Lifestyle
Work time
Lisa Hough
PRO: Ready for college and world
By Megan Neely
Lewis and Clark
At age 11, I sat at my mother's desk at The
Spokesman-Review, gazing blankly into the computer screen and scrambling to
form an opinion on the domestication of cougars. My assignment was to write an
editorial on the topic, and my deadline was drawing near. Slowly, I began to
understand the complexities of my mother's day at work.
Women have traditionally been stereotyped as
nurses, secretaries and teachers, so the Ms. Foundation's "Take Our
Daughters to Work Day" program originated as a way to introduce girls to a
variety of career options. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, some
people think girls no longer need this type of career orientation.
They're wrong. Although women now play a
crucial role in the working world, sexist views continue to limit many girls'
perspectives. Whether from the media, schools or the general public, girls
receive negative messages that limit their sense of self-worth and competence.
Girls continue to be pigeon-holed by
stereotypical views of women. A Girls Incorporated study found that 53 percent
of girls believe that society views marriage and children as the first priority
in a woman's life. Similarly, 56 percent of girls feel that they are expected
to "speak softly and not cause trouble."
Evidently many girls don't fully appreciate
the empowering messages of the world's female leaders. Take Our Daughters to
Work Day is the ideal way to help girls understand they can stand up and define
their position in the community, not necessarily as mothers or housewives, but
as equals to men.
Growing up, I never missed Take Our Daughters
to Work Day. Every year, I would arrive at the newspaper where my mother worked
as a features writer. This annual event opened my eyes to the vast number of
women in the work force who were conquering obstacles and playing major roles
as career-focused individuals. I saw the respect my mother received from her
co-workers, and for the first time in my life, I was given the opportunity to
express myself through writing.
I always will remember and cherish my
experiences with Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The empowering and inspiring
effect on girls like myself gives this day its
immeasurable impact. Both sons and daughters need to realize all available
options.
Celebrate the possibilities that your
daughter's life may hold for her and take her to work. When it's my turn to
step out into the world, I will embrace my opportunities with the values that
my mother taught me.
CON: High school too important to miss
By Kate Carpenter
A great woman, Eleanor Roosevelt, once spoke
these words: "No one can make you feel inferior without your
consent."
Take Our Daughters to Work Day, sponsored by
the Ms. Foundation for Women, states its mission on its Web site. It says that
the goal of the annual event is "to help girls stay strong and remain
confident throughout adolescence. In creating the day, we intended to
publicize, celebrate, preserve and reinforce girls' natural strengths and
optimism."
But there are several key reasons that Take
Our Daughters to Work Day is ineffective, even destructive and offensive.
First, Take Our Daughters to Work Day teaches
girls that they are dependent on outside recognition and other people for their
ability to succeed. They are subtly conscious of the concept that nothing short
of a national day, dedicated to them, will make them capable of achieving their
goals. As a result, girls could easily conclude that it is only possible for
them to succeed through the intervention of other people.
Second, through movements like Take Our
Daughters to Work Day, we declare girls more instable, dependent and less
capable of high aspirations and hard work than males.
The Ms. Foundation For
Women states that, "As adolescence begins, girls show a significant drop
in self-esteem, report a lowered sense of self-worth and describe intense
feelings of insecurity about their own judgment and emotions." What
adolescent male does not experience the same anxiety? But by forming a national
day to promote the abilities of girls, we state that they are less capable than
boys of overcoming the strains of adolescence.
Third, the concept of Take Our Daughters to
Work Day and the idea that girls need such a program to expand their horizons
and be strong and confident reinforces the concept that the only way for a
woman to be admired is to engage in a profession. This disregards and even
diminishes those admirable women who sacrifice professional opportunities to
stay at home and raise their children. An entire generation of girls will grow
up believing it is a pathetic aspiration to be a good mother and that
professional women should be held in much higher regard.
Take Our Daughters to Work Day also boasts of
"exposing girls to new work opportunities," certainly an admirable
benefit. But with all the information available at the click of a mouse, it
seems irresponsible to take girls out of school to tell them about
opportunities they could easily have learned themselves. Instead, girls miss a
day at school where they would learn that the most important impact they can
have on their futures is to work hard, stay in class and set their minds on
reaching their goals. The annual Ms. Foundation event sends the message that
girls need an easy way out and teaches the self-centered notion they need a day
devoted to building their self-confidence.
While the Ms. Foundation argues that,
"girls can take what they learn at work on Thursday and apply it to the
classroom on Friday," it is what girls learn in the classroom that they
should later apply to real life when they enter the work force.
Despite the admirable intentions of Take Our
Daughters to Work Day, the subtle teachings of this national event are
detrimental to girls. Girls should be encouraged to stay in school, take full
advantage of their educational opportunities, set goals and work hard to attain
them. Through their own efforts and ability to work hard, girls will develop
confidence. Rather than being taken to work, girls should be encouraged to
strive toward their aspirations and get to work themselves.