Working Mothers

4 Pages 1065 Words

Many women today are facing choices that their mothers never had to face. One
of these choices is whether or not to go back to work after having a child.
This was practically unheard of in the 1950's. In the 1990's it is not whether
the mother will or will not go back to work, rather a question of when. When did
the choice become set in stone? Why do the mothers of today have to work
outside the home versus working in the home, much like their mothers did. When
one thinks of the subject of working mothers, many differing opinions come to
mind. What will happen to the child, will the mother have sufficient time to
bond with the baby, how will household chores be divided, and so on. When
thinking of working women, two models come to mind. One of which is paid
employment that has a protective and beneficial mediating effect. Employment
protects women against certain negative aspects of being full-time homemakers
and mothers, such as monotonous housework, dependence on the male partner for
financial and emotional support, increases self-esteem because they are
contributing to the world they live in. These women receive a renewed interest
in life because they are in the thick of it. They are living life to the
fullest. This model is the one that is constantly referred to as “bad” because
it paints the woman as someone who does not really care about the effect of
working will have on the baby. In fact, most of these mothers have made this
choice with painstaking care. They are constantly feeling what everyone is
thinking, and this in turn causes undue stress on these mothers. The other model
of the working mom is the one most people think of when discussing working
mothers. This model is one of a woman having too many demands of her --
housewife, mother and paid employee - which may lead to role strain due to
fatigue and role overload. The competing demands of such roles may also lead to
conflict ...