Finally, the cultural values of intensive mothering provide another aspect of the gender-based view of female behavior that is “tolerated” in the patriarchal workplace. Another inequality in the patriarchal workplace is the male gender behaviors of stoicism and perceived neglect in the value of family life. The gender value of the “nurturing mother” is a major gender role, which has been deeply imbedded into the fabric of American society. These two divided gender roles provide a deeper understanding of the different behaviors that women are expected to enact in the workplace: “A good mother must do everything she can in the public sphere to provide the best possible experience for her children in the private sphere; mothers must adopt a calloused
…show more content…
This aspect of the public sphere of women’s work is an important feature in the detailed performance expectations that women must bring with them to the workplace. More so, they must shift back to a “nurturing” mode when their children need their mother during the workday. Culturally, this is another example of the patriarchal inequality of labor that divides men from women through these stereotypical behaviors. More than being ignored and devalued for her work in the home; the mother must then endure the emotional alienation of male bosses in the public sphere. In Hays’ article, the cultural contradictions of the dual role of the mother define the underlying problem of this gender-based …show more content…
Hays defines the dual role of the mother in the private sphere (as a caregiver in the home) and the role of businesswoman in a patriarchal capitalist workplace. This article explains the underlying inequality of the division of labor through the perceived burden of mothering and care giving that male employers/bosses impose on women that work for them in this type of corporate culture in the public sphere. This is one aspect of “intensive mothering”, which Hays defines as the stressful and burdensome role of being a mother in this type of hostile capitalist environment. In fact, the capitalist system tends to perceive male work in the business world as more valuable than the work a mother brings in raising her children in the home. The issue of gender roles is also a major part of explaining why women are perceived as being “nurturers” in the home, and that men are seen as being stereotypically “callous” in the aggressive and competitive world of American business. These gender divisions are another layer of a business cultural that identifies the contradictions of home life (as being outside of the capitalist system) and the pursuit of self-interest that is part of the valuation of women as a businessperson. In this manner,
This aspect of the public sphere of women’s work is an important feature in the detailed performance expectations that women must bring with them to the workplace. More so, they must shift back to a “nurturing” mode when their children need their mother during the workday. Culturally, this is another example of the patriarchal inequality of labor that divides men from women through these stereotypical behaviors. More than being ignored and devalued for her work in the home; the mother must then endure the emotional alienation of male bosses in the public sphere. In Hays’ article, the cultural contradictions of the dual role of the mother define the underlying problem of this gender-based …show more content…
Hays defines the dual role of the mother in the private sphere (as a caregiver in the home) and the role of businesswoman in a patriarchal capitalist workplace. This article explains the underlying inequality of the division of labor through the perceived burden of mothering and care giving that male employers/bosses impose on women that work for them in this type of corporate culture in the public sphere. This is one aspect of “intensive mothering”, which Hays defines as the stressful and burdensome role of being a mother in this type of hostile capitalist environment. In fact, the capitalist system tends to perceive male work in the business world as more valuable than the work a mother brings in raising her children in the home. The issue of gender roles is also a major part of explaining why women are perceived as being “nurturers” in the home, and that men are seen as being stereotypically “callous” in the aggressive and competitive world of American business. These gender divisions are another layer of a business cultural that identifies the contradictions of home life (as being outside of the capitalist system) and the pursuit of self-interest that is part of the valuation of women as a businessperson. In this manner,