The Second Shift By Arlie Russell Hochschild

Nancy received her bachelor’s degree and is now working full time as a social worker, Evan is a full time furniture sales man. Hochschild argues that “most women work one shift at their office or factory and a “second shift” at home” (Hochschild 4). This is supported with what the Holt couple does when they return home from work, Nancy cooks, does housework, and cares for Joey, while Evan usually goes to the basement and works on his hobby. This is not uncommon for women to experience this “second shift” the gender system that is commonly practiced among American families is domesticity. “The ideology of domesticity held that men “naturally” belong in the market because they are competitive and aggressive; women belong in the home because of their “natural” focus on relationships, children, and an ethic of care” (Williams 1). This also relates to the gender norms placed on men and women. This leads to turmoil in the relationship causing both the man and woman

The thesis put forth by Darrel Bricker and John Ibbitson in “The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future”, is premised on the notion that the Laurentian Consensus has ended due to its reluctance to accept the changes that Canada has gone, and will go through. They argue that their resistance to change created an opportunity for the Conservative party to become the new “natural governing” party in Canada (Bricker & Ibbitson, 2013). By recognizing and acting on these changes, the Conservative party built a platform for success which lead to the outcome of the 2011 federal election. They argue that the seismic shift in the demographics of Canadian voters from one side of the political spectrum to the other granted Conservatives this victory. This paper will explore the flaws within their argument, and the extent to which this shift is perpetual in nature.

These two articles, “The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin and “Still a Man’s World,” by Philip Cohen, discuss the success of women in the workforce and what that means for what is to come. Hanna Rosin and Philip Cohen bring different viewpoints on the progress we have made and where we are heading in the future.

In America the roles of the traditional American family have changed over the last couple of decades. Shifting from the more traditional roles of work and family, men being the breadwinners of the family, and the women being at home with the childrearing to more egalitarian values, where ideally both parents bring in money for the family and both parents do the caretaking (Gerson “Men’s Resistance to Equal Sharing”). According to Kathleen Gerson, we see that most Americans want an egalitarian breakdown of work and home, but unfortunately it’s not the reality. Today in America, we see more or a neotradional theme, were women are expected to work fulltime and also take on the full responsibility of caretaker at home (Gerson “Men’s Resistance to Equal Sharing”). I asked my mom, Susan, a 55 year old, white, married woman, who works full time as an IT project manager for CACI, how gender has affected her both, in the workplace, which is male dominated, and in her family life.

Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote an article about how a woman can’t have it all by managing a career and family. Ellen Ullman wrote an article how she was a computer programmer for a company that didn’t have many women work in that field. It has become common today to dismiss the debates in the workplace for twenty-first-century women that have a family and work to balance. Many people used to think that high-profile jobs were for men and that woman stayed home to watch the family. Within the past few decades’ women have started to do the jobs that men were doing to help the husband and the family. Both authors elaborated on the way their work is set and how hard they both succeeded to get to where they are now. While both Slaughter and Ullman

In her book The Second Shift, Arlie Hochschild describes how two-job married couples in the United States deal with the structural problem of the domestic work shift, i.e., that when both members of a marriage work outside of the home, the domestic work becomes an added burden to one or both of the members in addition to their outside jobs. Modern society has increased the work load of the family, thereby increasing tension in marriages and taking away time for leisure and recreation for both spouses. Hochschild calls this a "stalled revolution" (12) because women's entrance into the full-time workforce has yet to bring about the necessary structural change in American family life. Assuming that this state

Shift work takes a toll on workers and families. Most people who work nonstandard hours do so out of necessity, not as a choice. Most families tend depend on two incomes, and sometimes nonstandard work hours is the only feasible option. Both men and women struggle to meet family obligations, but women tend to carry a disproportionate burden for the home and family. Crowley found that when women had a partner, they experienced less career harm than did single women. Interestingly, Garey’s research found that the night shift nurses depended heavily on their spouses to make their work hour arrangements manageable. Working women are more successful in managing work and home obligations if they are supported by family or a

The modern working woman is struggling to balance work and family. The Second Wave of feminism has pushed her into the workforce, promising its ideals of equality in wages and in the home. However, many women find themselves in a world that devalues their work in home and in the workplace. Our society has not yet caught up to the Third Wave of feminism, which attempts to break down the traditional gender roles our constructions of work and family are based on. Many are hoping that government intervention through work policies that reflect the demands of an egalitarian family will be able to propel men and women out of the "stalled revolution".

