Gender Inequality

What does it mean to define motherhood as a lower status that is judged more harshly in the workplace? I feel that it makes working mothers have to work twice as hard.”..women with children will be viewed as less competent and less committed to work..”. Women already have to prove themselves in the workplace because they are considered to be weaker and physically less competent in comparison to their male counterparts. Mothers in general are thought to be very emotional; sometimes irrational and erratic in their actions and responses. Combining the dynamics of being both a woman and a mother in the workplace means that they have to work extremely hard to dispel those perceptions and to prove their competency and effectiveness.

What are some of the cultural reasons given for the presence of the motherhood penalty? Ultimately, I think that the cultural perception of women is that they belong at home, raising children, cooking, cleaning, and being a wife. In the past this was certainly the case for most households. Women remained at home, while men went out into the work force. Men were the sole wage earners, while women were homemakers. Even though this has certainly changed over time, the mindset of corporate America has not totally adapted to this new reality. Culturally, it is still believed that women are not emotionally equipped to handle the stress and rigors of the work force. It is thought that a person must be competitive by nature and have a head for business in order to be successful in the workforce. Women are not generally thought of as being competitive; but rather maternally nurturing, taking on the role of caregivers. Many do not believe this is suitable for the workplace.

How is this different from the tension between the roles of father and employee for men?

“..understandings of what it means to be a good father are not seen in our culture as incompatible with understandings of what it means to be a good worker..”. In other words, good...