Why Evil HR Lady Hates Salary.com's "What's A Mom Worth?" Survey
Suzanne Lucas gags, uh, writes at CBSnews.com about what's wrong with this survey. A few of her excellent points below (but read her whole piece):
Household decisions are not equal to CEO decisions. I know, I've broken some code of womanhood by saying that, but honestly, it's not. Salary.com defines a CEO as someone who "plans and directs all aspects of an organization's policies, objectives, and initiatives" and says that's worth $171,824, or $55.07 an hour. (No, that math doesn't work, I don't know what they were thinking). Yes, moms and dads and single people and double-income-no-kids people do that too. But the average American woman has about two children. Add in a spouse and even a dog (I'm stretching here) and you've got a CEO over five people -- and that assumes that this wonder woman married one of those dolts that only exist in television commercials (incapable of making a single decision). A CEO over "company" that small isn't likely to make $171,000. And deciding where to go on vacation, whether Junior should take cello or piano lessons, and how to balance that 401k account is nothing like running a company.Being a chauffeur is a choice. There is a certain martyrdom in the "I spend all my time in the mini van! Soccer, dance class, cello lessons, oh my!" Caroline Ingalls never drove Laura to a single lesson and she turned out to be a responsible adult. You don't have to do it. And things you don't have to do are considered "volunteer" work and guess what? You don't get paid for volunteer work.
I could go on, but my blood pressure is rising and this year's survey didn't turn up cardiologist as one of the skills one magically gains by giving birth or adopting, so I should stop.
I chose to have children. I chose who I married and we discussed these issues prior to tying the knot. It's rather insulting to suggest that the only value in motherhood is a monetary one. And that moms (or dads) can be replaced by a paycheck. If you focus on the lack of a paycheck as an indication that your tasks are not important to a well-functioning family, then you'll make yourself miserable.
So ignore the Salary.com survey. Don't tie your worth up into an imaginary dollar figure. Make your choices and either be happy with them or make different choices.
I've seen many of these what a Mom's salary would be always coming out to be a ridiculous salary, have never seen the equivalent what a Dad's salary would be.
You want to know what a Moms salary really would be? hire a live in nanny/housekeeper, much truer thansaying put a bandaid on a knee = surgeons salary for that hour.
People aren't valued only by paycheck.
Joe J at April 19, 2012 7:50 AM
I like this Evil HR Lady more and more all the time.
Pirate Jo at April 19, 2012 7:56 AM
I've been saying the same thing for years. Balancing the checkbook does not make you an accountant - that takes years of study and passing the CPA exam. Putting a band-aid on a skinned knee doesn't make you a doctor, etc.
JoJo at April 19, 2012 8:08 AM
The point is being missed. The world is evolving and women have more choices than when I was a teen or when my mom or grandmother were teens. There is more choice involved for women. At a time when roles were more culturally driven, many women didn't feel appreciated or valued. To say what mothers did was volunteer work is demeaning a mother's role.
A woman who stayed home whether by choice or because at one time it was an expectation of society did more than just balance a checkbook. Many moms will tell you that it is a 24/7 job.
There isn't a union that makes sure throw up is only cleaned up at certain times or trips to the library for book reports only comes within a certain time frame. Dinner is shopped for, prepared, served, and cleaned up and that is besides breakfast and lunch being packed or served.
Long after everyone is relaxing or doing homework, mom is most likely still doing stuff. Moms who work outside the home have home responsibilities as well. There are great husbands and dads who share in responsibility, but let's not demean moms who do so much. It doesn't make husbands or dads dolts to say that gender roles are still evolving. There are many women who still take up much of the slack at home or with the kids and not because the husband is the primary bread winner.
Let's not forget that a parent's involvement and support is very important. Some people do well with shitty parents and some don't, but the ideal parent is guiding a child into becoming an adult with great morals and character and one who will be an asset to society. You can't put a price on that.
