• What are some characteristics of good family life?
Recently there has been many different changes to the definition of family, single parent households, two parent households, etc. A good family life is where the kids are properly taken care of and educated. Also a good family life includes a parent(s) that can provide a stable place to live, food, clothing, and unconditional love to their children. The parents that are involved should have a good relationship, with good communication, and mutual respect for each other.
• What does it mean to balance a career and family life?
A good balance between career and family life is not neglecting your family, and still being productive at work. Some may say that balance would be spending time on the weekend with your family, and then working 40 hours a week Monday-Friday. Personally, a good balance is productivity at work, and knowing the feelings of your family, and spending time with them whenever.
• What factors can make this balance difficult to achieve?
Work is a factor that makes this balance hard to achieve, a lot of jobs are high stress, and a lot require 40 hours a week to get a full pay check, and also some jobs allow for overtime, so there is an opportunity to make extra money. Also families with a lot of members, it is hard to coordinate time to spend together as a family. Also, being a single parent, the balance may be thrown off because all responsibility lies on your shoulders.
• How have changes in traditional gender roles made work and family issues more complex?
Traditional gender roles make work and family issues more complex. Women who work and have kids are in limbo in traditional gender roles. Women have their traditional role in the family of cooking, cleaning, laundry, child care, etc, and when women are in the work force, the role is in jeopardy, and now men have to more of the women's work. Also there in more available child care.
• How can employers be sensitive to their employees’ family needs or obligations?
Employers are more understanding to their employees needs now more than ever. They offer maternity leave for mothers, and sometimes fathers. But personally, US employers should model there family programs and policies from France. They have paid maternity leave, extra vacation days, and free child care.
• How might having the support of family members, workers or neighbors make balancing priorities easier?
Having more support makes balancing priorities so much easier, it frees up your time, making it easier for you to get certain things done in your day. Time management and time coordination in families is the hardest thing to do. If you have people to rely on to watch your children makes things easier.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Post 3
1. How have you personally experienced carework in your family?
In my family I have experienced carework. A few years ago my Nana lived with us, she has Alzheimer's. My mother and I took care of her, for a few years, but her condition worsened and we had to put her in a care facility. All of the care we gave her was for free because she was our mother and grandmother. Now, my sister recently had a baby, and I've helped care for him, free of charge, as her boyfriend told me I have to pay them to watch him, hilarious. Also growing up my mother was a stay at home mother for a couple years, and she did all of the raising children, cooking, cleaning, and maintaining of the household.
2. Reflect on the issues presented in the “Juggling Work and Care” and the efforts being made in the UK to address the problem created when large numbers of women enter the work force. How does society need to reconstruct their notions of the home as “women’s work”?
There is increasing numbers of women in the workforce, and an increased number of women working and also caring for families. The UK is making programs for parents who work and have families. A lot of companies are making hours of work flexible. The UK is making the family and work combining a new culture, putting the family first and more understanding employers. Society needs to do a lot of thing to reconstruct the notions of the home as woman's work. I think there is now more stay at home dads than ever, but there is still a stigma that women do all the home care and maintenance. Society needs to recognize that women's work is what keeps the economy going, and what keeps familes together. We need to hold the women's work with a high respect.
In my family I have experienced carework. A few years ago my Nana lived with us, she has Alzheimer's. My mother and I took care of her, for a few years, but her condition worsened and we had to put her in a care facility. All of the care we gave her was for free because she was our mother and grandmother. Now, my sister recently had a baby, and I've helped care for him, free of charge, as her boyfriend told me I have to pay them to watch him, hilarious. Also growing up my mother was a stay at home mother for a couple years, and she did all of the raising children, cooking, cleaning, and maintaining of the household.
2. Reflect on the issues presented in the “Juggling Work and Care” and the efforts being made in the UK to address the problem created when large numbers of women enter the work force. How does society need to reconstruct their notions of the home as “women’s work”?
There is increasing numbers of women in the workforce, and an increased number of women working and also caring for families. The UK is making programs for parents who work and have families. A lot of companies are making hours of work flexible. The UK is making the family and work combining a new culture, putting the family first and more understanding employers. Society needs to do a lot of thing to reconstruct the notions of the home as woman's work. I think there is now more stay at home dads than ever, but there is still a stigma that women do all the home care and maintenance. Society needs to recognize that women's work is what keeps the economy going, and what keeps familes together. We need to hold the women's work with a high respect.
Post 2
1) What is meant by “sex segregation”? How do you see sex segregation exist in employment at ASU?
