Challenging traditional gender roles

Those of us who grew up around both parents, mostly remember spending less time with our fathers than mothers (irrespective of whether they were working or not.) The traditional gender roles have always dictated that men are providers where as women are nurturers. Even in the households where both men and women both are breadwinners, women are expected to be the primary caretakers of children. And maintaining work-life balance is only seen as a female employee concern.

Going by logic, if both husband and wife are working for equal hours outside the house, why is a woman expected to be the only one working the second shift at home? If men are ‘providers’, is providing care not as equally important as providing money?

Most women assume or are taught to assume, that while trying to manage both work and family- they will have to always prioritize family over work. The current President and CEO of the New American Foundation, Anne-Marie Slaughter, says that women should be taught to exercise their freedom to choose. A woman should individually choose if she wants to give more emphasis to family/work, choose her career and choose an equal partner.

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She advises both men and women to find partners who would understand their career ambitions and support them. Slaughter adds that an equal partnership of breadwinners and providers requires sacrifices from both sides. According to her, both men and women need to shed their traditional image of masculine roles. Where men should support their wives and help them reach their full potential, women should be comfortable in their own skin and be guided by their personal strengths and ambitions.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: World Economic Forum

http://forumblog.org/2014/05/rethinking-gender-roles/?utm_content=bufferddad0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer