Taking On The Second Shift Summary

Boo hoo- Josh Levs only gets two weeks of paid parental leave in addition to ten weeks of unpaid leave, and he seems very distressed about it. While his experiencing privileges far from the ordinary, the article made it seem like Time Warner was unfair with him. At first, I thought the article was a joke because there are far more important issues that need to be addressed regarding parental leave, for instance, across the board paid maternal leave. However, after giving it some thought, men should have the opportunity to spend time with their children during this crucial developmental period. If we push the government to improve men’s family rights, we could potentially break gender roles and improve equity in the workforce.

Researchers have proposed a variety of explanations for systematic gender inequality in the workplace. Cultural benefits, the actions of male employees, the actions of the female employees, and the actions of the employer can contribute to intentional or unintentional gender discrimination (Ngo, Foley, Wong, & Loi, 2003). It has also been mentioned that women make less money because their work environment is generally safer than the stereotypical male work environment; childcare, cashiers, and secretary positions as opposed to firefighters, truck drivers and construction workers (Parcheta, Kaifi, & Khanfar, 2013). Perhaps the most dominant reasoning for women receiving less pay is the carrying over of biological roles into the workplace. Female employees often take time off to have a family, take care of a family, and are the primary caregiver of said family.

In “The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home” author Arlie Hochschild examines the struggle faced by full-time working married couples to separate work and family. The families Hochschild focuses on are among different races and social classes, but are specifically two-parent heterosexual married couples, both maintain a full-time job, and have a child(ren) under the age of six (Hochschild 5). Hochschild interviewed and observed 50 couples on their daily lives for months. Within the book, readers are introduced to ten couples each couple seems to have a different problem than the others, but their struggle pertains to the same basis that is the ideas and feelings they have about gender and marriage (Hochschild 188). Hochschild separates these gender views into either traditional or egalitarian and separates strategies into women and men for how these couples can overcome their

Many of them have the mindset that they are supposed to be the provider for the family. By only working part time or taking the unpaid time off fathers feel they are not doing the right thing by bringing in a steady income for their family. If they were offered a few weeks off that allowed them to receive 70% of more of their current hourly rate, I feel that more fathers would take advantage of this time to spend with their new child. Not only will they be able to spend time and bond with their new child but also be bringing in a steady income during their requested time off from

In American society today there is an imbalance in the gender income gap between men and women in the work force. Many factors such as discrimination, productivity, educational background and disproportional hours worked contribute to this ongoing challenge. While many are skeptical, others remain to have strong beliefs that women and men are treated equally. In most professions according to Glynn “women only earn seventy seven cents for every dollar earned by men” (2014). Although, the seventy seven cents figure does not accurately reflect gender discrimination, it does capture some discrimination,

“The wage gap has narrowed by more than one-third since 1960”(Hegewisch, 2010) and “the share of companies with female CEOs increased more than six-fold” (Warner, 2014) since 1997. As well as the truth that men and women’s earnings differ for many other reasons besides the presence of sexism. “Discrimination in labor market, in education/retiring programs, unequal societal norms at home and the constrained decisions men and women make about work and home issues” (Hegewisch, 2010) are also factors that can contribute to the unequal treatment of man and women in the workplace. Yet even with most of these variables removed women are still being paid less than men, sexually harassed in the workplace and hold very little managerial positions.

Inequality has been a dilemma for several years in countless different ways. A persistent problem with disproportion of income between women and men has been lingering within many companies in the United States. It has been said that women earn less money than men in the workplace for many different reasons. Some of these reasons are that women have not spent enough time in the office to be rewarded with raises and bonuses because they are busy with their home lives and taking care of their children, they, unlike men, have been taught to be timid and unaggressive which ultimately steers them away from requesting higher pay, or they do not meet the qualifications to receive promotions (Hymowitz, 2008). This essay is in response to On

Throughout time and history women are perceived as a housewife, mothers, and givers; while men are breadwinners, fathers, and receivers. Women have strived to change this stereotype for years, and while sometimes this stereotype disappears for a subtle moment, it always will resurface. Especially, when it comes to maternity leave. Men and women are given an equal amount of time to care for a newborn, but somehow the father returns to work in a matter of days. Why is that, you may ask? It is because America has generalized American into their known stereotype. And because of this, we see men returning to the workforce in a short amount of time. Men, along with women, should have a paid extension from the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for their child, create the bonding link between child and parent, while tearing down the stereotypical assumption wall between man and woman.

Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.

The American Association University of Women reports that the average full time workingwoman receives just 80% the salary of a man. In 1960, women made just 60% of what men made, an upward trend that can be explained “largely by women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate”, but a trend that is not yet equal (p. 4). Hill recognizes that the choices of men and women are not always the same, whether it be in college major, or job choice, however she concludes that women experience pay gaps in virtually all levels of education and lines of work. She suggests that continuing to increase the integration of women in predominately male dominated work will help the pay gap, however, she believes that alone won’t be enough to ensure equal pay for women.

There are some potential downsides to men having paid paternity leave. Most countries make parental leave open to both men and women; women take the vast majority of leave. When leave is long, this can have some consequences for women’s place in the labor market. For example, in Sweden parents have the right to a parental leave for up to 18 months, but women take nearly 85% of parental leave. The major goal of Swedish policy these days is to encourage men to take more parental leave; already there are two month “daddy only” leaves, which are lost to the couple if the father doesn’t take them. The problem with fathers taking paternity leave is that the fathers are scared to take leave for the fear that they may lose their jobs.

Should men get maternity leave from work? “The United States is one of only four countries globally, and the only high-income country, without a statutory right to paid maternity leave for employees. In all but a few states, it is up to the employer to decide whether to provide paid leave. 81 percent of women and 71 percent of men get the benefit of paid maternity leave.” ( Women's Policy Research) Maternity leave is defined by the American Pregnancy organization as “the period of time that a new mother takes off from work following the birth of her baby” which usually includes getting paid in their time off work , while paternity is define by the American Pregnancy organization as “the period of time that a father takes off from work following

Even though it is against the law to pay women a lower wage based on gender, a significant earnings gap exists. Women earn less than men in almost every line of work regardless of age, race, ethnic background or level of education. This study discusses the disparity of income between men and women, and the primary factors that contribute to the disparity. It then looks at some of the legislation that has been passed or is under consideration to address the issue. Finally, it concludes that there are many reasons for the disparity other than gender discrimination. Men and women are motivated by different things and therefore make different choices. Gender discrimination

Should men get maternity leave from work? “The United States is one of only four countries globally, and the only high-income country, without a statutory right to paid maternity leave for employees. In all but a few states, it is up to the employer to decide whether to provide paid leave. 81 percent of women and 71 percent of men get the benefit of paid maternity leave.” ( Women's Policy Research) Maternity leave is defined by the American Pregnancy organization as “the period of time that a new mother takes off from work following the birth of her baby” which usually includes getting paid in their time off work, while paternity is defined by the American Pregnancy organization as “the period of time that a father takes off from work following

When welcoming a new little one into the world, life gets harder. Life gets in the way of being able to provide undivided attention while also keeping up with day to day tasks. Once a baby is born, the mother often takes maternity leave so she can do this but what about the father? In some companies they offer paternity leave so that fathers can stay home with their newborn while receiving partial wages and benefits. In allowing men to have access to paternity leave, men will no longer be set up as secondary parents. While taking leave, it would promote healthy relationships, positively impact how men feel about being new fathers, and help relieve new mothers.