On the other hand, second shift describes a transformation of family and the role of women in the workplace. This ideology emphasizes on the rise of the women’s participation in the labor market yet women still take most responsibilities in the household and child-caring. In such situation, women experience a strong tension in making a healthy balance between their roles at home and the workplace,

Because of this many women today still have responsibilities at home which restrict them from pursuing careers that men are stereotyped to have. Inequality in the workplace reflects and reinforces inequality at home. Although husbands have increased their share of household tasks, recent surveys find that wives still assume at least two thirds of domestic obligations. When paid and unpaid labor are combined, women work longer and have less income than men, (Deborah Rhode,1997, page 142). Women are faced with the stereotype that they are meant to be feminine, gentle, kind patient and affectionate while men are stereotyped to be strong, courageous, and the bread winners of families. This would correspond to the feminist theory, because of this stereotype men believe that they should be the one’s providing for their families while women do all the house work such as cleaning, cooking and also taking care of and raising their children. When work comes into play this typically does not change the roles that women are expected to fulfill at home. Stereotyping is an exaggerated statement about a large group of people and therefore it can be concluded that most stereotypes are false. Men and women should be able to do tasks which are viewed as both feminine and/or masculine.

As the times change, so do the standards. Women previously have been looked at as homemakers, housewives, subordinates. In this new century, this has changed dramatically. Not only have women sought extensive amounts of education, they have sought means to expand and solidify their skills. Although women continue to face discrimination, the qualifications of the playing field have leveled out.

This day and age, the roles of women have shifted however, women are still expected to follow the 1950’s norm in a sense. Although, many women are now in the labor force and are now independent, there are still barriers that aren't permitting women from being equal to men. The media has glamorized this barrier and has influenced society to think that it is normal. Advertisements with cleaning products, appliances or that have anything to do with children always feature women instead of men. The media has influenced society to think that a woman must perform house duties, take care of the children and still maintain a steady job. This has become excessive and overwhelming for women. “Women spent more time on shopping and other domestic work in 2005 than on paid work. In comparison, men spent more time on paid work than on domestic work. If paid work and domestic work are combined, women still spent 20 minutes more on average per day on work than men” (Gauntlett 2008). The average woman’s work load has essentially doubled and it has also created a greater gap between men and women. This has created many problems for woman and has undermined them tremendously.

Cooking, Cleaning, and raising the family is commonly and automatically affiliated with a job of the woman of the household, while the dominant man of the household would come home to a warm dinner on the table after a long day at work. These stereotypes have been apart of the American culture for as long as anyone can remember. Back in the preindustrial ages, women were in charge of the domestic chores in the household while men were in charge of the labor outside of the household, including heavy and challenging jobs in order to make money for the family. Men have been exposed to a larger variety of career opportunities than women through out most of American history. It is believed that women were

Working women in America are in a difficult and complex state. Women in the workforce are encouraged to compete "like men," which conflicts with the demand for their time during "the second shift". Complete dedication is expected both in the workplace and in the home, and little support is provided by the opposite sex and the government. If the government acquired a larger responsibility for working families, it could implement several policies that have already proven to alleviate the burden on working women and promote gender equality in other industrialized nations.

Years and years of fighting for their rights, women continue to strive to demonstrate that they aren’t just stay home moms or maids; they have proven to be much more than that. No matter how much work women put into something or how intelligent they can be, some people continue to believe that women will stay less superior to men by receiving less pay or appreciation. For instance, while being a mother there are struggles in finding a job that will give women flexible hours to be at work and home; this results to putting “pressure on women to limit their labor force” (p.74, Chicago Journals). Although this may be true, ever since the nineteenth century, women have become more independent and found successful jobs outside their homes. By not including this movement, many events that occurred wouldn’t have happened, and some businesses wouldn’t be able to achieve the success they contain now without the help from women. Even though men have the trait of overruling women, women continue to prove that they work diligently in their household and their workforce, and society must treat them as equals.