International Single Working Women's Day- A day to Justify Working Women Struggle and Choices

August 4th is the day of women working alone. Founded in 2006 by Barbara Payne, this day is a day to celebrate and recognize the important role that single women play in our communities and families.

It's not easy to be a woman working alone in a society where standards would prefer that you be connected to cooking. You are single and you go out of the house every day to earn your moolah. You are breaking stereotypes, so of course, you will not get away with it. For single women working in our country, every day is a struggle to implement their choices and justify them to those who become obstacles to their success and happiness.

SOME ADVANTAGES

Single women workers face many criticisms and questions both in and out of the workplace.

These women must justify their choices to the world every day.

Our patriarchal education makes us see them as an undisciplined entity to show their place.

Unfortunately, we still live in a society where merit and talent come second after prejudice and conditioning.

Genderlog, a gender information center, recently published a Twitter feed on the dangers of single women working in India. Many women told stories of incessant questioning to which they were subjected because of their status. Even when they apply for a job, recruiters shamelessly encourage them to declare their status as single and to justify their lifestyle and their position inside and outside the workplace, every day.

The patriarchal conditioning we have all been subjected to since childhood tells us that women do not belong to the world outside the door of their home. If a woman dares to queue, she must have a good reason to do so. It must justify every day its place in the outside world. It is not enough for her to be good, she must be exceptional. She must be a brilliant student if she wants to attain higher education. She must have exceptional talent to be "allowed" to work. That's not it, she must be extremely hardworking to get this promotion at work. She must have a phenomenal career to justify her delay in her marriage.

There is simply no place for an average worker in India, because if you are not exceptional, you are not worth letting yourself get around the definite course of life, which any Indian girl should follow in ideal. This way, you will be better at home, raising children, caring for your husband and doing housework. You must convince yourself that this is the level of achievement you deserve because of your gender.

Marriage has been transformed into that target that every woman must attain to be accepted by society.

The main problem with discrimination against women who work alone in the workplace is that employers are aware of the social pressure these women face. They see talented women withdrawing year after year, giving in to the pressure that pushes them to settle. But is it really a woman's fault? Should they be held responsible here and face discrimination because their gender is a species that rarely gets beyond the predatory Indian marriage?

Although employers should not consider marital status when recruiting women, there is a real need to change gender dynamics in this country. Marriage has been transformed into that target that every woman must attain to be accepted by society. But it often costs women a career, which is why many women are running away now. So you can let these single women live in peace or make profound changes in the functioning of marriage in most Indian homes.

Payne and her friends were wondering why there were dozens of vacations for moms, dads, married people (birthday parties), lovers, etc., but there was no way to recognize the unique contribution of single women to the world. Women's Affiliate Network and a movement dedicated to celebrating women who work alone and do everything.

Single working women are the backbone of most professional organizations in America.

The demographics of women in the workplace may surprise you. The number of lone-parent families has almost doubled since 1975. According to the US Department of Labor, March 2015 report

32% of families with children were lone-parent families, compared to only 16.3% in March 1975. In addition, in this country:

Women get college degrees than men In the United States, 36.3% of all private businesses are owned by women.

According to women in the labor market:

Databook 2015

59% of women (over the age of 16) are employed

54.3% of employed women are single (never married, another marital status, divorced, separated, widowed)

Of the 67 million women employed in the United States, 74% of women were employed full-time, while 26% worked part-time.

What does this mean for the celebration of women working alone?

And why should progressive companies take note?

As I said before, men and women have different experiences At work. The same can be said of single working women and their married counterparts. In addition to the wage gap (which worsens women's working lives and has implications for spending, saving and retirement), single women face other challenges:

In most companies, benefit plans tend to favor married employees with children.

Many of the subsidized benefits, childcare, maternity/paternity leave are designed for families

Employees often assume that single employees have no obligations and can work overtime, travel more often, take jobs from colleagues

Lack of understanding of their family obligations (elderly parents, siblings) All single women

Marriage rates are down. Women (and men) marry later or choose not to marry at all. Some women raise their children alone, by choice or according to circumstances. Men and women (married and single) participate in raising children and caring for elderly parents.

Over the past year, we have seen tremendous progress in corporate HRM policies to expand maternity leave and adopt family leave and return to work programs. But as Rebecca Traister notes in her book

All single women: single women and the rise of an independent country

it is time to recognize "the growing number of unmarried people in the professional world". She described several areas that could support women (and men) alone:

Protection of equal pay (do not neglect women's work because of the presumption that she will not be single forever)

Shorter working days

Guaranteed paid vacation

Maternity leave, family leave and sick leave imposed by the federal government All single parents.

As Ivanka Trump noted in her recent RNC speech: "women make up 46% of the total US labor force and 40% of US households have their main source of livelihood", while not mention the high percentage of lone-parent lone mothers. , or the high percentage of single mothers living below the poverty line. She highlighted women as the main source of income for their families.

Progressive companies take note

To attract and retain talent, it is the business's responsibility to put best practices into practice. As I often advise my clients; Ask questions, then stay silent and listen. It is essential to survey your employees to find out what is important to them, what challenges they face in their professional life and the challenges they face in their personal lives. Listen and then find out how to find solutions to these problems - be it pay equity, flexible hours, help looking for childcare, caring for the elderly, or unconscious training on the issues. prejudice.

Talent management is about understanding and taking care of your employees, your employees. Do you know the composition of your talent pool? Do your current policies help them do their job - and move forward within your organization?

Congratulations to Barbara Payne on the creation of Single Worker's Day, which has brought the attention of single working women. And congratulations to the progressive companies who are already reviewing their policies and practices to adapt to all members of their workforce.