When reading a lot of Catholic blogs, I tend to find the moms who stay at home, have lots of kids, and home school. There's nothing wrong with that, however, I don't want this to be the only form of Catholic motherhood people see. While I'm not a mom yet, I do make the case for working wives and moms here. There are women who work because their survival depends on it, yet there are also women who work because it brings them joy. In addition, there are sometimes grave reasons for women to keep up a career. In this post, I hope to illustrate why it would be good for women to work.
1. She enjoys it: Often, when people make the case for women staying at home, they point out how dull work is. That's true if a woman has a boring office job, particularly if she's young and starting her family young. However, there are more career paths open to us now than ever before. In addition to the rewarding (traditionally female) fields of teaching, therapy (physical, psychological), nursing, and social work, women are also doctors, lawyers, politicians, heads of companies and non-profits, academics, you name it. If she's enjoying her work and channeling her soul into it, she brings that same joy into her house and her family. Is not joy a fruit of the Spirit?
2. Her husband has to be more involved: Unfortunately, we hear so much about the "second shift", of a woman still absorbing most of the responsibilities for the house and children even after a full time job. However, this does not have to be the case. If she's working too, her husband (if he's good) will also have to pitch in when it comes to the house and the children. That means he'll have to do some laundry or cook dinner some evenings, he'll have to take some days to tend to sick children so that she doesn't take all of hers, he'll have to go to school events on nights she can't make it. Rather than have both parents completely uninvolved, this could make sure that kids get equal time with both parents and make sure that their teachers, doctors and coaches know both parents. Also, as companies are starting to offer paternal leave, husbands now have a chance to be more involved with their children. If women in the workforce is the cause of that, it's definitely a good thing.
3. Outside work can be holy: God gave us our brains and talents for a reason. If a woman has been gifted with patience, compassion, and a brain for science and math, why shouldn't she become a doctor and heal people? If a woman has been gifted with an ability to teach, why should she not pass on knowledge to children and adults (if college level) while also becoming a stakeholder in her community? If a woman has been gifted with reason, logic, and a passion for justice, why should she not go to law school and advocate for those who have no voice? Healing, teaching, and advocacy were all things Jesus did. If a woman is called to be Christlike in those capacities, she should follow them. Further, her children will take away an example of what it means to use your talents to serve the Lord.
4. Money only helps: Sometimes, people talk about working moms as preventing their families from living a simple lifestyle. This need not be the case. More money can mean that the family can send children to a good Catholic school, help their kids with college (a growing but increasingly expensive necessity), give more to charity, take vacations to bond together as a family, visit the extended family if they're not close by, help children with extracurriculars (music lessons, sports teams, art lessons), repair their house if needed (especially if they bought an older house), medical expenses if a family member needs them.......Not to mention that we're on our own for retirement so, if one of us would need to retire, money can prevent us from going into poverty. For families who choose to live in urban areas (God needs us there, too), both spouses will likely have to work because the cost of living is higher.
Man at work, woman in the home is a relatively new phenomenon. Throughout history, women have done something to manage the family economy and women have also inherited property and held positions of power. For those moms who feel a call to stay home, God bless. However, there are also women who feel called to work, with or without kids. God gifted us with talents and brains while our costs of living have increased significantly. For many of us, it's what we have to do and what we want to do. We've got this.
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