Should mothers and fathers share parenting equally?

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Jennifer Saul (today's reading)

(1) We are socialized into a "gendered division of domestic labor" (p. 40); standard gender roles are not inherent in biological sex

• infant socialization (p. 21)
• kids watch traditional mothers, fathers

(2)  The workplace discriminates against mothers

• difference model:  policies are only discriminatory if they explicitly take into account sex of applicant when it's irrelevant to the job
• dominance model:  policies are discriminatory if the end result is that they disadvantage women
• discrimination in academia:  the tenure system
• discrimination in the corporate world:  long hours, travel
• blue collar discrimination:  inconsistent hours, standby hours, time off for sick child difficult
• gender pay gap (full time women earn 77% of what full time men earn)

(3) Inadequate solutions

• childcare to help mothers--problems of the nanny and child-care worker
• parental leave--more generous for women, with bad net effect
• part time work--those who take it never catch up

(4) Adequate solutions

• standard worker should be presumed to be a parent with childcare responsibility
• flextime, onsite childcare, equal parental leave, good benefits for part-time workers
• shorter workweek for all
• non-parents may have care for relatives 

Anne Marie Slaughter "response"

•  Atlantic article
• wanting to prioritize family is a valid choice
• interview and TED talk below