine in nature. The ideal worker norm is what it is, only because of society dictating it that way. A company cannot simply subscribe to the notion that business should be conducted around family priorities. If they did, they would surely fail. Whether male or female, the ideal worker norm is just that the ideal worker norm that is needed in order to run a successful business. Being the ideal worker is a job for two 8 Williams, J. Unbending Gender, 2000: p. 207 (New York, NY, Oxford University Press)

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people. Whether a CEO is a man or a woman, that concept is valid. A person at that level usually has someone at home who manages the household duties, takes care of the kids, etc. Today, there are many men supporting womens career aspirations, sharing the workload at home, and some even opting out of their own careers for a few years to raise the kids while the woman continues to work. Over the last decade, companies have become much more in favor of offering things like flex-time, working from home, child care on-site and job sharing, which are all examples of taking appropriate steps toward restructuring worker norms. Feminist rhetoric and research explains why work-family conflicts exist. Women continue to be discriminated against in the workplace due to a combination of cultural resistance and legislative inadequacies that perpetuate the ideologies of the unbending gender. The simple truth is that there really is no way to manage through life without sacrifice and compromise, regardless of gender.