Kristen at April 19, 2012 8:38 AM
Taking the $171,824 annual salary and dividing that by the $55.07 hourly rate gives a result of about 3,120 hours per year. Dividing that by 52 weeks per year gives a result of about 60 hours per week, which seems low-side reasonable for a CEO, if you don't roll in time golfing with clients or sucking up to congressmen.
Old RPM Daddy at April 19, 2012 8:40 AM
My wife cleans the apartment and does 80% of the cooking, but I do the laundry since I'm the one awake when the laundry room opens at 8:00am on Saturday and Sunday. I wish someone would pay her $112,000 a year, but, luckily for me, she works for compliments and a bouquet of flowers every month or so.
I didn't check out what a dad is worth. I'm thinking going out in the cold or rain to change her flat tire should be worth quite a bit and I get double time on a weekend for my IT work, but I spent a good part of a Saturday replacing her failing hard drive and transferring the data to and from for a smile and a thank you. I actually wouldn't do it for money, but I'll do it for love.
Steamer at April 19, 2012 9:04 AM
I expect to see another rash of this meme on Facebook anytime now.
I understand that stay-at-home mothers want a pat on the back from their families, but from the rest of us?
Having kids is a choice. If I choose to buy a horse, do I deserve compensation (or back pats) for being a groomer, trainer, and stable hand? Or did I not commit to providing those things using my own resources?
An even more cloying offshoot is "Mothers have the hardest job in the world." I'm going to say a job that millions of unskilled people perform is not the hardest job in the world, and maybe that title goes to someone like "child oncologist" or "coal miner."
Insufficient Poison at April 19, 2012 9:24 AM
ultimately this is one of those things that seems logical, but is probably stupid.
Allowing people to frame this sort of thing in terms of money, is a way of removing that things special nature and look at it in terms of equivalents...
remember how if one woman has a baby in nine month, that 9 women should be able to have a baby in a month? Oh, wait, it doesn't actually work that way...
Making this about money makes it easy to slice and dice everything into ten minute increments for billing purposes, to compare work units to each other...
We are, after all, drones who are completely interchangeable, right?
Did I charge 2 hours billable time to anyone for helping my daughter with math the other night? 'Course not, I'm her father, it is my responsibility and joy to do so.
Do not let anyone reduce the unique nature of your interpersonal relationships to a dollar figure... regardless of who you are, to you and your loved ones, the worth and value of that is beyond measure.
SwissArmyD at April 19, 2012 10:20 AM
Now that a prominent feminist has has insulted Mrs. Romney for not working a day in her life, you would think that maybe feminists would stop trying to come up with inflated calculations of the monetary value of housework.
One can hope, at least.
-Jut
JutGory at April 19, 2012 10:33 AM
I chose to have children. I chose who I married and we discussed these issues prior to tying the knot. It's rather insulting to suggest that the only value in motherhood is a monetary one.
Don't tie your worth up into an imaginary dollar figure. Make your choices and either be happy with them or make different choices.
This is my favorite part. I am a stay at home mom. My husband and I discussed having children and what we wanted for them before we got pregnant, which is ideally how it should be.
Many moms will tell you that it is a 24/7 job.
There isn't a union that makes sure throw up is only cleaned up at certain times or trips to the library for book reports only comes within a certain time frame.
I would compare this (loosely) to being a firefighter. When they are on call, they have to be available, no matter what time it is, because they don't get to choose when a fire happens.
But, the thing is, they did get to choose to become firefighters, and women do get to choose whether or not to be mothers. That may not have been the case for generations past, but it is the case now, so there's really no use complaining about how it used to be.
As for how hard the job is, I'm more invested in this job than I would be in any other, but that doesn't mean the work itself is difficult. I've done laundry and cooked dinner, and for that matter, cared for small children, since I was 12 years old. A job that a 12 year old can do is not the hardest job in the world.
It is exhausting, emotionally and mentally draining, but the work itself is not difficult, nor is it necessarily time sensitive. If I don't cook diner one night, because my son is sick for the day, there is take out available. Unless I manage to go an entire month without doing laundry, we won't run out of clean clothes.
