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The question whether married women should take up
jobs or not has attracted much attention lately and there are
sensible reasons for advocating both the courses of action:
going to work and not going to work. It would be fair to
assume that this is by and large a middle class problem.
Amongst the working class there is no taboo on women -
whether married or single - taking up jobs outside the home
whether it is in the field or the factory. It is a normal
practice for women to be helpmates in earning money. As
working has ordinarily been associated with the need to earn
money, the problem has not arisen amongst the rich classes.
This question, because it is associated with the middle class,
has two important aspects to it: first the notion of
respectability which hinders women from taking up jobs once
they are married, and secondly taking up a job means
spending time away from home and may thus interfere with
the smooth running of a household and the bringing up of
children.
When men feel that their wives should give up a job
simply because of marriage, the idea strikes one as
ridiculous. This kind of attitude detracts from the pleasure
of doing a job for its own sake and reduces it to a mere
material contract. When a married woman takes up a job,
why should it reflect on the husband's ability to maintain
her and his family or affect adversely his sense of
respectability? Working outside the home besides providing
an opportunity for self-expression also helps in the growth
of personality. It gives a woman a much-needed sense of
independence and self-reliance. Some men also object to their
wives taking up jobs because they feel that when women
work in offices or libraries they have to mix with other men
and this somehow sullies them or poses a threat to their
integrity. This is not really so and most balanced and mature
women should be capable of taking this in their stride. And
even if this is true then the remedy does not lie in
segregating women from men or treating them as a
different species but in educating menfolk towards decent
behavior. If a man respects his wife and the other women
he meets or works with, this problem of social behavior
would be solved.
As long as working outside the home is not detrimental
to the health of the lady concerned there is no harm in
working. It is true that tradition has defined the role of a
woman as a mother and as a wife and many women grow up
to think that their sole duty lies within the house but in the
present day circumstances this is no longer practicable.
Besides economic help which a working woman provides,
there is an extra dimension to her character which makes her
a better wife and mother. Because a working woman comes
into contact with the outer world and is likely to have wider
interest, she can help to create a healthy atmosphere in the
home. With her increased knowledge and better
understanding she can also make a better mother. A woman
who has to stay away from her home for considerable stretches
of time and who has only limited time for her children will
ordinarily try to do her best for them and to make the best of
her time with them. If she has some imagination she can do
a great deal for them.
Women need jobs as much as men for a well-organized home does not need the housewife's presence the
whole day long and children also grow up, go out to school
and later to work and they get married, thus leaving a big
gap in the mother's home. Thus marriage and mother-hood
have no right to enslave a woman for a lifetime if they
cannot provide the necessary degree of response. A job
becomes a burden when it is undertaken under compulsion,
or in ill-health, or if it makes claims which are difficult to
fulfill. Otherwise work should be a pleasure. Married women
may find it difficult to take up jobs when they have very
young children. In order to help solve this problem many
employers are willing to provide part-time jobs and are also
willing to allow two women to share one job. With the growth
of opportunities many married women have been able to
start small industries or business which need not take them
away from home. With most governments insisting on
limited families and with husbands willing to share
household duties, the present age is prepared to accept a
married woman who works. And women themselves with
better educational opportunities are willing to accept the
challenge of a job alongside marriage.
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