Despite the many social changes we can observe today, many women still face a similar dilemma. It is a fact that the struggle for equality between men and women has done a lot of good. However, this does not mean that it has solved all our problems.
The biological clock is ticking
"When will you finally have a child?" - is a question that more and more women are hearing. Apart from the fact of how much it invades the sphere of privacy, it is difficult to answer. It is a well-known fact that everyone wants to settle down first. Having a roof over one's head or a stable job is not just a selfish whim, but above all a concern to create good living conditions for a new family member. Only this takes time, and the biological clock is stubbornly ticking. In addition, the optimum age to get pregnant coincides with the moment when a career starts. The result is a very strong internal conflict that many of us are unable to cope with.
"When will you finally go back to work?"
This is the question women hear when they take maternity and parental leave in order to devote as much time as possible to raising their child. It's as if they themselves are unaware that their "professional clock" is also ticking. After all, it is known that at that moment another woman who has devoted herself to her work is developing professionally. So what to do? Entrust the upbringing of your own child to someone else, at best a grandmother? The price to pay for this will be all the lost moments that could have been spent together. Even when you return to work, you will have to face all the chastising looks because you have to take L4 again or time off because the little one got sick.
photo: pantherstock
Do we have a choice?
Many women nevertheless take on the challenge of balancing both spheres. We can see an often heroic effort to take care of the home, the family and still give everything at work. It doesn't hurt that there is no more time for anything else. But what is the harm? Stress grows to such a level that we no longer even notice how it is slowly destroying our health.
There is another question: do we really have the right to choose? According to gender equality, in theory we should have it. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of women who have chosen not to have children and to be professionally successful being labelled "selfish". This also works the other way round: a woman who has chosen to run a home and bring up children will constantly hear: "backward" or "weak, doesn't know how to fight for her rights". What's more, these words usually come from the mouths of other women.
By leaving every woman the real right to decide her own path, we would ensure a happier life for all, without constant remorse. Perhaps a little female solidarity would help, in the name of which we would defend each other's rights instead of taking them away from each other.
