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Is working part-time antifeminist?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
link

Its a article in an american-based magazine, thus has that perspective, but I think provides some very valid points on both parts, especially:
Maybe this will turn out to be the fourth wave of feminism. Women protect the possibility that one day we’ll wake up to realize that life is not all about acquiring more material wealth, power, status. Many Dutch women that I know want to stay sane, happy, relaxed.

If possible I would much rather have a smaller house and less material wealth, but be happier and achieve what I want to achieve at my pace. It would allow me to still have a career and have children. It does allow women to achieve a good work-life balance, but as the article says, (even though it talks about it in US terms), how many part-time managers, directors, surgeons etc are there? I personally think its a great idea, even if you don't have kids, but how can we still have this work-life balance and achieve in our current society? Is it possible? Is working part-time anti-feminist?

Your thoughts.....?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I thought that this quote was the most telling argument against working full time in the context of the article:
    ?I think highly educated women have a moral obligation to take top positions, to set an example by their choices,? says Mees. ?When women just stay at home or work part-time, they don?t reach the top, and they set bad examples for their daughters and daughters? daughters.?

    I'm not going to apologise for this but, that's just crap and it just underlines what the quote in the OP suggests - there is more to life than materiel weath, power and status. To be honest, if I could still afford to run the household I would happily go part time too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It feels to me that its kind of unacceptable for someone to work part-time, and live within their means - even if that does imply that they have less. Its seems that can't be right...even if it works best for that person. Because that means someone pays less tax, and thus aparently contributes less to society.

    Right now I'd prefer to work part-time so i can study more, and also for health reasons, but I feel because I'm a graduate, I should be aspiring to do great things, not work part time and be happy...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What a load of bullcrap. I think you should do what makes you happy in life whether that be being a surgeon working 60 hours a week, a part timer or a stay at home housewife. Doing what you want to do and not because society wants you to do it is the best example you can set for your children i think
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why is this argument even about feminism, sure the same issue and questions can affect everyone?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Of course it does, but there is a vein that runs deep in feminism that being a stay at home mum and not aspiring to be that 60 hours a week surgeon is anti-feminist. But, biologically, women are programmed to have children...whether people decide to have them or not is personal choice, but I don't think our current society makes it easy to be a part-time worker. In fact I think it makes it bloody difficult.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Isn't feminism about empowering women to have the luxury to CHOOSE what they do with their lives?

    If you're working part time, or not working at all, merely because you are a woman, and the workplace is not where you belong, then yes, that's antifeminist. But if you are working less because you choose to, because you can afford to, because you want to be at home to raise your family, then no, of course it isn't.
    "I think highly educated women have a moral obligation to take top positions, to set an example by their choices," says Mees. "When women just stay at home or work part-time, they don't reach the top, and they set bad examples for their daughters and daughters' daughters."

    Guff.

    'Just' work part-time? I do 3 days at work and those are by far the easiest three days of my week!

    I work only as much as I need to to keep our family in the black. If we could afford for me to not have to work, I wouldn't. I don't consider it my moral obligation to get anywhere in anything, and I don't consider myself a failure for preferring to educate and spend time with my daughter while she is small than spending the majority of her waking hours lining some else's pockets.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kaff wrote: »
    Isn't feminism about empowering women to have the luxury to CHOOSE what they do with their lives?

    If you're working part time, or not working at all, merely because you are a woman, and the workplace is not where you belong, then yes, that's antifeminist. But if you are working less because you choose to, because you can afford to, because you want to be at home to raise your family, then no, of course it isn't.



    Guff.

    'Just' work part-time? I do 3 days at work and those are by far the easiest three days of my week!

    I work only as much as I need to to keep our family in the black. If we could afford for me to not have to work, I wouldn't. I don't consider it my moral obligation to get anywhere in anything, and I don't consider myself a failure for preferring to educate and spend time with my daughter while she is small than spending the majority of her waking hours lining some else's pockets.

    :yes: absolutely this
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If I could afford to, I'd work part time. I'm sure most people would. I much prefer my home life to my work life.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't believe that highly educated women should have to enter powerful positions... I don't see the difference between forcing a woman to stay at home, or forcing them to have a career... It's still pandering to an idea about what gender should be.

    I remember being at an event and there was a very educated, middle class woman talking about access for women to higher jobs and business. The response was actually, we should be focusing on women on the other end of the scale... The affluent will always have money to fall back on, to have internships, savings, money for education ect... Then you have working class families on low incomes, some who become trapped in unemployment because the state does not offer affordable childcare, amongst other issues.

    This is especially difficult for single mothers (and fathers, but the majority of single parents are women). I think that if anything is a feminist issue, it is poverty and wealth distribution, not crawling to the top of the pile whilst your sisters are getting in debt because they chose to heat their front room for a couple of hours a night. Poverty affects both women and men, but women tend to usually be in the lowest paid jobs, have more child care responsibilities and often are more likely to be in poverty when they retire.

    I don't believe that somebody should be disadvantaged by a top job because they are a woman, but I do believe that really, it's tokenistic. The only battle that has been won is that somebody reaches one ideal of 'success'. I don't think that there's anything wrong with women, or men wanting to spend time with their family over earning big bucks... But what I do have an issue with is people telling others what they should do because of their gender and also, being so blind of their own class privilidge that they set the bar impossibly high for some women who are living in poverty, thus arguably, stigmatising their situation further.

    Note: I'm not sure how much social mobility people have in the Netherlands though.
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