E.J. Graff says work-life balance is a family issue, not a gender issue.

June 28, 2013

“Enough with the Daddy Wars”
In an article for The American Prospect, E.J. Graff says that although “daddy wars” are no more true than “mommy wars” are,  an important discussion has begun about the stress of limited time and having to choose between one’s job and one’s family.  And it’s not “whining” to call attention to it.  Says Graff: “Repeat after me, please: These are not gendered problems. The conflict between work and family is not gender-specific at all. There will be no specific solutions for guys. There will be no specific solutions for gals. These are American family problems. And until we see them that way, we will not solve them.” People are getting tired of the demands of employers who don’t allow flexibility and expect workers to be on call 24/7.  She writes that what is new is that “dads and moms are about equally divided in their dislike of the work-family juggle.”

Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar, writer, and editor, and is the author or coauthor of nine books. In 1978, she and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott wrote Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?, one of the earliest books urging evangelical Christians to rethink their views on homosexuality (updated edition, 1994, HarperOne). More recently, Letha coauthored (with social psychologist David G. Myers) What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage (HarperOne, 2005 and 2006). Another of Letha’s most well-known books is All We’re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today, coauthored with Nancy A. Hardesty (Word Books, 1974; revised edition, Abingdon, 1986; updated and expanded edition, Eerdmans, 1992). Letha served as editor of Christian Feminism Today in both its former print edition (EEWC Update) and its website for 19 years until her retirement in December 2013.

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