Female writer’s views on women in the workforce

By Olivia Biagi
Collegian Staff
February 7, 2007

Back in the Stone Age, society said that the men hunted and the women cared for the children and gathered food. Up until the mid-20th century, this stayed true as society expected women to stay home, raise the children and run the household. Today this has been altered; in addition to the previous tasks, women must have careers, as well.

As a woman, I say, don’t tell me what to do with my life.

Personally, I believe that my career will always be second to my family, simply because that is how I was raised. While my mother has worked a variety of jobs (from retail manager to SPCA director and currently school bus driver), she always made time for her five daughters. Yes, that’s right, five daughters.

It may sound like every man’s nightmare to have that many girls running around, especially in today’s world, but my mother sure did something right. Out of five girls, one has a bachelor’s degree, one is in progress, three have associate’s degree’s, three live out on their own and four have careers.

This happened because my mom knew balance. She did not have a career that took the majority of her time away from her family. She worked so that she could help with the bills, but always made sure that none of us had to be in after school programs or in daycare before we were old enough to talk.

Obviously, I want a career. Otherwise, I would not be at La Salle. But when it comes time to have my children, I want the opportunity to work from home, or take a few years off.

A woman should not be expected to have a career and raise a family; she should be expected to make the right decisions that appeal to her, her husband and their family. Furthermore, she should not feel like she has to work. There is far too much stress today on dual incomes, when in fact most families can make it with a single income. In order to do that, both husband and wife must be willing to make sacrifices.

They should realize that they don’t need to spend a fortune on a wedding, and, instead, save that money to buy a decent house. As for the house itself, it doesn’t need to be gigantic. When my parents first bought their house 30 years ago, it was a two bedroom rancher with an attached garage. Now, it is a four bedroom house with two outside garages. The point is, you can always add more on later. There is no need to have a huge, fancy house right away. Also, you don’t need brand new cars. As long as you take care of your vehicles and service them when need be, older cars will do just fine.

Fellow La Salle women, don’t let anyone else determine what is right for you. How to raise a family is a matter between husband and wife and no one else. And, if you really want that career, or if you really want to stay home, you can find a way to make it work. It may be a little difficult at first, and it may require sacrifices, but a family is more important than any of those trivial things.

biagio1@lasalle.edu