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Skepchick Quickies 2.08

ETA: I just found these anatomical bleeding heart cupcakes and had to share. Perfect Valentine’s Day baking or what?

Amanda

Amanda works in healthcare, is a loudmouthed feminist, and proud supporter of the Oxford comma.

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8 Comments

  1. I usually spend lent rebelling against my Catholic upbringing by eating meat every Friday and day of observance, and indulging in as many of my personal vices as I can. But this almost makes me want to join in!

  2. Re: Parenting & work.

    I find it mildly amusing that while yes, there is sexism there, the big picture is missed, and that is working parents get so much more slack at work than non parents do.

  3. Slack? SLACK? Maybe some people, some places, but in general if an employer wants to keep talented employees who have children, there are certain tradeoffs. Raising children is important, the flexibility to do it in a mindful and thorough way benefits all of society, and if you'd like to call that slack, I suppose you can. The only alternative is that the Women simply Stay Home with the Children, and I'm not sure we're going back down that road any time soon. I really resent the implication that workers with children are "getting away with something." Again, I'm sure there are people out there who abuse the system, but for the most part we work as hard as we can while still parenting the best we can.

  4. LOL, work was doled out on the basis of who had children!

    Those with kids received less work to do.

    There's all kinds of alternatives: Pick a career where you're a straight 40.000/wk, stay at home dad, part time, etc.

    IMHO, Choosing kids and a career where 50+ is expected is a very bad personal decision.

  5. But many many CEOs and executives at the very top of business have children – or did you just mean women perhaps mxracer652?

    I don't have kids yet but I work somewhere where they are quite friendly towards parents and in my experience that doesn't mean they get less work. Some of them have taken alternative part time jobs (as per your suggestion for us all) but some of them work in very demanding jobs and manage. Our director (a man) will sometimes be late because one of his kids was sick or similar but the important fact is it doesn't mean he doesn't get his work done. Working parents might be more sensitive about the 5pm deadline but then again they might take work home. Of course it probably helps that in my work place you are not generally encouraged to work past 5pm whether you have kids or not.

    Sorry – long post – but I really think we have to work towards a model where people are not penalised for having kids. Because we need there to be children for society to survive. Yes it is a couple's choice to have children but it is actually a necessary thing as well.

  6. Monika,

    Most corporate executives do not care if daycare closes at 5pm or not, because they can hire a private nanny, which is much unlike most working moms/dads. Ease up off the misogyny, I'm only talking reality.

    I can think of a handful of careers that do not mix with kids. That is no failing of society, that is just the reality of the job.

  7. Mxracer652,

    You probably have a point about those at the very top who can afford nannies or who have wifes who don't have to work. There are still a lot of people below that but above 50+ who don't have that option and who leave at 5pm every day without it being a big deal. Men and women. So my argument really is that you are not talking about reality.

    Also you seem to have eased off (or perhaps I am misinterpreting) – earlier you said parents shouldn't have jobs 50+ (meaning above 50k in salary or requiring over 50 hours in the office?) but now it is only a handful of careers.

    I'd agree with you on the latter. I'd also say most of those jobs have a poor work life balance anyway and are probably not great examples of the way people should work (in an ideal world – not saying there won't always be some).

    And I do think it is a myth that those without children pick up all the slack for those with children which was your first point. It wasn't even what happened in the anecdote linked. There one person wanted not to give work to a man with young kids, was about to give it to a woman with young kids and then was argued back to giving to the man. So how is that talking about those without kids picking up the slack?

    It could just be our different life experiences but I have a different view on reality.

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