, 2003, p. 84).
The authors go on to propose two changes in gender relations that impact relations in the family genre. The first (85) is that women and men would split the time each spends in the workplace and also split the time each spends conducting unpaid household duties as well. The second change would be to "…allocate…substantial parental time to the care of very young children" (Gornick, 85). In the Crompton strategy referenced by Gornick, both parents are working and the care for their children is expected to be conducted by childcare agencies; this is the "dual-earner-marketized-career" and the downside to that plan is that it has led to the growth of what Gornick calls "junk jobs" (93). Because of the low paying junk jobs and the fact that paid care work is so "…poorly remunerated" it increased inequality between men and women. Hence, often times the poor quality of childcare forces a number of parents to leave the workplace in order to come home and raise their children with hands-on love and that too leads to continuing inequality (Gornick, 93).
The authors put forward a better idea, called the "earner-carer model" which divides up time and responsibilities and creates a more equitable situation for mother and father. This could be implemented during the crucial first year of the life of the child that mother and father conceived together; although the mother gave birth, the father made his contribution and supports mother (with empathy...
It puts forward a scenario in which both mother and father, for example, each work 20 hours so that the family has income based on a forty-hour work week but parents have equal shifts at home caring for the children. When the child reaches one year, the couple might divide up the time and resources like this: each parent works 25 hours a week and conducts childcare 15 hours per week. And as the child grows, and the care giving needs change, the couple continues to make adjustments in work for pay and work at home, so equity and responsibility are on an even keel.
Conclusion
This dynamic -- equality in parenting -- can bring gender equality in the employment milieu closer to a point of fairness as well. The upshot of this essay is that the following scenario needs to be radically changed: the man comes home from work expecting a luscious, hot, freshly-prepared meal -- prepared by a wife who works half time but rushes home to handle fully the responsibilities of raising three children -- to be ready for him while he hasn't lifted a finger to share in the family duties
Works Cited
Deutsch, Francine M. Halving it All: How Equally Shared Parenting Works. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press 1999.
Gornick, Janet C., and Meyers, Marcia K. Families that Work: Policies for Reconciling
Parenthood and Employment. New York: Russell Sage…
