The concept of a level playing field allows women to seek the same opportunities as men, especially the opportunity to excel in various fields. This essay will examine the need for a level playing field within the social institutions of work and politics and demonstrate how women have been negatively affected without one.
Social institutions are structured in ways that were established many decades ago, when married men were the breadwinners and the majority of married women stayed at home (GEN14 2013, p. 5). Even though the great majority of families no longer fit that model, most workplaces have failed to take the change on board. For example, women seeking equality in the workplace may be expected to perform like men in terms of availability for late meetings, overtime or shift flexibility. Such male ‘benchmarks’ fail to account for the different cultural expectations placed on women with respect to childcare and other family commitments (GEN14 2013, p. 5).
Clear boundaries exist between the private and public sphere, with the assumption that caring for the home is a woman’s ‘natural’ role. The work that women perform within the labour market therefore, is often determined and reinforced by their traditional roles within the family (GEN14 2013, p. 17). Occupations such as nursing, childcare and cooking, for example, are related to domestic work and are therefore considered a form of feminised labour. However, because domestic work remains ignored in national Gross Domestic Product, the majority this type of work continues to be perceived as unproductive and devalued (GEN14 2013, p. 17). The gender ideology at play within the workplace not only pulls women into certain types of low paid, devalued work, but also pushes them away from other less traditional types of work.
Even when they are better educated, women remain significantly under-represented in the