Amy Calonge

Professor Schwartz

English 170

January 2023

Women’s Role in Society

Over time society has organized itself into trying to individually become what is thought to be the ideal, leading to the conformation of certain stereotypes. One of the more widespread stereotypes being related to gender, the thoughts on what make a good man or woman. Women for example, have been led by society to believe that they should ideally focus on being good housewives. The societal pressure of being unable to reach such ideal causes many women’s mental health to suffer.

An example of how widely accepted and engrained women’s gender stereotypes have been in society are, the multitude of booklets and advertisements that encourage a woman to be obedient and diligent to their spouse. The image titled “Learn to Train your Wife” was a free booklet given out to people around the 1950s, representing what was known as the ideal standard household hierarchy. The image shows a woman serving her husband, who seems to just be lounging around, with nothing on but an apron. Which in itself is trying to show that a woman is supposed to service her husband by all means he deems necessary, these ideas being further established by the list named “Teach her to:” located right next to the image. Showing young girls that they should preferably focus of skills related to housework instead of other skills like those related to office type work. Making women feel as if the only way they will be viewed as accomplished is if they dedicate themselves to being a perfect housewife. (An Actual).

The thought of being an unaccomplished woman if they don’t conform to gender stereotypes can lead to “contributing towards poor mental health in young people…low self-esteem in girls and issues with body image, furthermore allowing a culture of toxic masculinity and violence against women to go unchecked.” Considering that research has discovered that most children fully form the attitude towards gender by the age of seven, it’s safe to say that they start feeling its affects since their elementary school years. Meaning gender stereotypes can be a clear trigger to poor mental health from a young age. (CSPACE).

People have been led to believe that women should hold the position of staying at home in order to take care of household chores as well as take care of the children, that they are typically expected to have, while waiting for her husband to get home from work. This being due to society believing that women are less or incapable of doing office position work compared to a man. Due to centuries of backlash these stereotypes are starting to be conquered by women all around the world. They have been able to prove that when they are provided with an equal work environment, they can drastically improve business statistics and work productivity. That being said, now that women are starting to pursue more work opportunities many fear that the children they left back home will be negatively affected.

Gender stereotypes have caused women to be depicted as less of, being considered incapable and not educated enough to hold an office position job as well as a man could. Which in itself has led to discrimination in the workplace. The article Beyond the glass ceiling: Why businesses need women at the top shows the statistics surrounding how much the shift into an equal environment can benefit businesses. It shows that when a business tries to reach a gender balanced workplace, they tend to be twenty percent more likely to achieve enhanced business outcomes. Which include factors like an average increase of sixty three percent in profitability and productivity as well as a fifty nine percent increase in creative involvement and openness. Along with two thirds of the companies involved reporting to have a five to twenty percent profit margin increase. Due to the companies involved in the data collection, ILOSTAT and UNESCO, being known for using multiple quality assurance processes to obtain optimal data I think it’s safe to say that other companies could improve their work ethic if they’re willing to provide a gender balanced workplace.

Those who don’t typically concern themselves with business statistics and tend to have a more societal viewpoint have their concerns focused on the mother’s children. Specifically, the negative affects that might occur due to the mother leaving them to focus on work. For example, the article What Research Says About Being a Stay-at-Home Mom by Apryl Duncan, an experienced stay at home mom, and reviewed by Amy Morin, a licensed clinical social worker, states the benefits of having a stay-at-home mom. The benefits being listed as “Increase in children’s school performance, Children has less stress and aggression…” These benefits being able to take place due to having more quality time with their child which allows them to have more parental control over them. Even so all factors need to be taken for each individual family since every parent and child are different, each having their own individual strengths and weaknesses. Meaning what might work for one parent and child might not work for another. (Duncan)

Keeping that in mind a research study conducted by Harvard has proved evidence that children raised by working moms and stay at home moms tend to be equally as happy with their lives. It even shows some potential benefits for children raised by working moms, “Children of working moms were found to have more education. Daughters of working moms are more likely to be employed, advance their careers, and have higher annual earnings. Sons of working moms were found to spend more time caring for their families.” These benefits being possible due to the great observation skills of a child, watching their mom balance their work and home life helps motivate them to want to do the same in the future. Creating a role model dynamic between the two of them, where the child looks up to its mother. (Cuttita).

With that all being said, women shouldn’t feel as if they need to conform to gender stereotypes, not anymore at least. While some people believe the societal unbalance of having a working mom would negatively affect the children they left at home, this isn’t always the case. It can be proven with data that when women are provided with an equal work environment, they improve overall business. Which is good for the economy as well as provides a good role model for those around them, their children back home as well as coworkers, creating a chain affect towards general improvement.

 

 

Work Cited

An Actual 1955 Good Housekeeping Article from Jim Barricks Alcohol-Free Recipes, https://barricks.com/RecipePage/GoodHousekeeping.html.

“Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Why Businesses Need Women at the Top.” Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Why Businesses Need Women at the Top – InfoStories, International Labour Organization, Sept. 2019, https://www.ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Stories/Employment/beyond-the-glass-ceiling#introduction.

CSPACE Blog. “Gender Stereotypes in Childhood: What’s the Harm?” Birmingham City University, Birmingham City School of Education and Social Work, https://www.bcu.ac.uk/education-and-social-work/research/cspace-blog/gender-stereotypes-in-childhood-whats-the-harm#:~:text=Aside%20from%20career%20choice%2C%20gender,toxic%20masculinity%20and%20violence%20against.

Cuttita, Nicole. “Are Stay-at-Home Moms Better for Our Kids than Working Moms? – New York Behavioral Health.” New York Behavioral Health – NYC Therapists & Psychologists, New York Behavioral Health Team, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.newyorkbehavioralhealth.com/are-stay-at-home-moms-better-for-our-kids-than-working-moms.

Duncan, Apryl. “What Research Says About Being a Stay-at-Home Mom.” Verywell Family, 22 Aug. 2022, https://www.verywellfamily.com/research-stay-at-home-moms-4047911.