Mrs. Greely
October 27, 2014
Reading Reaction #2
This assignment has shown me how far women have come in the workplace, only to be disregarded by corporate males. Both readings explain the struggles of working women, especially mothers, but they contradict each other. Reading 71, The Triumph of the Working Mother, tells us how happy working moms/wives are today. While reading 75, Six Ways the Male Corporate Elite Keeps Women Out, explains that when power is held by males it gives them a sense of entitlement over the women in their workplace.
The topic at hand, working women, could very well be described as controversial. It honestly didn’t shock me at how hard successful males try to their female co-workers behind them. “Power creates a sense of entitlement” is something that really angered me. This sense of “super-entitlement” comes from a corporate system where value is placed on its leaders, and is completely blown out of proportion to their actual worth.
The Triumph of the Working Mother looks at this subject in the view of The Feminine Mystique. Not only does the author focus on women in the workplace, but she also touches on maternity leave which is something that most working women will eventually do. Some 50 years ago, a wife who wanted to pursue a career was considered an unstable woman that would damage her marriage and kids but of course that was never the intention. Numerous studies have shown that stay-at-home moms (of all income levels) experience more sadness, anger and depression than employed moms. A review of 70 studies in the U.S, found no significant negative effects on the intellectual development of children that had working mothers. So while Betty Friedan correct in her claim that maternal employment is a good thing for both women and their families, she didn’t expect that the United States would’ve fallen in last place among developed nations that support working families by the early 21st century. I personally hope to