Comments on: Housework Holding Women Back from the Corner Office?

By: Do Women Create Their Own Glass Ceilings? » The Glass Hammer

Do Women Create Their Own Glass Ceilings? » The Glass Hammer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:02:07 +0000

[...] life? Women still manage the majority of housework. Some studies show women doing 53 percent more housework than men. And women are more likely to stay home with a sick child. Are they expecting these things [...]

By: ilga

ilga — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:59:55 +0000

This sounds more than a little whiney to me. We are fortunate. But we can’t have everything we want all the time. Many women struggle to put food on the table and provide a safe home for their children.

By: Lisa blunden

Lisa blunden — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:44:15 +0000

Like the article a lot, its reverent to where l am now. I come from near Coventry, England, i am 41 with one grown up boy and find the same situation. I find l have to make time for house work, but l only do the basis and often eat out to save time. I have been in retail for twenty years, l have been trying to go into management. I have completed a course on Management and Leadership. Most if not all Managers are men were l work, but l have been making progress. I am now on their management program, and networking contacts with other men. But it is difficult because l am a women, they don’t want to let you into their world. Eventually l want to get into fashion, l am seriously thinking about going to university to study, as l have no qualifications that will help me pursue this.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:09:15 +0000

Great article. I left my company to start my own business. It’s been several years now and I have a work life balance but with costs. My husband sees my job as having a more flexible time schedule. At times it does, but my business still requires my presence, brainstorming, meeting with the leadership team and producing results during regular business hours. Late last night, my husband announced that he could not meet the plumber at our home today. Usually I have a back up for me by calling a personal assistant service Fini Concierge (www.finiconcierge.com) to stand in for me to meet service calls, however it was soo last minute. Anyway, I realize I need to be more vocal with my husband and make clear my responsibilities and the need for us to share the duties. If I don’t speak up, I will hold a grudge which won’t help me or him in the long run.

By: T.H. Meeks

T.H. Meeks — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:49:29 +0000

Great article! I left a directorship & pursued a freelance writing career to have more flexibility to handle all the demands at home, but I took a tremendous cut in pay. At the time I left my former job, I felt the combined pressure of work and home was simply too much to take any longer. Nowadays, about half of the time I think I made a good choice. The rest of the time, well, it depends on the day.

By: Betty-Ann Heggie

Betty-Ann Heggie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:26:24 +0000

I can certainly relate to the stress on one’s marriage that comes from feeling inequity in household chores. I remember how angry I was at my husband when our children were little: I was working fulltime and felt the burden of the house, the entertaining, the birthday parties and the Hallowe’en costumes fell on me. After imagining him dead one day and noticing how much I relshed the thought I realized it was time to renegotiate our duties for the good of the family. He was shocked when I told him of my fantasy and suddenly realized how it was hurting our marriage. Our ensuing discussions revealed that part of the problem came from our different standards- I had to relax mine and he had to up his. I gave him rooms of the house that were his where I could just close he door and not look. Meeting one another half way is a common and necessary part of any relationship. I write about these and other women’s issues at http://stillettochick.typepad.com/blog/2009/06/ In Celebration of Women, Betty-Ann

By: Jane

Jane — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:50:42 +0000

The other alternative (the elephant in the room no-one has mentioned) is to leave these selfish (soemtimes pathetic) husbands rather than one’s job – you’d save on ironing their shirts, buying so much food, cleaning up so much mess, organising stuff etc etc. Remember, if you give up your career or settle for less than you derserve with a part-time role/less well paid job to fit everything in, and then in time HE leaves you, what are you going to do then? Battle for maintenance (alimony) and feel miserable? Guaranteed. Financial independence is absolutely key to real female emancipation. If a guy doesn’t buck up why should he get the benefit of having it all, a lovely home and so much done for him as well as a rewarding career? Women don’t seem to expect the same, but they should. We need to value ourselves otherwise how will anyone else value us? If a guy knew he’d lose everything if he didn’t help out more, maybe they wouldn’t be such wastrels. I don’t favour arguing with one’s spouse or becoming the classic nag – that just erodes self-esteem, and also feeds into the traditional view of how women are. He’s a grown-up and needs to be responsible – just set the situation out clearly and calmly. Assert your rights as a human being. We as educated women are responsible for changing this siutation as much as anyone. If he doesn’t respond appropriately, do you really want to be with him???!!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:58:41 +0000

How lucky am I? My husband expects to do at least 50% of housework. It’s just his attitude to things. He’s proud of me and my career and he acknowledges that he can make a big difference to my ability to meet deadlines, think through difficult decisions, and feel good about being a working mother. I rarely ask him to do anything around the house because I don’t need to… he just sees that it needs to be done and he does it. We don’t divide specific tasks between us – there is no such thing as women’s job and men’s jobs in our house. When our little one was small, he’d say that if he could breastfeed, he would. (Technically men can, and some do, breastfeed… but it’s a taboo subject and a whole other political debate and my husband didn’t breastfeed in case you were wondering). Our ironing is sent out weekly and our house is cleaned properly top to bottom each fortnight… we just keep it tidy in between and we share the cost of this getting done. Oh yeah, he cooks too, at least 3 nights a week.

I read articles like yours and I realise that in this respect, I am lucky.

I’m glad that my husband is setting such a great example to our children and unashamed about what he does around the home in his circle of friends and colleagues.

I’m not bossy with my husband. He just has an attitude of partnership with respect to our domestic arrangements. He was like that when I met him.

My boss, however, thinks its unfair that my uhsband is ‘treated this way’ and has expressed concerned for little boys whose mothers are not with them all the time. (Note, there is no concern for any little girls that have no mother with them all the time). So I guess I am an example of a woman who wins at the kitchen table but has prejudice at the board table.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:05:16 +0000

Very interesting article. You did a great job of highlighting the struggles women face as they seek equality in their marriages. I would love some ideas about how to begin negotiations in the home to bring about more equity.

By: Dr. Barbara Schlachet

Dr. Barbara Schlachet — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:02:38 +0000

Great article, Liz! I wrote one very much related to this for Women’s Media Center, called “Sexism: The Invisible Ism”. The link at WMC is:
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/072908.html
You might want to take a look at it…I’d love to get your feedback.
Barbara