A Feminist Perspective on Family Leave
The readings for this week focused on the institutionalization of the American gender order. It’s against Wade and Ferree’s discussions that I would like for you to evaluate the proposed family leave program introduced last week as a part of the Trump Administration’s budget. For information about the program, you can read Maggie Haberman’s article, “Ivanka Trump Swayed the President on Family Leave. Congress is a Tougher Sell,” in the New York Times.
Assignment. In this essay, I would like for you to present the two sides of the debate over whether the proposed program is pro-feminist or anti-feminist. That is debate the statement:
The proposed family leave program is feminist.
I would like to see a well-supported argument for the statement and a well-supported argument against the statement – that is, you should make the arguments in your essay that the family leave program is pro-feminist and also make the argument that it is anti-feminist (in whichever order you like).
Please incorporate materials from the textbook in your argument, especially chapters 08 and 09.
Please also be sure to cite any sources that you use in constructing your argument; you may use whichever citation guides you wish – MLA, APA, Chicago School, etc – but please be consistent to your formatting.
Parameters. Please following the following guidelines. Before turning in your work, please edit your paper for proper punctuation, grammar, spelling and usage.
| . | length | 1400 words minimum; please include the word count at the end of your essay |
| . | text format | single-spaced block format (no paragraph indents but with a line of empty text between paragraphs) |
| file format | PDF format |
Family Leave Program
Parental roles have often been the issue under discussion in any conversation related to feminism and role of women within the household. The rise of the feminist movement was primarily a result of the perception within the society that the primary roles of women within the household lie within the protection of the family’s interests, which eliminated the need for paid employment. However, the Second World War revolutionized the situation as women worked within factories in the home front, and supported the war efforts in the European battlefront. Therefore, the contemporary society’s perspective of women’s role within the labor market primarily stems from the change experienced during the Second World War and the consequent ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ivanka Trump’s comments and a proposed bill that will see to an improvement in the leave program and consequent government intervention within the program is largely a feminist approach to the protection of the family interests in a modernized approach.
(1,591 words)