Women and Work Disscussion Questions
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Ohio University, Southern *
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Course
1510
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
Pages
3
Uploaded by DukeOxide10777
Women and Work Discussion Questions
1.
What are the four types of women’s work, as defined by Leith Mullings?
Mullings defined four different types of women’s work, first, paid work in formal sector,
reproductive work, work in informal sectors, and transformational work.
2.
What is the Second Shift?
The Second Shift is childcare and housework, such as doing the dishes, cooking dinner,
helping with homework, etc. This is done in the evenings after clocking out from the typical day
job.
3.
What did you think about He Works/She Works (in the Textbook chapter)? What was the point?
I think this article is eye-opening to the sad truth of gender discrimination. The point of
the He Works/She Works article was to show that there are double standards in the workforce.
Such as a man has a baby and needs a raise but if a woman has a baby she is taking money from
the company. Gender discrimination and the double standard portray men as if they are the
most essential and will never make a mistake.
4.
What is the status of women’s wages and what effect does this have on the family? How much
do women make for every male dollar?
Women are often in the lowest-paid positions, like childcare and service jobs. They
sometimes work part-time after their children are born, lose employability, and even have issues
with their childcare. Women make 61-90 cents for every male dollar, this number is even less for
women of color. This has an effect on families because it leads to many households having two
working parents or a single mother having to work more to provide for her family.
5.
How has feminism worked to create stronger families and marriages through a feminist
approach?
Feminists have worked for a more equitable partnership in balancing work and home.
This includes fair child support and a fair responsibility for household chores. As well as
redefining divorce so women have a fair chance.
6.
How could we redefine home and work?
We could redefine work by emphasizing the importance and equality of unpaid work
compared to paid work. Unpaid work including childcare, eldercare, household chores, cooking,
etc. Whether a woman is employed in a formal sector or informal sector her work is equally
important. Whether she is bringing home a paycheck or keeping the home in order, it should be
seen as a new redefined home and work.
7.
How do you
justify
differences in pay?
Justifying the difference in pay is not easy. Education is easily one of the only reasons for
differences in pay to be justified. If a man holds a master's degree and a woman holds a
bachelor's for the same position, the man would obviously make more. However, if the man and
the woman are both holding the same level of degree, the pay should be equivalent. Following
education, experience is the only other option. A man who has worked at the company for 7
years longer than a woman can justifiably make more than her. However, if they were both
starting out together, pay should be equal.
8.
What is Albrecht’s main point in Spending Time When Time is Money? What are the effects of
these changes on families?
Albrecht’s main point in the article is that companies have abandoned traditional time.
Companies are always working and moving forward so time is money. This results in mandatory
overtime and rigid working hours. This affects families because people are spending less time at
home and more time in the office.
9.
In one popular television show (Everyone Loves Raymond), the main character’s wife became
angry because she was referred to as less valuable because she was a ‘stay at home’ mom, so
she calculated how much it would cost her husband to hire a driver, cook, laundry employee,
babysitter, etc. How does this storyline relate to the article “The Mommy Tax”?
The wife in the storyline is referred to as less valuable and this is not the case. While she
mentions how much money she is saving her husband, “The Mommy Tax” goes even further and
mentions how much money the wife is losing in the unpaid “labor of love” It is the income a
woman loses out on when she has a full-time childcare job compared to a traditional paying job.
10. What is a summary list of how women are disadvantaged in the workplace?
-
Women employed in lowest-paid occupations: Sales, childcare, service, technical, etc.
-
They are paid less in the same jobs: In ALL occupations, women make less than men.
-
The number of single women and single women with children growing.
-
Because salaries are smaller, retirement benefits are smaller: Elderly women are twice as
likely to be poor.
-
There are stigmas attached to women in nontraditional occupations: Glass ceiling, sticky
floor, sexual harassment, etc.
-
Subliminal effects: second shift, barriers, sex roles, etc.
11. What is your reaction to this chapter?
This chapter is eye-opening and very informative. I think everyone has a general idea
about gender discrimination in the workplace but not many take the time to acknowledge it, let
alone educate themselves and work towards equality. With times changing and more and more
women entering the workplace becoming more educated it almost doesn’t seem real that
discrimination and pay gaps are still more common than not. In the year 2023, I don’t see any
reason that women’s dollar is just a percent of a man’s dollar, especially with the increase of
independent women and single mothers.
12. What is the main point of The Grey Flannel Sexual Harassment Suit?
The Grey Flannel Sexual Harassment Suit is a satirical poem addressing how victims of
sexual harassment must fit into a perfect mold to be taken seriously. If you are a woman who
walks outside of the very specific lines the author painted then you are further victimized as not
a “lady” or “asking for it”. The author makes the point that if you are not a pure virgin woman
then you can’t claim sexual harassment as sexual harassment.
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