At the end of the day, it irks me when people assume that my life can't possibly be fulfilling as stay at home mom. It irks me just as much when people assume I'm some weak woman who needs praise from anyone other than my husband/family, or to be told my time is worth x amount of dollars, based on some arbitrary calculation.
I made choices that I'm happy with, and I don't begrudge anyone else that same right, whether that is being child-free, or a working mom, or staying at home as well.
Jazzhands at April 19, 2012 10:36 AM
"Having kids is a choice. If I choose to buy a horse, do I deserve compensation (or back pats) for being a groomer, trainer, and stable hand? Or did I not commit to providing those things using my own resources?"
I agree and I'm a single father.
"An even more cloying offshoot is 'Mothers have the hardest job in the world.' I'm going to say a job that millions of unskilled people perform is not the hardest job in the world, and maybe that title goes to someone like 'child oncologist' or 'coal miner'."
The 'mothers have the hardest job in the world' meme is especially irksome. Tell that to an Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicition in Afganistan who just saw his best friend get his legs blown off, and then literally has to go face the prospect of that happening to him the very next day and every day after that for the next two years.
Agree at April 19, 2012 10:41 AM
Well, horses don't benefit society one iota, and if all horse ownership ceased tomorrow, taxes would still get paid and life would still go on. You can SAY you've paid in your SS and don't need future workers all you want, but we all know the people paying your benefits are still in diapers.
DH couldn't pay someone to do what I do, he doesn't make enough. And that excludes the love I give our kids, being their mom.
Here in Austin, a not particularly expensive place to live, a "household manager" from a nanny finding service (which is the closest I can find to a Mom job) makes $25/hr and up. They will care for kids, get them to and from places, run errands, and cook. I don't think they clean. You can get a weekly cleaner for about $75 a week. Add in money lost from taking time off for sick kids, and you probably get pretty close.
momof4 at April 19, 2012 11:06 AM
> To say what mothers did was volunteer work is
> demeaning a mother's role.
But is is true? Parenthood is volitional.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 19, 2012 11:12 AM
"Mom" as CEO?
So, Dad has no say in how the house is run, the financial decisions, disciplining the children, where to vacation, etc?
At best in this meme, "Mom" is a small business owner. She oversees an operation of, at most, five people and a pet or two.
And, since the income in this analogy is Dad's paycheck, she's not really overseeing an operation that sells a product or service to a market at large (unless you commoditize Dad).
==============================
And how do the children fit into this household-as-a-business meme?
Since the family operation is about having and raising children (hence the "Mom" part), they're the product, right (like cows on a farm)?
But they can't be sold when they reach maturity ... or be terminated when it becomes obvious they have little market worth.
Maybe they're employees. However, they can't take their labor elsewhere. If Junior is sent to be without supper for failing to do his chores, he can't quit the Johnsons and apply for a position with the Frankllins.
Wait, that makes Mom a slave-owning plantation boss.
Conan the Grammarian at April 19, 2012 11:41 AM
"DH couldn't pay someone to do what I do, he doesn't make enough. And that excludes the love I give our kids, being their mom."
M4, that sounds a little defensive, the way it reads. And I see no reason for it. Here's why: The whole monetary valuation of a stay-at-home mother's job is a silly exercise, part of an equally pointless argument over whether stay-at-homes contribute as much value as working mothers. The trouble is, these roles are different enough that no objective valuation is possible. The value of each role is decided household to household, family to family, individual to individual. I just can't see any reason to acknowledge the argument since I can't see it leading to anything conclusive.
For the record, M4, I agree with you. Even if I could find someone to do the tasks my wife does, I couldn't possibly get the same value, regardless of the price.
Old RPM Daddy at April 19, 2012 12:29 PM
Did I charge 2 hours billable time to anyone for helping my daughter with math the other night? 'Course not, I'm her father, it is my responsibility and joy to do so.
You want her to be sucessful in life, like a good father should. And you're investing your time to that end.
Also, she'll pick your nursing home in your old age. Anyone who's not a particularly good parent should remember that...
