Working Women vs Homemaker: Both Can Be Choices

Women who choose to be homemakers are judged for giving in to the patriarchal norms of society. However, while having a career is necessary deciding to be a homemaker is a choice.

The world has seen many women in the corporate sector trying their best every day to reach a step closer to their goals and objectives. However, some people think that working women are the mark of a progressive society. They consider homemakers as oppressed and managing the household a demeaning job. This is because of the wrong interpretation of what women want. Not every woman dreams of a career, some dream of living a peaceful life with their chosen family.

It is not about a certain role that women want, it is about the choice they deserve but are often denied. A woman can choose to have a career, a woman can choose to be a homemaker, a woman can choose to take a break after marriage and a woman can choose to quit her job after having a child. It is all about their choice and how they wish to lead their life. The debate of homemaker vs career woman has been going on for a very long time and a similar discussion took place on Reddit that invited thoughts of women behind choosing to be a homemaker.

Reddit Asks Though Process Of Women Who Choose To Be Homemakers

"Women who chose to be homemakers than pursue careers, what was your thought process?" was a question asked on Reddit and it invited answers from only those women who have already made the choice. The purpose seemed to gather responses of people who have already experienced the choice of becoming a homemaker and having a career and have an idea of how life is after you choose the former.

One of the reasons that prevailed in the thread and were agreed upon by many women was of raising their children. One of the users wrote, "I couldn't see the point of having children if I was going to end up hardly seeing them, and paying a stranger to raise them for me." Many women agreed on the fact that watching their kids grow brought them happiness rather than a 9 to 5 job. It allows them to create memories and have mental peace in the company of the ones they love and doing things they love.

Representative image

Working at a firm is really stressful as you have a lot of expectations. The stress can lead to many health complications and can affect your personal life adversely. Like how this Reddit user faced complications due to work stress, "After growing in my career for several years, I realised that the stress was making me miserable and ill. I'd lost over 20 pounds due to stress-related gastrointestinal issues. I was underweight, weak, and fatigued. After much discussion, my husband and I decided it was for the best that I quit my job and take some time off work."

But that does not mean being a homemaker is easy. Managing a household means a thousand chores and a thousand responsibilities. As for how this user explains it, "That’s the thing: homemaking is real work. It has value, both economic and emotional. I grew up in a single-parent household, and my mother worked full-time, so I didn’t really understand this until my own kids were born and I made homemaking my full-time job. It made life better for everyone, including me."

Working Women vs Homemaker

The fact with homemaking is that you are your own boss. You don't have to follow a certain pattern or regime every day, you have the freedom of doing things your way and whenever you want. Although the work is ten times harder, it is less stressful as you don't have any peer pressure or competition.

For many women, the idea of a job is to provide for the financial needs of the family. They believe that if their husbands can make enough for them to provide a decent lifestyle, they don't have to go out. They find solace in homemaking as they can pursue their hobbies and passions and live stress-free. The purpose of society is not to create more working women or create fewer homemakers. The entire idea is of providing a choice to women to take their life decisions. It is about giving women the agency to make a choice.

Suggested Reading: Shefali Shah Starrer 'Human' Season 2 To Be Announced Shortly?

The views are the author's own.