Women and the Workforce

I chose to do an analysis of 19 Kids and Counting. I have always been fascinated by the show, and how a woman could handle all of that hard work. However, according to some modern economists, her work is “unproductive.” Michelle Duggar is a stay-at-home mom who devotes all of her time to running the household and her 19 kids in it. Michelle home schools them, teaching them not only about education, but about life and the real world. She takes care of them, and is raising all of her kids to be productive citizens, yet just because her work is not contributing to the Gross National Product and isn’t “market-oriented” it is considered “unproductive.”(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 305) It is amazing to me that all of the work that this woman puts in day after day would be considered unproductive! She is seen as a stay at home mom without a job. If you ask  me, her “non-existent” job is more intense than other “jobs” that are considered productive so it makes no sense. I think  the fact that this kind of intensive work is not considered valuable just because she isn’t working for some company and contributing to the GNP illustrates how little women’s work is valued in this society. It also illustrates the gendered division of labor. Jim Bob is the provider that makes money for the family while Michelle is at home caring for the children. In the gendered division of labor, “there is an emphasis on caring for and serving others in many women’s jobs.” I believe this show illustrates the typical family dynamic where men are the “productive” providers and women’s work is devalued in the gendered division of labor.  This representation of women’s work matches my expectations of women as the care-givers that can do it all but are not completely recognized and appreciated for it.

Works Cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 305. Print.