Women In Virginia Woolf's Professions For Women
In the 19th-century women began working outside of their homes, usually in textile mills and garment shops. Since then, women make up an abundant number of the United States workforce, while still continuing with being great mothers to their children. Women have faced extreme obstacles throughout the years while entering the workforce, such as lower pay, poor working conditions, and lesser job opportunities. In Virginia Woolf’s article; “Professions for Women”, she discusses her mental and physical struggles as a female writer. She also discusses the struggles of women in the workforce universally. There are many types of working women and troubles that have to endure, but this essay will discuss working mothers, women working outside of western
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countries, and how those issues tie up with working in a patriarchal society.
The employment of women with children has impressively increased since the 19th century. Women are taking more active roles in the workforce. “In 2004, 60 percent of all US women were in paid workforce” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 305). In fact, women are going into extremely male-dominated careers such as medicine, law, and engineering. However women are faced with societal expectations, wanting them to choose between having a family with children or their careers. Many women decide to choose both and wind up with career life and taking care of the family needs such as cleaning, shopping, meals, and childcare. Even though many women that pursuing a career and family life are single mothers, research shows that in households where men are present, “Housework tends to be divided along gendered lines” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 307). Which means that women tend to usually do the cooking, cleaning and chores that could take a more emotional toll on an individual. Working women are faced with the major expense of childcare. The cost of daycare/childcare is gradually increasing. It’s progressively harder for working women to look for jobs without having anyone to care for their children. More and more women are faced with settling for part-time jobs or staying home with their children and receiving government welfare. Even though job opportunities for women are increasing, many women are trapped with making the decision of choosing “career or family”.
Women outside of western countries are not only faced with stereotypical gender roles, but are also faced with doing the cheap dehumanizing labor.
Western countries are outsourcing to countries such as China while using assembly line labor, which a vast portion of the assembly line labor is female. To help out their families who live in rural settings with finances, young women in china take cheap labor jobs in the city. Not only do these young women work long hours with little to no breaks, many are forced to work overtime with no extra pay. “Individual bodies were required to accommodate to the line, rather than the line to individual bodies” (Ngai 404). Which means companies look at these women as irreplaceable and dehumanize them in order to run the assembly line more efficiently. In Third world countries such as Haiti where there is little work for both genders, poor women are encouraged to be in a plasaj relationship. “This type of relationship is based around economic reasons” (NortheasternEdu). The wife agrees to take care of the children and tend to household task while the husband goes out and finds work. (Polygamy are very common in relationships, such as these even though polygamy is illegal in Haiti.) In countries such as Haiti, there is an also a lesser opportunity for women to achieve a proper education to excel in the job market, so they stick to housework. A numerous amount of countries outside the western world are dealing with concerns that many women in countries such as the United States could dream of. However these women fail to receive considerable recognition from the western world and their issues go
unnoticed.
In many societies; whether it be a professional or social society, women are expected to abide by a certain gender expectation that men typically do not need to worry about. In Virgina Woolfs article she discusses not only the physical obstacles that are “…looming in her way” (Woolf 1054) but women
countries, and how those issues tie up with working in a patriarchal society.
The employment of women with children has impressively increased since the 19th century. Women are taking more active roles in the workforce. “In 2004, 60 percent of all US women were in paid workforce” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 305). In fact, women are going into extremely male-dominated careers such as medicine, law, and engineering. However women are faced with societal expectations, wanting them to choose between having a family with children or their careers. Many women decide to choose both and wind up with career life and taking care of the family needs such as cleaning, shopping, meals, and childcare. Even though many women that pursuing a career and family life are single mothers, research shows that in households where men are present, “Housework tends to be divided along gendered lines” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 307). Which means that women tend to usually do the cooking, cleaning and chores that could take a more emotional toll on an individual. Working women are faced with the major expense of childcare. The cost of daycare/childcare is gradually increasing. It’s progressively harder for working women to look for jobs without having anyone to care for their children. More and more women are faced with settling for part-time jobs or staying home with their children and receiving government welfare. Even though job opportunities for women are increasing, many women are trapped with making the decision of choosing “career or family”.
Women outside of western countries are not only faced with stereotypical gender roles, but are also faced with doing the cheap dehumanizing labor.
Western countries are outsourcing to countries such as China while using assembly line labor, which a vast portion of the assembly line labor is female. To help out their families who live in rural settings with finances, young women in china take cheap labor jobs in the city. Not only do these young women work long hours with little to no breaks, many are forced to work overtime with no extra pay. “Individual bodies were required to accommodate to the line, rather than the line to individual bodies” (Ngai 404). Which means companies look at these women as irreplaceable and dehumanize them in order to run the assembly line more efficiently. In Third world countries such as Haiti where there is little work for both genders, poor women are encouraged to be in a plasaj relationship. “This type of relationship is based around economic reasons” (NortheasternEdu). The wife agrees to take care of the children and tend to household task while the husband goes out and finds work. (Polygamy are very common in relationships, such as these even though polygamy is illegal in Haiti.) In countries such as Haiti, there is an also a lesser opportunity for women to achieve a proper education to excel in the job market, so they stick to housework. A numerous amount of countries outside the western world are dealing with concerns that many women in countries such as the United States could dream of. However these women fail to receive considerable recognition from the western world and their issues go
unnoticed.
In many societies; whether it be a professional or social society, women are expected to abide by a certain gender expectation that men typically do not need to worry about. In Virgina Woolfs article she discusses not only the physical obstacles that are “…looming in her way” (Woolf 1054) but women