The Solution To Women Aren’t In the Kitchen
There Is A Solution For Working Women . . . And Men
The facts are in and it’s true: Women are not in the kitchen as much as they were in the Ozzie and Harriet days. To this I’m sure some would admonish women to get back in the kitchen. But hey, they’re not slacking off—they’re at work.
As more women entered the workplace, rising to 46.5 percent in 2002-03 from 18 percent of the labor force in 1901, the amount spent on eating outside the home also rose. In 1960, families were spending 21 percent of their food budgets on restaurants. Today, families are spending 42 percent—twice as much of their food budget—on restaurants. “Who has time to cook dinner?” most any working woman (or man) would say.
CNN reports the facts bear out the scarcity of time:
We have become a workaholic nation. American workers put in the longest hours of any industrialized nation, surpassing the next closest country, Japan, by nearly two full work weeks a year. Now a new study by Families and Work Institute finds we’re paying a price. Twenty-four percent of American workers work 50 or more hours a week. Twenty-two percent work six to seven days a week.
Tip: Men and women put pressure on your companies to make it a policy that everyone leaves at a reasonable hour so they can have a life outside of work. It needs to be publicized that meetings don’t begin at 5 pm. It needs to be promoted that staying in your cubicle after hours is not a badge of visible loyalty. It needs to come from the top that having a life outside of work is encouraged. And when a company walks its talk, it deserves the publicity. So, I say add this to the criteria for the Best Companies for Working Mothers . . . and Fathers! And let people know which companies are heading in the right direction!
Further Reading:
Website, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending
Website, Lisa Anderson, Chicago Tribune, Shuck past, and let good times roll
Website, CNN.com, Overworking
Website, Families and Work Institute
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