It’s a well known fact among many that women tend to earn less in the workforce than men in the same jobs but people seem to forget that often times these women are also working more than their husbands or male coworkers at home. Even with the issue of unequal wages the workload is also skewed quite a bit. In chapter 8 of Woman’s Voices, Feminist Visions it’s spelled out pretty clearly, “married women currently perform about two-thirds of all household labor.” The massive amount of housework shoveled onto women is generally coded as ‘feminine’ work, cooking and cleaning and making sure everyone is happy. Even kin keeping- tasks relating to family such as remembering birthdays and planning vacations is placed on female shoulders merely because it’s expected of them. Even if a women were to hire someone to do the cooking and cleaning around the house to lighted their load this job is often taken on by a women of color, continuing the circle that perpetuates all of these encoded gender roles.
As a person that assigned male at birth, regardless of any gender identification I could choose I will always have an advantage others whether i want to or not. Not only this but I’ve been raised and socialized to have certain privileges and expectations. I don’t like when external forces like societally enforced gender roles effect my loved ones but it’s difficult to stop thinking in a way or doing something that has been going on for so long without me noticing it. Me and my partner have had conflicts about housework in the past and I’ve become more aware of how deeply it runs, completely abolishing it will take a lot of effort but I’m willing to do so.
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