A point emphasized by both “The Mommy Tax” and “Maid to Order” was that some women’s rights efforts have been and are directed toward recognizing the value of labor within the home and working to address wage discrepancies for women. These articles argue that these efforts might be misdirected because, currently, the value of labor is recognized in homes with hired maids and the wage discrepancy seems to be greater for mothers particularly (and, in some circumstances, fathers as well) than for women in general.
In Barbara Ehrenreich's "Maid to Order" article, she points out that "the home, or at least the affluent home, is finally becoming what radical feminists in the Seventies only imagined it was-a true 'workplace' for women and a tiny, though increasingly visible, part of the capitalist economy" (62). I find it fascinating that housework only seems to have tangible monetary value when it is outsourced and completed by individuals external to the home. Is it possible to tangibly value labor completed within the home by members of the family (as many feminists are fighting for)?
As a child and young adult, I had cleaning and yard maintenance responsibilities without reward; it was an expectation that as a member of the family, I needed to contribute my time and energy to maintaining the home/yard. The line in Ehrenreich’s piece that states “ ‘I [the woman] take care of the inside, he takes care of the outside’ ” (62) resonates with the responsibilities my parents had as far as house/yard maintenance, but my brother and I were expected to contribute in both spheres. I am unsure if this represents my parents’ progressive attitudes toward the spheres men and women are expected to occupy, but I am grateful for the understanding and knowledge I have from my experiences and see the skills I learned as potentially tangibly valuable in the future (I can independently operate push and riding lawn mowers and power tools, I built a shed and a rabbit hutch with minimal assistance, I completed numerous cleaning tasks indoors, etc.). These skills are only monetarily valuable to individuals who would hire me, who would exist outside of the home.
The family wage gap also resonated with my own family experiences. My mother was employed full-time until she had two children, and has only found sporadic part-time employment since then. My father has been employed full-time since he left school and has not had to take any significant amount of time off as a result of his status as a parent. I have had professors and teachers who experienced discrimination because of pregnancy and parenthood. As we discussed a couple weeks ago in class, some places of work have systems in place to assist with childcare (my high school had a nursery for children of students and some staff), but most employers make employees choose between starting a family and continuing to advance in their career.
I think that your experience growing up with an expectation to complete housework is a very valuable experience. Although I had minimal duties inside the home (keeping my own room clean, setting and clearing the table), I think that the extensive and regular duties that you explain provide you with an understanding that now, I wish I had first hand. I think what you say about the discrepancy between the value placed on housework when it is outsourced versus when it is completed in the home by members of the family is quite a valid and important point.
ReplyDelete