Why Men Love The Fact That Women Work
Women at work benefits both genders. Here's why.
To celebrate that women now make up half of the workforce (woot woot!) Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress have released The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything. The publication explains what most of us already know—mainly that Americans love the money that working women make, but they're bummed that women aren't doing as much housework as in ye good old days.
Amusingly, the report touts the fact that men do not feel they've lost the "battle of the sexes." That's no surprise to us.
Maybe back in the day, men genuinely feared that women might start being scary if we started getting jobs, but now that it's happened, men have clearly warmed to the multitude of benefits of women working. For example...
1) Men like money. When you get to split the bills 50/50 with your wife or ladyfriend, that means more money for beer, Xbox games, and porn. Lemondrop: 16 Of Your Trickiest Love And Sex Questions Answered
2) More socializing opportunities. Not every straight man has a wife or ladyfriend, but most are aware of the benefits and would like to have one. Considering that Americans spend ever increasing amounts of time at the office, the opportunities to meet new friends or potential lovers outside of a work environment are minimal. Without women at work, men might find their options limited to Match.com and being set up on blind dates. Lemondrop: High School Sweethearts Reunite, Marry After 50 Years Apart
3) Boys stink. Who wants the office to smell like dude? Many men won't speak about this openly, but if you press them, they'll admit that a big drawback to male-only environments such as locker rooms or the living room on game day is that such spaces start to get that distinct dude smell. It's not just women who find this repugnant.
4) "Mad Men" style. The continued existence of the pencil skirt and high heels. Without the demands of the office, few women would ever bother to own, much less wear, a pair of high heels with a pencil skirt. But this classically sexy look is the perfect go-to outfit on the job. Men's visual space would be poorer indeed if women stayed at home wearing nothing but clothes conducive to scrubbing and chasing after children. Lemondrop: Woman of the Future Is Shorter, Fatter
5) Dutch treats. For all the moaning and groaning you hear from a minority of men who claim to be confused about who pays, most men actually love that they can split the bill when first dating someone. It takes the pressure off both parties to have no other obligations but enjoying the date.
Discussion
I believe that men and women should complement one another at home and in the workforce. Who makes more money is not as important as being fair, moral and respectful.
Members of a team should help one another in pursuit of a common goal, instead of trying to undermine one another or reinforcing a "glass ceiling" to deprive anyone of what is due to him or her. Ethical leadership should be a fact, rather than an oxymoron.
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Ack! I just read that the reason women are MORE than half the work force is just that the recession is hitting men harder. There's nothing to celebrate about unemployment.
It's not good for men to be more likely to be unemployed than women. Men need jobs, too.
Unemployed men's wives are not jumping up and down saying, oh, goody, now we can go on food stamps.
Progress is everybody who wants it having a job.
This is pretty clearly written by a young, single woman. The sex at work stuff is only good when you're single (or if the guy still likes it, his lady friend probably doesn't). Dutch treats are nice, but irrelevant if you get to the point in your relationship where you pool your resources. Ditto bachelor pads if you decide to live together (and you could sleep at his place).
The thing nobody wants to admit is that the 50-50 stuff changes when you have kids. Most married mothers don't work full-time. Even the ones that do only work an average of 35 hours/week compared to over 40 hours/week for married fathers. * I suspect that many women, although they might not admit it, are looking at whether or not a guy could support them going to part-time, working at home, or cutting back on their career when they have kids.
I am sure, however, that many men are glad that their wives earn money. Most men with kids are not complaining about their working wives. Similarly, most men whose wives are at home with the kids are glad that their wives are at home.
*In case you're wondering: Fathers married to women who work full-time outside the home work fewer hours for pay than other fathers, but they do less housework. They also still work more hours for pay than their wives.
I just think that women do need to help their men more carry the load at work and men need to help women carry the load with children, dinner, and clean up; it creates a balance and makes us feel more needed because just doing all the dirt work we start to feel like maids and servants. I love working and coming home to my family, but I also miss spending the time with my 3 year old that I did when I was home with my 7 and 5 year old.
