Women in the Workplace

Reading Laura Cereta and her need to "steal" time, having to write or sew only when night has fallen, I couldn't help but think of the same struggle for balance that women face today (ie; 31 -32)

Roles women play in society include (but are not limited to):

• mother: compassion, time for kids, chauffer, cook
  
• worker: success, money, recognition
  
• woman: desires, emotions, needs
  
• religious: devotion to faith

Balancing all these things is difficult, to say the least. Women of the 21st century definitely have more help than Laura did -today men do more to share these burdens with their wives, and women are also much more respected in the workplace. But this does not mean that the feeling of guilt, of duty to her home is any easier to overcome.

As I am planning to be a doctor, whether or not I want a family heavily influences the specialty I will choose. Although there are more women than men in medical schools across the country, male doctors are much more prevalent in society because a few years after earning their M.D.s, women will hang up their degree to become a full-time mom. This is a very big issue that I am going to have to deal with very soon...and I'm not looking forward to it.

Here is an article giving working women advice on how to effectively balance their lives - the theory is good maybe, but I'm not sure that it was entirely useful advice.
Strategies for Working Moms

Over 500 years has past since Cereta was alive, and yet women are still facing the same issues.