Women "becoming" men in the workplace

I think that this approach is problematic because forcing women to act like their male colleagues in the workplace reproduces patriarchal gender roles which relates to Engel's discussion of patriarchal society wherein the subordination of women has been reinvented over time but never abolished. This approach perpetuates patriarchal gender roles because it suggests that only men truly belong in the public sphere and thus, women cannot achieve success and acquire recognition in the workplace unless they act like males and deny their unique qualities as females. Moreover, this approach is problematic because it fails to acknowledge how unpaid work within the family by mothers constitutes as labor of significant social value that is on par with paid employment and hence, serves to further accentuate the inferior social status of women and motherhood.

I also agree that it is problematic because women are forced to be acting like men with their roles in society because men are suppose to be the ones who do better and women would always come second. Mothers/women definitely take the role of the double shift with balancing labor in paid work as well as having to take care of her own family which is also part of another labour because she has to handle all that. Women's status in society need to be recognized and not compared to with men as women need to take a stance for their roles in society and should not try to become "men" while in the work place.

I agree with Beverly that the approach is problematic as it perpetuates gender roles, but I also think that it encourages the notion that women who choose to focus their efforts on climbing up the career ladder are viewed as more successful and held in a higher regard than women who choose to be homemakers. Feminism today has a strong emphasis on women being strong, independent figures, often neglecting and excluding those that choose to conform to traditionally feminine roles such as staying home and taking care of children.

I also think Engel's Patriarchal Family is excellent in highlighting the ways in which this approach is problematic. Like what many of you said, women's subordination would continue to exist but the form in which this suppression could takes place would look differently. Having said this, encouraging and rewarding women to adopt stereotypical qualities and characteristics of what it means to be a "man" as a way to become successful in the public sphere reinforces these very same qualities as model traits for desirable and worthy workers. More specifically, rewarding women for spending less time from the home would further marginalize or condemn other women who are engaged with housework as unworthy or unreliable workers. A lot of employers are hesitant to provide higher paying positions to women because they assume that the woman will not commit to her career after childbirth. This assumption, again, is rooted in the idea that women are naturally bound to the house, therefore the women will eventually return to her "natural duty". The best way to radicalize the idea where housework is essentially a woman's primary responsibility, is to provide equal amount of paid leave, specifically for child care, for both men and women.