As a woman in the U.S., having kids and a job outside of the home is a complicated and occasionally fraught life. Despite steps forward in terms of workplace equality — pregnancy non-discrimination and the Family and Medical Leave Act, for example — women still struggle to accommodate the demands of earning a living and having and caring for kids and family. More so if you’re a single parent, poor, undocumented, non-white or disabled.
We think that the heart of the problem lies in “woman’s work” — the way that the responsibilities of caring for the home, family and community continue to fall almost exclusively on women and girls. (OK, guys, before you jump up and say, “but I change diapers and do laundry too!,” hold off on your knee-jerk reactions and keep reading…)
This is a blog about how women are navigating work and family at home, the office, and in society at large. We don’t promise answers, but we’ll try to unravel the multiple ways that “woman’s work” can be both burdensome and rewarding and how, at the end of the day, women are getting it done.
–Alia and Ruth
Woman's Work 