I R A Darth Aggie at April 19, 2012 1:10 PM
Wait, that makes Mom a slave-owning plantation boss.
What, you didn't figure this out when you were about 12?? My mom? slave-driver.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 19, 2012 1:33 PM
DH couldn't afford to pay someone because contracted people expect to be paid as a full-time person with expertise and experience in their areas of responsibility. They also expect to be paid for scheduled services. Mom can put off the laundry 'til next week. The maid can't say, "I didn't feel like doing laundry today."
If you broke the jobs/tasks into chunks and paid the going wage for a jack-of-all-trades factotum, you'd be in a different boat.
Generally, Mom is not a full-time laundress. She's not a full-time cook, full-time nanny, full-time nurse, etc. Nor is she a trained expert in those subjects. Reading "Hints from Heloise" doesn't make one a cleaning or laundry expert. Likewise, watching Giada or Paula Deen doesn't make one a chef.
Mom is not a childcare expert on a par commensurate with a license childcare professional [I almost choked typing those last two words].
Likewise, she's not an RN or a child psychologist.
[Mine was an RN, but household nursing consisted mostly of band-aids and cough syrup, so that expertise wasn't really relevant to or necessary for her daily tasks.]
With a few exceptions, Mom is a knowledgeable amateur. To compare her level of expertise with trained professionals and assert that she should be paid the same is silly.
That said, if you've got a wife/mother who did/does all those things competently, she's priceless.
Conan the Grammarian at April 19, 2012 1:59 PM
What nonsense. This all assumes that a woman receives no benefit whatsoever for her work at home.
"Tell that to an Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicition in Afganistan who just saw his best friend get his legs blown off, and then literally has to go face the prospect of that happening to him the very next day and every day after that for the next two years."
Now, who wants to say how much that guy makes per year? Must be a stunningly high wage, huh?
Hah. An E-6 with 8 years in the service gets $3143.10 per month. There's no bonus for having CNN lie about you, either.
Radwaste at April 19, 2012 2:45 PM
Mom is not a "childcare expert"? You should have choked on that sentence.
momof4 at April 19, 2012 3:16 PM
Simply having a child does not in and of itself convey expertise in childcare.
Generally, a mother's childcare expertise and experience are limited to her own children and, perhaps, the conveyed experience of friends and relatives. And her studies in developmental psychology are minimal.
Besides, my sentence continued with "on a par commensurate with...."
Conan the Grammarian at April 19, 2012 4:06 PM
I'll bet my marriage is the way most are. I get to spend something like 1% of what I make; my wife decides on the rest.
And she is the one underpaid?
One role is evolving. Men are expected to do half of what was once women's work.
Percentage of men's work women do? Stuck right at zero.
Jeff Guinn at April 19, 2012 5:17 PM
"One role is evolving. Men are expected to do half of what was once women's work.
Percentage of men's work women do? Stuck right at zero"
Don't be so sure, Jeff. When my brother got married, they had a dual shower and my sister-in-law who is handy received tools and drill guns which she oohed and aahed over just as much as she oohed and aahed over the china she received. My brother, who is a great guy, is useless in the kitchen, around a car, and when it comes to fixing things. My sister-in-law does all of that as well as cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kids while working a part-time job.
I know many women like my sister-in-law and in fact just hung sheet rock last week, taped, spackled and painted a room in my house with my best girlfriend. Yesterday, I mowed the lawn and did some weeding. And yes, I take care of my house and three kids. I'm single but those were all my jobs when I was married as well. Btw, I can change my oil and pretty much work my way around a car engine, at least the older cars.
Don't be so sure that women aren't stepping into some of the more traditional male roles. I know too many women who do. And that isn't a swipe at men because I know many men who are wonderful husbands and fathers. My brother-in-law is very helpful around the house. I don't think my sister has ever once done a load of laundry. He grew up with sisters and a strong mother and did equal housework. It stuck.
