Why Do Women Need To Make A Choice Between Building Family Or Career?

Balance between family and career—every woman is demanded to excel in that or be labelled as an unfit wife or mother. Society has had rigid gender roles for women and has continually led them into believing that women are supposed to take up "feminine" work like cooking, cleaning and looking after the kids. Simultaneously, they were made to believe that the men of the house earn the bread for the family.

For how long are we going to endorse such irrelevant and discriminating conditions? Isn't it time that we shed our double standards and provide women with the liberty to work and an opportunity to strike a balance between family and career?

Society does not need to make a woman opt between having a family or career; women are capable of balancing both. Women of the 21st Century can achieve the greatest of feats by putting their minds to it.

Women have braved through all challenges and swam against the tide to prove their mettle in a male-dominated world and have risen through ranks to get the recognition as well as the respect they deserve. The present-day women do not walk behind arrogant and misogynist men anymore, they walk beside them correcting their discriminatory behaviour.

However, women are still forced to choose between raising a family and building their careers. The problem lies within the societal structure that conditions women to become the sole caretaker of the family. Since their childhood, they are made to dream of a perfect wedding wherein the man of the house is the sole breadwinner while the woman takes care of the home confined to the four walls.

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Even though we have so many women among us who have paved a new path and broken the norms of society; society forces upon them the archaic standards where their life is limited to domesticity. Women are even taking up unconventional jobs which were deemed to be 'manly' and have equally excelled in them as well. From female bus drivers to stand-up comics, to athletics, women are shining above and beyond. Yet, most times their hardwork goes in vain when the society attempts to cage them to familial duties while criticising them for being "too ambitious" and "work-driven".

Indeed balancing between family and career is no piece of cake but women are doing as best as they can. They manage the deadlines, handle kids and even cook for the entire family three times a day. Yet we as a society keep expecting more from her instead of supporting her.

Women are labelled as unfit wife and mother if she expects their husband to share a load of household chores with them, why? Why does society have such double standards when it comes to balancing work and family? If a man can earn and be a part of the household, why can't women?

When will we acknowledge the hypocrisy? When will society recognise a woman for her effort in looking after her family and career?  Why don't we understand that it's a woman's choice whether she wants to become a homemaker or balance family and career together?

A man is hailed as a "good husband" only for doing his share of household work and child-rearing; for women, it's their duty, and they don't receive any appreciation. Women need to be appreciated as well. Women can balance between family and career, let them make their own informed choice.

The views expressed are the author's own