Subthread in this conversation: caretaking and women's roles are somehow 'weaker' and 'less than'?
Not at all.
I am surrounded by highly successful and motivated women/ moms/ wives. So I am missing the point here as well I guess. The real problem Ive encountered in my career, education, has been the inflexibility to help mothers accomodate having families.
And some of the most rigid, unsympathetic bosses I have had were women. Which always struck me as interesting. It was almost like 'I had to sacrifice, so should you.'
The mistake is assuming that a 'man's role' is somehow better? Both have limitations and there is no perfect society. Children still need to be taken care of, the elderly, the ill , etc. I think anyone who wants to do those things personally or professionally has the hardest job that needs the most respect.
We don't value those roles ENOUGH is the problem to me. I work in education (a field dominated by women) and I can tell you that if it were a male dominant field, I'd be making far more money.
So it isn't just about roles as it is about how we view women in general as a society, regardless of the choices women make in their lives.
I've never felt pressure to have a family or be a mom. Having a career actually came easier to me, being a stay at home mom drove me nuts so he stayed home and I went back to work.
The grass isn't always greener though. I still try to be there for teacher conferences etc not because I feel pressure but because his dad is a knucklehead and if it is gonna be done right, it better be done by a woman!
roar.