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Men vs. Women – Is the division of labor fair?
Whether it is bees or humans, division of labor is a practice that several species of the earth follow in order to co-exist in a group peacefully. In division of labor, a larger task is simply divided into small parts and distributed to each member of the group so that a much complicated end result can be achieved which when individually performed could have otherwise been much more challenging or nearly impossible. We humans with our six senses are masters at dividing our tasks. Combining natural instincts and our own capabilities men and women share their chores for mutual benefit.
For centuries a woman’s role in a society has been leaning towards the role of a caretaker of the young ones and of the house. Her natural ability to give birth, feed and care for the child has made her the queen of the house. While she stays at home, additional responsibilities like cleaning the house, cooking and over all running of the house also falls under her jurisdiction. A man on the other hand, physically stronger by nature has been in the traditional sense the food gatherer/hunter. In modern terms he is responsible for earning by some means to enable a comfortable living. The system as such is a good one and works very well as long as everyone involved in this setup fully acknowledges their role and is also satisfied with it.
The perception of what qualifies as good enough work for a man and a woman has changed significantly in the past few decades. With women these days on par with men in terms of work related capabilities and with the advent of baby formulas, ‘how to do’ books and the services of
a nanny, the woman of the house can easily pass on her tasks at home to someone else. Likewise, since jobs these days do not necessarily require physical strength (and even if they do), men and women are successfully able to switch roles or perform from time to time both sides of the task. Today’s woman is supposed to comfortably manage a career and a family. A man then in order to restore the balance must pitch in extra hours at home too. Since there are new tasks assumed, points of interest in this scenario are pointed out as few questions. First, how does a woman perform in her career path and does she successfully compensate for her absence at home? Second, how does a man change to this new reality? Most importantly the third question, do both the parties acknowledge their new roles and are they satisfied?
The general opinion among the public has always been in support and in sympathy of the working woman who not only faces gender discrimination at work front (Kohen 239) but is also confronted with household responsibilities. Recent studies though point that in the United States men are pitching in to share a lot of the household chores (Konigsberg 45). The most challenging yet unanswered aspect though is to assess how these new dynamics affect children at homes.
In much of the undeveloped world these new roles of men and women will take a longer time to evolve. Unlike some of the developed nations in Europe where women are actually quite satisfied with the current division of labor (Hansen), much of the world is male dominated where women must abide by set rules or even if they venture out to work they must do so knowing well that the household is still entirely their responsibility. For a fair balance, it is of essence to constantly question if both men and women involved have equal division of labor. While worker bees may be happy to serve their queen forever, humans tend to snap at some point or the other when over burdened.
Works Cited
Kohen, Philip N. “The Gender Division of Labor – Keeping House and Occupational Segregation in the United States.” Gender & Society 18.2 (2004): 239-252. Web.
Konigsberg, Ruth Davis. “Chore Wars.” Time 8 Aug. 2011: 45-49. Print.
Hansen, Nicole, and Helle Nielson. “Women satisfied with current division of labor.” European Working Conditions Observatory. Web. 5 Jan. 2009.
