The changing roles of women in the workforce

From fighting for the right to vote, to going to work in the factories during World War II, to the feminist revolution in the 60’s and 70’s, the role of women has constantly evolved.

It wasn’t very long ago that the norm was for women to stay home, and take care of the kids. Over time, the two income home became much more mainstream.

News Channel 3 is looking at what choices modern day moms are making now. We met with a group of Wilmington moms. Some work full time, some stay home. The one thing they all have in common: a baby under the age of 2. We asked them how they decided what to do with their careers, once they became moms.

“All of the decisions I made early on were geared toward the career track, and certainly when I met my husband and got married, I adjusted my goals based on family, but essentially my career was a very important driving force for me,” said Schorr Davis, a working mom.

It is not like it used to be, when a lot of women went to college to get an MRS degree. Many of the same women that went to school with the goal of meeting a husband, have raised daughters, encouraging them to pursue the career of their dreams. Today, women are doing just that, often waiting longer to get married. If they find success and money in their careers it can be difficult to let go.

With the group we spoke with, two of the five women still work full time. Schorr as a sales consultant in the health care industry and Angie as a clinical research associate in the pharmaceutical field. Unlike the rest of the women in the group, both Schorr and Angie had employers who paid generous maternity benefits, and a big enough salary to make it worth their while to keep working.

“Because my husband owns his own business, and it’s very variable,” said Angie Butner. “I make a decent amount with my job, and the fact that my job afforded me the opportunity to still be home with Ford and not miss out on a lot, we decided that I’d go back to work.”

Interestingly, all of these women had mothers who stayed home with them when they were growing up.

Sara Harrell, also a stay at home mom said, “It was just assumed for her to stay at home. I don’t think my dad had any plans for her to go to work, because that’s probably what was expected. She was supposed to be a homemaker and take care of him as well as the kids.”

For some of them, that example was something they wanted to follow. Sara left her job as a hair stylist, Brooke left her job in real estate sales, and June left her job as a school teacher to become stay-at-home moms.

“It’s always been very important to me to be there for him, to be there for his first words, first steps,” said Brooke Hooks.

Another sign of our changing times, it wasn’t the moms who went back to work, but the ones who chose to stay at home who felt the most flack from society.

June Dickinson said, “I felt like I got frowned upon, slightly. I feel like not everyone has that luxury of staying home, so I felt like maybe I got some different looks, choosing that way.”

To help with the household expenses, June started her own company, boojue.com, working from home to make children’s clothing that she sells online. And because her husband’s hours at work are flexible, Sara recently decided to go back to work part time, while her husband watches their daughter. “Now with the economy and the boat industry being really slow, my husband’s definitely feeling that, so I’m actually going to work part time this coming month in November, and we’re actually going to try to work it out to where we don’t get child care. He’s going to stay home and work from the home a little bit, and I’m going to go out and work,” she said.

While it is always nice to have extra cash from a second income all of the women in this story have husbands with good jobs, helping to support their families. That gives them options many women don’t have.

Almost 10 percent of the households in this country are run by single moms who have to work. Other married women need to work to supplement their husbands incomes.

Next week in our look at modern day moms, we’ll hear from some of those women, to see how they’re making it work.