Gender assumptions
Tuesday December 12, 2006
We had an ACS-W meeting last night… it was good. I hope that I can find the time to do the things that we were discussing.
It was the first time that I had been to North Sydney in a long while. I got all nostalgic and went to the Starbucks, then I walked around to the Newsagency (it’s no longer owned by the same people!!) and then it started raining on me so I went to the bar where we were going to have dinner to wait for everyone else…
But speaking of women, I read something interesting this morning…
SOME of Australia’s best and brightest women are the most reluctant to breed, with female academics far more likely to be single and childless than their male peers.
The reason, it seems, is that women are less able to combine the demands of academia with parenthood (link: “Our best women less likely to breed”).
Question… is it that women are less able to combine the demands of academia with parenthood, or that men (or workplaces or spouses or even just families) are less able to adapt to the demands of the household/family/relationships?
I always wondered about statements like the above, where there is a general assumption that it is simply the womans place to deal with matters of family and home.
Isn’t that part of the core issue? That it shouldn’t be assumed that dealing with all of the family/home issues is the responsibility of the woman?
Anyway, your thoughts would be greatly appreciated =)
14.12.06 - Stephanie - #
It was probably written by a man who believes a woman could not handle both, or that he believes that thier is a growth in females who do not marry or have children..
14.12.06 - Serph - #
I think men would be equally able to take care of the home/family stuff then women. Both genders should be able to do whatever they want for a job and such. And men are generally more ‘stupid’ then women, so it’s kinda logical that the smarter ones are single since there aren’t any normal decent guys that match their personality.
15.12.06 - Deanna Marie - #
Yes, that is part of the core issue. Men shouldn’t assume that women will take care of the home and family as their sole duty. Especially if there’s evidence that the woman has a brain.
This reminded me of my Aunt. She’s absolutely brilliant, yet chose not to have children, even though her husband is an MIT graduate.
Women are definitely able to combine parenting and academia, if their husbands agree to do their part, which most don’t. I think it’s more that women know that if they get married, they’ll be expected to raise the children and stop working.
Regardless of intelligence in either gender, men are simply less willing to adapt to household duties. For example, my mother is the sole breadwinner in the house and is back in college at 50-something, and my father never stops b****ing the whole time he has to do dishes or go shopping. He doesn’t want to do even the simplest things to help her out (but he still does, he just gripes the whole time). He’d rather sit around and watch TV than bother do throw a load of towels in the washing machine, and do his “wifely duties” as he calls them.
16.12.06 - Honey - #
Hey! Thank you for stopping by my site. I’d use subdomains – if I were allowed to! Sadly, my hosting package only gave me 5 subdomains (and they are all already in use, lol). However, I got a domain, but thank you very much for the suggestion!
17.12.06 - Naco - #
I hate how people view women as being the “homebody” who cleans the house and takes care of kids. I personally think it’s great when a women goes out in the business world and has just as much success as a man.
17.12.06 - Hristina - #
Hey! I’m glad to hear that meeting went good. I agree with Naco… We don’t live in 15th century anymore. We have the same rights as men. Take care!