Women Can Work, But Mothers Have to Pay

2010 is the year when women will edge past the 50% milestone to become a majority of the American workforce. A pair of Economist articles sing the tale of how far women have come -- but there's a rub. A mere 2% of Fortune 500 companies have a woman as the head honcho; women fighting their way up the ladder continue to encounter that pesky glass ceiling. Who's to blame? Sex discrimination, the fact that we still haven't passed the Equal Rights Amendment, the good ol' boys club not wanting to share their cigars? No, no, the Economist says. It's the battle of reproduction vs. production. "Motherhood, not sexism, is the issue: in America, childless women earn almost as much as men, but mothers earn significantly less."

Rose Afriyie at Feministing points out that, hey there, "discrimination against mothers is discrimination against women." The Economist isn't making an original move in fingering women's choice (kids or career?) as the culprit: that's long been an easy way out for those who don't want to admit sexism is at play. But, the articles chirp, the need for female brainpower will fix this, too, with increased flextime jobs so Mommy can get home to make dinner. Now, who thinks these female-centered flexible jobs are going to come without a giant pay cut?

Our work system is hardly family-friendly, and a slew of reforms -- paid sick days to take care of family members, more flexible schedules, a living wage (so parents don't have to juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet), a corporate culture that doesn't consider midnight a reasonable end to the work day, maternity and paternity leave -- could improve the situation for mothers and fathers. That's right, I said paternity leave. In pushing for reforms, we have to recognize that, in a heterosexual two-parent household, fathers are responsible for the kids, too. Calling for changes to the system solely to help women will further disadvantage them in the quest for equal work and equal pay.

The issue isn't motherhood: it's the notion that fathers should (and would want to) spend all their time at work without a care for what's happening on the home front, while children "belong" to the mothers, who will be less committed and capable employees. Afriyie calls attention to a study that finds that employers assume the worst of mothers, who are less likely to get a given job and, if hired, lose out on $10 K in salary -- but fathers get the same treatment as their childless counterparts. Well gosh, that sounds like sexism to me.

Photo courtesy of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.