Kristen at April 19, 2012 6:54 PM
Look around. How many female car mechanics do you see? Carpenters? Roofers? Dry wall installers? Plumbers, electricians, gardeners, house painters, window cleaners? How many women are in those aisles at your local Home Despot?
Not absolutely zero, but close as dammit is to swearing.
I have met maybe two women in my life who weren't completely clueless when it comes to these sorts of things.
The vast majority of women either will not, or cannot, do "men's" work.
As for those studies that show women do more work around the house than men: shenanigans.
Jeff Guinn at April 19, 2012 7:17 PM
Jeff,
I didn't make a claim that 9 out of 10 women are dry wallers or mechanics, just that I know many women who are handy and can do those things. I've seen quite a few women in Home Depot not only shopping for things, but taking the classes offered. Again, I said roles are evolving and I see it all around me in both men and women.
I would never demean men by saying all are clueless by a washing machine etc. and I don't think that its fair to say that women who made a decision with a spouse to be a stay at home mom should be deemed as having no value either. Calling it a volunteer position is as ridiculous as the salary proclamation based on all that a mom does. In reality, it cannot be compared with the things that were listed.
Kristen at April 19, 2012 7:28 PM
*****Well, horses don't benefit society one iota, and if all horse ownership ceased tomorrow, taxes would still get paid and life would still go on. You can SAY you've paid in your SS and don't need future workers all you want, but we all know the people paying your benefits are still in diapers.*****
Not all children benefit society, either. One can argue that for every one that attempts to cure cancer, there's one in jail right now. So, if your kid turns out to be a failure, can we get our money back? At least a horse can pull a plow.
And the "my kids are paying your SS" has to be one of the top ten lame justifications for kids I have ever heard. Right up there with "who will take care of you when you're old" (been in a nursing home lately? It's not likely to be your kid).
Daghain at April 19, 2012 8:21 PM
Oh don't be thick Jeff.
We aren't talking about careers, we're talking about around the home. You're pulling out red herrings with your talk of dry-wallers and mechanics. (Also, Home Depots and the like are actually designed to be welcoming to women. The men want to drop several hundred on a power tool or drill. The women want to renovate the kitchen)
My mom was far more likely to be the one to do the handywork. Dad did the wiring, but mom was the one who tore down walls, unclogged drains, repaired walls, repaired drywall, hauled the hay, or did any of the yardwork. Oh, and she designed and built a three stall horse barn.
Your statement is about as asinine as the women who claim their husbands are useless around dishwashers, babies, and cooking supplies.
Maybe the people in your social circle just plain suck.
Elle at April 19, 2012 8:33 PM
Elle, look in the phone book. Wait - look online. Count the female contractors that show up.
You won't need to count on your toes. They're just not in that line of work, that's all.
The only one I've ever seen was Ralph on Green Acres.
Radwaste at April 19, 2012 8:44 PM
Elle:
I'm not being thick. The breathtakingly silly pretense of Salary.com is that there is an employer-employee relationship in a marriage. This is feminism at its most toxic, and the poison spreads to delusional measurements of how much men contribute around the house.
Take a look around and see if you can reality to conform. Mothers are apparently underpaid. Right. Got it. Go to a mall, any mall, anywhere. To which gender are virtually all the stores dedicated? The one spending money, which must be some sort of manna-from-heaven kind of miracle, because they aren't getting paid.
The plural of anecdote is not data. That you happen to know one or two women who do handiwork doesn't mean that 900 (or more) of 1000 women would have the first clue on how to get started on even simple projects, and couldn't think of taking on anything requiring more than a sparrow's upper body strength.
Yet somehow Mother's are underpaid and overworked. You can only get there by ignoring how much money women spend, and magically defining the work men do right out of the equation.
Of course, if my statement is asinine, you will be able to list for me all the women car mechanics in your area. Or roofers. Or plumbers. Or electricians.
I'm guessing it is going to be a real short list.
