Women’s Work | The Point Magazine

When we think about work in these terms, the problem of women’s work isn’t just a lack of access to certain (prestigious) careers but the problem of the stickiness of particular associations – women as subservient, caring, unskilled; men as strong, skilled and uncaring.

It was fine to have ambitions, but it was another matter to work out of necessity, face a sex-segregated job market, and do double duty at home as well.

One reason for the social undervaluation of particular work is the association of that work with women – the fact that it is understood to be women’s work.

To be sure, we’re seeing the erosion of the ideal of an employee whose family responsibilities are kept tastefully out of sight. 

One example: the number of women who cook vastly outnumbers the number of men who cook. And yet only 10% of Michelin-starred chefs are female. I believe this is because, as Jenny Offill put it, women rarely become art monsters. From Dept. of Speculation:  “My plan was to never get married. I was going to be an art monster instead. Women almos

And there are elements in human psychology that make this situation particularly poignant or ignominous. The ugly exactitudes of business, the bells and clocks the fixed hours and rigid departments, were all meant for the male: who, as a rule, can only do one thing and can only with the greatest difficulty be induced to do that. If clerks do not tr

It’s because there’s still a widespread reverence for the “ideal worker.” We commonly define the ideal worker as someone who starts working in early adulthood and continues, full-time and full force, for 40 years straight. The concept reflects a breadwinner-homemaker model that dates back to the Industrial Revolution and functioned fairly well thr