Men lean toward things, women toward people. Does it matter?
Men and women overlap enormously, but some average differences in strength, reproduction, and interests were large enough to shape how work was divided.
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#work
9 notes.
The 1950s housewife wasn’t the original traditional family
The 1950s homemaker was one stage, not the original. Before industry, the household was a workplace where men, women, and children all produced.
Why men’s and women’s roles changed so fast
Machines, smaller families, contraception, education, and outsourced housework changed what a family had to do. The roles changed with it.
What men and women actually did all day before modern jobs
“Men worked, women stayed home” is wrong. So is “they always did the same work.” The record shows shared household production with specialization.
Who worked more: men or women? The answer is complicated
Who worked more, men or women? The records are thin, but the work was always there. What changed is how it splits between the home and the market.
The state and market took over what families used to do
Factories, schools, hospitals, insurance, and pensions took over jobs the family once did. Which were done better, and what was lost on the way?
Two incomes gave families more money — and much less time
Two incomes gave households more money and more independence, and made time the scarcest thing a family has.
Should couples specialize — or both learn to do everything?
Divide the household by strengths, or share everything? Specialization buys efficiency with dependence; symmetry buys independence with coordination.
Career — become useful, competent, and excellent
A good career is not a title or a salary. It is a field where you keep getting better at solving worthwhile problems, then help others grow.