So women want to stay home. This is not new. The question is why? Why don't these women feel that their future husbands should sacrifice their careers instead?
"Why don't these women feel that their future husbands should sacrifice their careers instead?"
zev, ask "why should they sacrifice parenting and all that potential inflience on their children" instead and you may have part of the answer. (one young woman interviewed basically said as much.) the other parts of the answer are probably along the "unquestioning sheep" lines that most of the article sort of suggests.
i am somewhat curious why more women don't give the "it depends who has what career who will give it up and stay home" answer, however. maybe they don't trust the menfolk with their own offspring?
When Rachel and I got married, our plan (i.e. Rachel's plan) was for Rachel to stay home with the kids. I believe the major reason Rachel wanted that was because she admired and wanted to be like her mother. Rachel, however, is not the same person as her mother and changed her mind pretty soon after Yisroel Yosef's birth. In any case the article suggests that Rachel's attitude is typical. I, at least, consider it a healthy and desirable attitude.
One thing that struck me was that it seems that these women do not generally want large families. This is sub-optimal from society's perspective. It is my impression that part-time work or interrupted careers are worth less than the time invested would suggest. On the other hand, the marginal cost and time goes down for each succesive child while later siblings are only slightly less valuable to society than earlier siblings. Nevertheless, these women are choosing as they do because the marginal increase in happiness goes way down with each succesive child.
Zev- Take a hint from the article and do not suggest to potential spouses that you will sacrifice your career for hers.
Sam- Rachel tells me that studies show (but can't explain) that education improves parenting, as well as pretty much everything else.
Miriam- Well, obviously these women prefer (and expect) to marry men whose careers shouldn't take a back seat to their own expected careers.
4 comments:
"Why don't these women feel that their future husbands should sacrifice their careers instead?"
zev, ask "why should they sacrifice parenting and all that potential inflience on their children" instead and you may have part of the answer. (one young woman interviewed basically said as much.)
the other parts of the answer are probably along the "unquestioning sheep" lines that most of the article sort of suggests.
i am somewhat curious why more women don't give the "it depends who has what career who will give it up and stay home" answer, however. maybe they don't trust the menfolk with their own offspring?
When Rachel and I got married, our plan (i.e. Rachel's plan) was for Rachel to stay home with the kids. I believe the major reason Rachel wanted that was because she admired and wanted to be like her mother. Rachel, however, is not the same person as her mother and changed her mind pretty soon after Yisroel Yosef's birth. In any case the article suggests that Rachel's attitude is typical. I, at least, consider it a healthy and desirable attitude.
One thing that struck me was that it seems that these women do not generally want large families. This is sub-optimal from society's perspective. It is my impression that part-time work or interrupted careers are worth less than the time invested would suggest. On the other hand, the marginal cost and time goes down for each succesive child while later siblings are only slightly less valuable to society than earlier siblings. Nevertheless, these women are choosing as they do because the marginal increase in happiness goes way down with each succesive child.
Zev- Take a hint from the article and do not suggest to potential spouses that you will sacrifice your career for hers.
Sam- Rachel tells me that studies show (but can't explain) that education improves parenting, as well as pretty much everything else.
Miriam- Well, obviously these women prefer (and expect) to marry men whose careers shouldn't take a back seat to their own expected careers.
I am afraid I don't understand why this is a "Jewish thing."
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