It is saddening to see how relations among families in the modern world becoming increasingly strained as family members get caught up in their jobs to try to earn a living and support themselves and one another – also otherwise known as the ‘time-bind’. It is also ironic how, in trying to keep the family together by working hard and keeping food on the table, they at the same time manage to drive a wedge between themselves, due to the lack of communication among them. This lack of communication also leads to the lack of understanding of one another – one family member will then be unable to put him or her self in the position of another member, and thus conflict amongst them results, and the family unit as a whole simply breaks down.
However, it would be unfair to claim that these people do not make an effort to maintain a balance between their families and their work-related duties, even though it is a task that is far from easy to take up and maintain. This is especially so for women in the workforce who have children, who after a long day at work still have to fulfill their domestic responsibilities, which men are often unwilling to help out with completely, if at all, even if they are unemployed. This is even more so the case for single parents and the working class.
Thus, as Sernau mentioned in the readings, it is obvious that we are living in an increasingly matrifocal (as opposed to the favored term of matriarchal) society. This is a phenomena occurring not just in urbanized and industrialized countries, but developing countries as well. And if this is the case, why is it that women’s rights are still constantly being grossly violated, especially in the developing countries where the way of life is more traditional and conservative?
In a speech by prominent feminist Hilary Clinton, who also happens to be the first woman to have ever run for the US presidency, noted accurately how “for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence”. Despite the contributions of women to their families, in both domestic and income-related responsibilities, they, even up till today, have to put up with being subject to subordination, belittlement, discrimination, and sometimes even humiliation from their male counterparts. This is because the traditional view that the role of women should be confined only to domestic responsibilities still exists, even in modern and urbanized societies. It could also be that the rise of the importance of women with regards to a nation’s economic survival has displaced many a man. This thus leads to the latter feeling disgraced (after having taken a blow to the male ego) and as a result blaming the women for undermining their roles in society, and they channel this embarrassment into suspicion and aggression to their sisters, wives and daughters. The surge in domestic violence during the period of time whereby women started taking on a larger role in the economy would almost entirely attest to this assertion.
Even if men were supportive of their female domestic partners taking on the role once thought to be only taken up by men (that is, being the sole breadwinners of their respective families), women often find that progress in their respective careers was extremely hard to come by, all because of their gender. They face wage discrimination, where they get paid lower than men for the same amount of work (or even more so) done, as well as the ‘glass ceiling’.
Hilary Clinton is also one of the extremely few female faces in world politics, which is excessively dominated by men. Other than figures such as Condoleezza Rice, Benazir Bhutto and Angela Murkel, powerful women are largely unheard of in the political arena. What could be the underlying cause of this? My guess is that men who often (even unconsciously) hold the perception that women not as assertive and firm, which is an absolute necessity in politics, as men. It is also due to the fact that they, having been in power since the start of civilization, are unwilling to give up their roles and see what was rightfully theirs being taken away by a woman.