Jeff Guinn at April 20, 2012 12:19 AM
I love being a SAHM, it's fun and awesome. But the thing is, I'm not a full-time housekeeper, full-time chef, and full-time nanny. I'm a part-time all of those things. Since nannies usually get paid $12 per hour and cleaning ladies about $25 (yes, yes, depends who you hire), I don't think it all adds up to hundreds of thousands.
We have a lady car mechanic in our village, she's the wife of the gentleman car mechanic, they own the shop. Their employees are all men, though. Our plumbers are men. Don't know any roofers or electricians yet.
In any case... being a Mom is not as hard as being a teacher was. I don't know if it is hormonal or what, but it's a lot easier to handle my kid throwing a tantrum then a whole room of kids. So Mom is not the hardest job in the world.
Here's my typical weekday (times may vary):
7:30 wake up, bring kid to our bed, cuddle with Papa and kid.
7:45 get dressed, get kid dressed
8:00 make breakfast, which husband may have already started
8:30 kiss Papa goodbye, clean breakfast.
9:00 Free play! Kid plays in living room, Mommy plays in living room, too, on computer.
9:30 Excursion! Usually a walk to the farm in the middle of the village to look at the donkey. Or a play date, a visit to my grandmother, grocery shopping, other errands. But first I put a laundry load in.
11:00 Get home, put laundry in dryer, put away groceries if needed, start preparing lunch
11:30 Lunch
12:00 Read to kid, nurse kid, put kid to bed
12:30 Straighten up house, clean up kitchen, do any cleaning needing to be done, ironing, laundry, start dinner if it has lots of components, work on projects (writing, canning, baking, photo albums, planning parties, planning outings, Christmas cards or other letters, vacation planning, taxes etc), play on computer.
2:30 Get kid up, do yard work or play outside, or go for a walk if we didn't in the morning, or more rarely, run an errand or visit.
5:00 Kiss husband, ask about day, fix dinner
6:00 Eat dinner
6:30 Free play in living room. Papa reads book on couch, Mommy reads book or helps build block tower
7:30 Bath, toothbrushing, read book (sometimes Dad handles this), nurse, bed.
8:30 Clean kitchen, straighten anything that needs it, fold laundry, work on projects, play on computer, put new laundry load in
9:00 Cuddle in front of TV with Papa
10:00 Bed
Not a hard day.
What IS hard for SOME people, is the routine, the predictability, and the lack of alone time. I do know a few moms who are going crazy, who want to hire a sitter not so they can work part-time, but because they want to get away from the kid a bit.
I think it isn't the difficulty that people find difficult, but the easiness.
Myself, I find I'm loving the quiet country life, but other women get bored. Even Moms in the city! Especially Moms in the city, I think. Living in the country automatically puts one in a different state of mind, you spend more time watching the sunset and listening to birds.
Of course there are fussy, clingy days where nothing can get done, but those are rare so all in all it's pretty fun.
NicoleK at April 20, 2012 4:53 AM
I "love" how these surveys pretend men and fathers don't exist. That the work men do around the house and yard is non-existent.
A second factor is that there is a vast difference between caring for infants and toddlers and pre-teens and teens. I know a lot of stay at home moms, my ex was one, so are all of my sisters-in-law. In every case, once the youngest is over six, the work they do drops precipitously and most of it is make-work (busy stuff they invent, like becoming a volunteer for something.)
My ex-wife got so bad, she stopped cooking dinner more than twice a week, suddenly decided that a messy house was how she preferred it and that she was now "too tired" for sex.
My golden child brother with the perfect wife has confided in me that his wife has been doing the same thing (except the sex part) and, like mine did, is making major hay about how hard she works (about ten hours a week at a local gym.) As he put it, "try my daily commute and then we'll talk."
After I got divorced, I was stunned by the number of men, most of whom I thought were very happily married, show blatant envy at my status and even confide in me how miserable their marriages were. The most common complaint is that, paraphrasing in my words, their wives are pampered, ungrateful bitches.
Joe at April 20, 2012 7:17 AM
You're moving the goal posts.
"One role is evolving. Men are expected to do half of what was once women's work.
Percentage of men's work women do? Stuck right at zero."
