Double burden
At the turn of the 20th century in the continental United States, only 18 percent of women over the age of 15 reported receiving income from non-farm employment.
The outpouring of occupational opportunities in the early 1920s, such as in "cafeterias, nurseries, laundries and other facilities seemed to release women from domestic chores and freed them to participate fully in the sphere of production.
Best exemplified by Rosie the Riveter propaganda of an efficient, patriotic, woman worker, World War II increased demand for female labor to replace that of the "16 million men mobilized to serve in the Armed Forces".
[6] The post-World War II period is marked by relatively high levels of female participation in the workforce, particularly in industrialized countries.
[7] Modern times illuminate the dilemma that many dual-income couples face when trying to reconcile unpaid domestic work and paid employment.
[13] Some parts of Western Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, have been creating family-friendly policies that have aided them in equalizing the gender difference in participation in the work force.
[15] Government aid in providing care to the elderly and the young have enabled women in Scandinavia to be a part of the working population at nearly as high a rate as men.
"The persistent gender wage gap across regions may reflect a number of factors, including women's continued disadvantage in terms of education and skills; their lack of an organized voice and bargaining power; gender-specific constraints on their labour market mobility; and their relatively high involvement in part-time or temporary jobs.
[24] There are various societal pressures that combine to create the double burden, including some economic thinking of domestic work, thoughts about net household gain, and the perceived notion that women are more likely to ask for maternity leave than men.
[26] In addition, women are seen as more likely to ask for maternity leave than men, meaning that it is more difficult for them to obtain a well paying job, which has negative effects on female employment.
[8] Many studies have been done to investigate the division of household labor within couples, and more specifically, on the gender roles played by a variety of people worldwide.
[3] According to the World Bank Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Mexican women in the labor force still spend approximately 33 hours each week performing household responsibilities.
In Conway's studies, he discovers the physical, emotional, and psychological differences between men and women faced with the double burden in Canada.
[3] Ways that the double burden can be lessened for is with hired help in the house, day-care facilities, and longer maternity leaves for women.
Celebrate those first steps or words, the first school play, their graduation day, passing those exams, landing their first job, getting married, making you grandparents.
"[39] There are many reasons why someone may put off to school until their children are older, such as not wanting to leave them in the hand of a baby sitter constantly at such a young age.
[41] Even though pursuing an education while nurturing a family will have its cost, the benefits include getting a higher paying job, gaining more knowledge, and becoming more stable financially.
For people who have a hard time fitting classes into their schedule around the needs of their family, there are options where they will be required to do all of the work for a course, but it will all take place online.
In Japan, once married, they are still expected to be devoted wives and mothers who give all of their effort to the home, even after a full day of work.
[43] Latin American women, now entering the workforce in large numbers, still face what they call doble jornada, or double day's journey.
However, married men generally contribute more to household and material maintenance, construction, and repair activities that are not usually captured under domestic obligations.
[7] In an article that was written by a team of researchers it was found that both men and women faced with a "spillover" of work and family issues were 1.5-1.6 times more likely to have an absence due to sickness than others.
[45] Although this evidence can not be strictly attributed to the double burden of having children and a career field, it can give a good indication of a trend in society.
[35] When investigating the reasons behind this, a study done in Sweden published in 1996 found that half of the difference between genders can be dismissed if you take out the days missed by pregnant women.
[7] Applying this statistic in larger scale leads to the assumption that women on average lose up to thirteen hours of sleep per month due to domestic duties.
It can be assumed that it is possible for an average woman to lose up to one hundred and fifty-six hours of sleep during a year because of domestic work and motherly duties.
According to Himmelweit (2002), because women often earn less than men, there is the thought that the woman should be the one to fit her paid job around household activities such as taking care of children.
[14] As discussed in the previous section on Causes, the double burden is a product of patriarchal power structures and capitalist models of labor and value which still persist.
There are two primary approaches to assisting working families: "One stresses the importance of action from within, with emphasis on private, internal, local initiatives within firms and organizations to alter workplace norms, conventions, and practices.
The other approach calls for government interventions designed to facilitate proper care for children with less sacrifice of parents' job opportunities, advancement, and compensation".
