About Responsibilities of Man and Woman

There has been a dramatic change in gender inequality and more in social life aspect in American families and under Bianchi, S.M. et al. (2012), the article Housework, tries to highlight the understanding of this event. Most women still suppose the burden of attending to their first shift which is their career and also the second shift which is their home life and responsibilities. The decrease in time for most women which they spend in doing the housework roles and on the basis that men seem to do more on the same leads to an emphasis on equality concerning housework according to the article of Housework by April 2010.

The enlargement of houses and more complications in managing the household finances has contributed to this. The vast changes in the American family’s life have resulted in deterioration of morality and unhappy children due to experienced parent’s dissatisfaction they are facing. Childcare is one of the critical activities which should motivate men to participate in gender equality regardless of housework chores left undone.

The article by Bianchi, S.M., et al. (2012), shows that most women are facing enormous challenges in performing at work as well as the second shift at home. More expectations are laid for the women to balance their careers with taking care of home responsibilities, such as taking care of children, housekeeping duties where they prepare dinner, do the cleaning and laundry in comparison with what their male counterparts do. This struggle of balancing work and family is a huge burden on women which has led to the holding back of their careers.

As much as American women are quite struggling to cope with the two shifts and heightening more on their educational achievements, their salaries remain two-thirds of what they receive in comparison with what men get which is a great challenge to them as indicated in an article by Bianchi, S.M. et al. (2012).

According to Bianchi, S.M., et al. (2012), although working mothers possess higher esteem and get less depressed compared to housewives, in comparison to their husbands they get more tired since they do double work and most of the time, they fall sick which is among the pressures they undergo as they try to tackle the two shifts.

Women are still perceived to be basically the caretakers of the home and family, due to this, they are underrepresented in each level of the corporate world where even when they achieve higher education degrees than men, they fail to be promoted, and in addition both leave the organization at the same rate, Bianchi, S.M., et al. (2012).

The challenges men in families encounter in meeting new duties and requirements are not as a repercussion of personal weaknesses or failure to be committed in family life; instead, they arise from the different perspectives of family expectations and the social expectations in men and women work structure roles. In regards to Gerson (2010) report, more women are now participating in the workforce and are achieving high-status jobs. It is creating a loop for more men to be expected to share in childcare and household roles which is contradicting with the traditional breadwinning selfhood many men have had. Below are factors impacting on the husbands and father’s potential in participation in family life:

In Gerson (2010) report, most men are finding it challenging to maintain their jobs as much as been involved in a relationship with their children and spouses. They opt their roles of financial responsibilities rather than household responsibilities which makes the caregiving falling on inferior position. Besides, young men are skeptical on how to equalize between earning and caring in support of their families, and as much as they may agree with social equality in breadwinning and caretaking, their way of handling the two may differ which is an inhibiting impact of participation in family life.

More time for the investment required to maintain the financial payment that gets incurred at work make it difficult for most men to equalize the work with the rest of life. The working hours have been extended in most professionals due to economic changes making it challenging in attaining the work-family balance.

In regards to Gerson (2010) report, most men prioritize on their work leaving mothers as the caretakers of the family as they assume that their primary role in a family is to support the family financially. Men are perceiving their incomes as replacements of time and other forms of attention in families where they try to justify that being a responsible father and spouse means setting financial contributions as a major role in a family.

The way men view the women’s jobs of lesser value still holds a high impact on how they perceive them of being responsible for domestic work, despite having the job they place women’s work as the second. Those women who are self-depending portrays equality as a just way of seeking independence while the breadwinner men perceive it as their choice of working and the men role of working as an obligation to do so according to Gerson (2010) report, which is becoming a limiting factor of men participating in family life.

According to Gerson (2010), more men are fearing of getting married, and instead, they find it more appealing in their freedom. Most are said to postpone their marriages until becoming more financially stable while others are still in the world of experience and freedom before settling down for marriage which is drawing back their participation in family life.

In conclusion, each man and woman should understand that it’s their responsibilities to cater for the family needs as well as observing their work life. The society through their working point and changes in the community should assist them in achieving their dreams in life. The institutions should put more practices on some essential aspects like creating flexible workplaces, amending the gender antidiscrimination policies and highlighting laws against any discrimination on workers with families. By observing these, people who are in the marriage line will be able to get an opportunity of nurturing their goals in family life as well as their careers.

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