No dear. You do. Women still quit in high enough numbers that the stereotype persists. This is nothing like the stereotype that African Americans like fried chicken. There were no stats to back that one up. There ARE stats on women quitting when they have babies. A high percentage to. Stereotypes rooted in fact persist until the fact changes.
I can handle both. I've done it. But it isn't the choice I want to make the first five years of my kids life. We prefer to have a SAHP for our kids. It has NOTHING to do with not being able to handle being mom to an infant, toddler, preschooler while working. NOTHING.
But it has EVERYTHING to do with how we see best to raise our family.
My womanhood gives me the right to SAH & raise a family when my husband & I feel it is definately in the best interest of our children.
How it affects other women or what stereotypes it continues is hardly any concern to me and no, I believe I'm doing more for dd now than working to benefit women in her generation down the road.
Of course, I'm not one of those strong feminist women in the feminist movement either. I really don't care about that at all. My mother didn't care & she raised daughters, neither do I. My mother is also a WOH & still is today in the nursing profession.
I think that may be a distinction without a difference.
For instance, if I understand grimal's situation correctly, it seems that an important (if not the primary) reason for her career change is that teaching will allow her more time to spend with her kids. So in that sense, even if she planned for it, her career change is still a "reaction."
Also, when someone's career has to change or take a backseat for the benefit of the family, it's far more likely to be mom's than dad's. There are many reasons for that, but the bottom line is that when a woman scales back her career or shifts gears to take a more family friendly job, it fits the mold. That is at least part of the reason why I don't see her career change being perceived much differently than a woman who quits to sah.
I understand, and agree. I just think the answer is not for women to take LESS family friendly jobs, it's for men to start requiring it of their OWN professions.
I agree with you, and I wish more men would take advantage of reduced schedules and other family friendly options, but I haven't seen many of them do it.
Pretend I'm stupid (yes, it will be quite a stretch) and explain the connection for me. Because it was so far out in left field it wasn't even in the ballpark.
But no one CARES why she's leaving. No one is going to look at this and say, "Wow - how unusual for a woman to go into teaching."
She was (according to her) mommy-tracked against her will. Leaving the workforce simply reinforces the mindset which led her to be mommy-tracked in the first place. The PTB are going to be saying "good thing we moved her when we did - we certainly dodged a bullet with that one." Her leaving simply justifies their decision to take her out of the fast track.
You can worship her choice to go into teaching all you like, but she's not making any giant strides for womankind. At least, no more than escm made by teaching science right out of the gate.
BTW, professionals are courted to go into teaching because there is a teaching shortage. Since they already have degrees, it's a fast path for them to get certified. It's not because they are perceived to have any greater teaching potential than someone who chooses teaching up front.
"So few people do it"? Please. At my first high school reunion at least 15 people (myself included) out of the hundred I talked to were back in school getting our certifications.
Here's a fact for you. I know you don't like using them, but in this case I think it's warrented:
Within the last five years, approximately 25,000 people, per year, have been certified to teach through alternative routes...Approximately 18 percent of new hires in California enter teaching through the state’s alternative routes. In Texas, 24 percent of its new hires come through the state’s 52 alternative routes, and in New Jersey, 24 percent of new teachers enter the profession through the state’s alternative route.
That only includes those who didn't go back to school to get a traditional teaching certification. Maybe you consider 24% of a population "so few" but I don't.
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to "deal" with. For me to need to "deal" with something, it would have to have some sort of impact on me. Maybe you need to "deal" with the fact that the rest of us simply aren't impressed.
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But it has EVERYTHING to do with how we see best to raise our family.
Paige
How it affects other women or what stereotypes it continues is hardly any concern to me and no, I believe I'm doing more for dd now than working to benefit women in her generation down the road.
Of course, I'm not one of those strong feminist women in the feminist movement either. I really don't care about that at all. My mother didn't care & she raised daughters, neither do I. My mother is also a WOH & still is today in the nursing profession.
Paige
For instance, if I understand grimal's situation correctly, it seems that an important (if not the primary) reason for her career change is that teaching will allow her more time to spend with her kids. So in that sense, even if she planned for it, her career change is still a "reaction."
Also, when someone's career has to change or take a backseat for the benefit of the family, it's far more likely to be mom's than dad's. There are many reasons for that, but the bottom line is that when a woman scales back her career or shifts gears to take a more family friendly job, it fits the mold. That is at least part of the reason why I don't see her career change being perceived much differently than a woman who quits to sah.
I understand, and agree. I just think the answer is not for women to take LESS family friendly jobs, it's for men to start requiring it of their OWN professions.
Mondo
But no one CARES why she's leaving. No one is going to look at this and say, "Wow - how unusual for a woman to go into teaching."
She was (according to her) mommy-tracked against her will. Leaving the workforce simply reinforces the mindset which led her to be mommy-tracked in the first place. The PTB are going to be saying "good thing we moved her when we did - we certainly dodged a bullet with that one." Her leaving simply justifies their decision to take her out of the fast track.
You can worship her choice to go into teaching all you like, but she's not making any giant strides for womankind. At least, no more than escm made by teaching science right out of the gate.
BTW, professionals are courted to go into teaching because there is a teaching shortage. Since they already have degrees, it's a fast path for them to get certified. It's not because they are perceived to have any greater teaching potential than someone who chooses teaching up front.
"So few people do it"? Please. At my first high school reunion at least 15 people (myself included) out of the hundred I talked to were back in school getting our certifications.
Here's a fact for you. I know you don't like using them, but in this case I think it's warrented:
Within the last five years, approximately 25,000 people, per year, have been certified to teach through alternative routes...Approximately 18 percent of new hires in California enter teaching through the state’s alternative routes. In Texas, 24 percent of its new hires come through the state’s 52 alternative routes, and in New Jersey, 24 percent of new teachers enter the profession through the state’s alternative route.
That only includes those who didn't go back to school to get a traditional teaching certification. Maybe you consider 24% of a population "so few" but I don't.
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to "deal" with. For me to need to "deal" with something, it would have to have some sort of impact on me. Maybe you need to "deal" with the fact that the rest of us simply aren't impressed.
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