Sex segregation can be many things, in the reading "Gender Inequality in Pain Employment" sex segregation is defined as different genders holding different jobs requiring different skills. These positions have what is call a "sex gap" of pay, where "male jobs" earn more money than "female jobs"(286).
At ASU sex segregation totally exists, in the science an math departments is it a mostly male dominated field, where as the family science, education, and social work departments are mostly female dominated fields. Also, the highest paid employees at ASU are the male sports team coaches, not the woman's basketball coach making a 6 figure salary, the men's basketball coach is.
2) Identify the ways your own socialization at home, school and work reproduce gender roles. How is this socialization related to patriarchy?
Socialization when you are a child impacts your gender role you assume. In a traditional "gender role family" the mother stays at home to take care of the children, and the father goes to work to support the family monetarily. When you are growing up, little boys are exposed to the manly man job roles they should be, policemen, firemen, pilots, etc. Little girls want to be teachers, babysitters, mothers, nurses, etc. At school, there is a gender segregation, separate physical education classes, more females in home economics type classes, more males in industrial technology classes, etc. Growing up, my mother has worked for the girl scouts, an organization that empowers women, and my father was rarely home, he traveled a lot for business. I also grew up with 2 older sister, so I really don't know what it's like to have a strong male influence in my life. I always observed my mother doing it all, yard work to grocery shopping. I was brought up with a you can do anything attitude, so I've known really no limits to what I can and cannot do. I've always been surrounded by strong women who can do anything. The real only thing of my upbringing related to patriarchy is that my father was the bread winner for the family, and I always played sports, so he was always involved with sports practices and games. Also, now having a brand new nephew, I hope to help raise him as a strong upstanding man who treats women equally.
3) Reflecting on the radio report, “Moms Become Breadwinners As Job Losses Hit Men,” explain how sex segregation and the wage gap persists even when more men are unemployed.
Women are still making much less money than men but are holding their jobs better in the economic climate. Mothers are working harder, according to a careerbuilder.com survey, 14% of already working mothers are obtaining 2nd jobs to make ends meat for their families. Also women are working a lot of jobs that do not offer great benefits. The family is existing by the hard work done by women, and they are still making 77 cents to every dollar a male is making. I also think that the jobs women hold are less at risk because they are not paid as much as men, and do the same amount of work.
Sex segregation can be many things, in the reading "Gender Inequality in Pain Employment" sex segregation is defined as different genders holding different jobs requiring different skills. These positions have what is call a "sex gap" of pay, where "male jobs" earn more money than "female jobs"(286).
At ASU sex segregation totally exists, in the science an math departments is it a mostly male dominated field, where as the family science, education, and social work departments are mostly female dominated fields. Also, the highest paid employees at ASU are the male sports team coaches, not the woman's basketball coach making a 6 figure salary, the men's basketball coach is.
2) Identify the ways your own socialization at home, school and work reproduce gender roles. How is this socialization related to patriarchy?
Socialization when you are a child impacts your gender role you assume. In a traditional "gender role family" the mother stays at home to take care of the children, and the father goes to work to support the family monetarily. When you are growing up, little boys are exposed to the manly man job roles they should be, policemen, firemen, pilots, etc. Little girls want to be teachers, babysitters, mothers, nurses, etc. At school, there is a gender segregation, separate physical education classes, more females in home economics type classes, more males in industrial technology classes, etc. Growing up, my mother has worked for the girl scouts, an organization that empowers women, and my father was rarely home, he traveled a lot for business. I also grew up with 2 older sister, so I really don't know what it's like to have a strong male influence in my life. I always observed my mother doing it all, yard work to grocery shopping. I was brought up with a you can do anything attitude, so I've known really no limits to what I can and cannot do. I've always been surrounded by strong women who can do anything. The real only thing of my upbringing related to patriarchy is that my father was the bread winner for the family, and I always played sports, so he was always involved with sports practices and games. Also, now having a brand new nephew, I hope to help raise him as a strong upstanding man who treats women equally.
3) Reflecting on the radio report, “Moms Become Breadwinners As Job Losses Hit Men,” explain how sex segregation and the wage gap persists even when more men are unemployed.
Women are still making much less money than men but are holding their jobs better in the economic climate. Mothers are working harder, according to a careerbuilder.com survey, 14% of already working mothers are obtaining 2nd jobs to make ends meat for their families. Also women are working a lot of jobs that do not offer great benefits. The family is existing by the hard work done by women, and they are still making 77 cents to every dollar a male is making. I also think that the jobs women hold are less at risk because they are not paid as much as men, and do the same amount of work.
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