graduate jobs, networking & employment issues for graduate women

Search graduate-women.com

Looking back...

Wednesday, 11th of May 2011

Having blogged about my experience as a woman at work I thought it would be interesting to take a look back into the days when perhaps women weren't at work, or were just beginning to get work. Of course women in work is such a norm to us, with some even being the sole bread winner of a family, it is easy to forget how different it was going back 150 years to Victorian Britain.

As a woman I take going to work for granted; some days even wishing I wasn't at work! Had I been a woman 150 years ago I would be lucky to have a job and if I did it would most likely be a secret - imagine trying to keep your job secret now? Impossible. (Unless you work for the MI5).

Not only do we take having a job for granted but there is so much freedom of choice with the type of work we do, the location, who we work with...the list goes on. Imagine if you only had jobs available to you because they were the jobs the men didn't want to do, how would that make you feel? Not only that, but imagine being paid far less than your male counterpart. Fortunately with the narrowing of the gender pay gap we do not experience this so much in modern society and should continue with efforts to close it completely.

I find it difficult to understand the idea of not work, and in addition being poorly educated. The thought of being at home with no financial freedom, no challenge…boring. There is only so much someone can do at home, surely; only so much washing that's need to be done, only so much ironing (although my ironing never seems to get done)! I wonder how the woman of times passed felt? Were they happy? Perhaps they knew no differently and so therefore were content with their way of life.

Perhaps us ladies should all take a minute to think how fortunate we are, especially when we are having an 'I don't want to go to work day'.

Comments

Something to say?
Add your own comment