We all know there are many issues surrounding woman and the workforce. For one, Mina Loy in her manifesto mentions the different values of a man and a woman in a professional and commercial setting, stating outright that women are not equal to men. Many gender role stereotypes are placed on women regarding their career during and after pregnancy. For example, women are not all guaranteed maternity leave and safety of their job if they are to get pregnant. Although after pregnancy the situation can get much worse. If a mother has a child and must return to work soon after, an easy stereotype is that she is a career driven woman who places her work above staying home and caring for the child. However on the other hand, if a woman has a child and decides to be a stay at home mom, people may brand her as lazy or living off her husbands money. Women are so easily critiqued for either inevitable choice they must make. Men however do not have to deal with these issues. Men are free to climb the economical ladder without pressure of getting pregnant within a certain time frame when their body can handle it. Men are free to be tigers in the workforce without the biological and hormonal effects of pregnancy. Women also must deal with the physical signs of pregnancy such as a growing belly or swollen feet. During a job interview however, women can do nothing when the hiring committee decides to hire a man instead simply because he isn’t pregnant. Women can be stigmatized when pregnant such as “she won’t work hard now” or “what if she quits? Or “What if she is too tired to complete her workload?”. The pressure for women to have a career and be a mother and homemaker is at an all time high. Now, women are expected to be breadwinners along with their husbands as well as bare the children and keep a clean home. Women must realize that the pressure from society to do all of these things will never dissipate, but we must rise above the stereotypes and live our lives in the way that makes us the happiest. Regardless of the path a woman chooses regarding pregnancy or careers – it is her path to choose and live with.
Society will always have a negation to each positive, a critique for each choice.
