The problem that seemed to me the most urgent was described in Kington’s essay. The essay is called “I’m Gay and African American: As a Dad, I Still Have It Easier Than Working Moms”, and it raises an issue of the day. Kington says it is easier to be African American and gay than a mother who works. He argues that decisions that a woman makes (for example, to leave work) are always more condemned than a man’s decisions. He reinforces this assertion with the example of his mother, who was forced to end her career to care for the children while his father was doing his medical practice. Kington also mentioned that if a man brings a child to work, it will be perceived as something nice. In the case of a woman, people will not have this reaction.
I decided to answer this essay because the role of the working mother in society is still relevant to our time. It is perfectly accurate that “gender stereotypes depict women as relationship-oriented and concerned about others” (Morgenroth 54). Thus, society makes a woman out of a man who cannot be equal in rights and duties with a man. For example, a man who chooses a career instead of raising children will be judged less than a woman who makes the same choice.
It is also obvious that a woman who allows her child to be at work will be judged immediately. This can lead to the fact that “the stereotype-based negativity directed at mothers in work settings is likely to be exacerbated” (Morgenroth 55). However, a woman has the right to choose a career by hiring a nanny for her children or leaving her father to raise them. The negative opinion of society about working mothers means that a woman does not have equal rights with men, which is wrong because all people have the right to choose.
Work Cited
Morgenroth, Thekla. “Should I stay or should I go? Implications of maternity leave choice for perceptions of working mothers.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 72, 2017. pp. 53-56.