That is what you said in the middle of our discussion of what a mom is worth around the home. So you'll have to pardon me for assuming you were being relevant to the discussion at hand and not going off on a tangent.
And clearly, the amount of women who do "men's work" around the house is a non-zero percentage.
I know very well that the number of women involved in manual labor jobs is vanishingly thin. I never claimed otherwise. Just like it doesn't take a RN degree to apply a bandaid; it doesn't take a plumbing certification to swap out faucets. And just like there are dads who do the laundry; there are moms who mow the lawn.
Or was I very mistaken and what you meant to say is that if it takes place around the home it's women's work, and it's only men's work if it takes place in an auto shop or construction site? If that's the case you are correct: men are expected to pitch in around the home these days and the number of women who are general contractors is a near-zero percentage.
Elle at April 20, 2012 7:45 AM
Yes, you are mistaken.
To reiterate, my point is that expectations and reality have changed for how much time and effort men contribute to domestic and child care tasks. Loudly trumpeted "studies" show that men still have a long way to go.
Unfortunately, those studies only achieve their pre-ordained conclusions by excluding all tasks that have been traditionally done by men. Why? Because in that regard, neither expectations nor reality have changed for women. They did not, do not, will not, and in many cases, cannot do these tasks.
You countered by citing you know women who are exceptions. But those are anecdotes. The proof of the general rule is out there for anyone to see. If lots of women were doing these things at home, surely some would do them as a way to earn a living. Yet they are conspicuously absent. Why? The simplest answer is that evidence of absence is evidence of absence.
Salary.com, "studies" about workloads around the house, and the mythical gender pay gap are all of a piece: toxic feminist propaganda.
Which, BTW, none of the women I have ever known, including my wife, believe.
But feminists and the NYT sure seem to.
Jeff Guinn at April 20, 2012 8:49 AM
Wait a sec, isn't traditional mens' work earning money at a job? And don't MOST women do that? I'm not sure the exact stat but it sure as hell ain't zero!
If you mean around-the-house mens' work, I think there aren't a lot of women OR men who do that. For every woman who brags about not cooking, there's a guy who can't fix the sink. Handiness/craftiness of any kind is not very widespread, except people who are really into it as a hobby.
I know a lot of women who don't cook, and a lot who are really into it and make their own jam, cheese, baked goods, wine, mead you name it.
It's like the people who are into this sort of stuff (cooking, woodworking, whatever) are REALLY into it.
But I think most people hire someone to wire their walls and fix their toilet and even prepare most of their food.
I love cooking, myself.
NicoleK at April 20, 2012 1:04 PM
That is an easy day Nicole. I'll point out you have one kid. When there IS no nap time, life gets more intense. I've completely ripped out a dead suburban yard, tilled, manured, seeded, and landscaped a whole yard while doing everything else on your list times 3 more kids, in the last 3 weeks.
And I gave myself a concussion monday, so it's been an interesting week.
momof4 at April 20, 2012 3:29 PM
"And I gave myself a concussion monday, so it's been an interesting week."
See, that's what I'm talking about. So unprofessional. Our horde of welders, fitters, riggers, metal- and concrete-formers just passed another ten million hours without a lost workday case due to injury.
This ought to show people how silly it is to try to revise the way we equate dollars with work: think about talent.
Adele, who amazes me, had sold 10 million copies of "21" by last September, when this video was made. How much work is it to sing like that?
If you're not being paid a fortune, it's because what you do is common. I'm sure you're a great person, etc., but that's the reason.
Radwaste at April 20, 2012 5:18 PM
That's awesome, Mom of 4! Well done!
NicoleK at April 21, 2012 5:25 AM
If two kids are arguing about splitting a piece of pie, you choose one of them to cut it and the other gets to choose which piece to have. If housework is really worth so much, I'm sure many men would be happy to trade roles at this rate of pay, more than double what the average man makes, and I'm sure most women would consider it fair and be happy to pay their man this much, right?
Comment Monster at April 21, 2012 10:11 AM
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