In article <61sors$8fq$1 at sparcserver.lrz-muenchen.de>,
Sylvia Becker <becker at usm.uni-muenchen.de> wrote:
>>so, let's throw another German in the debate. Yes, I agree with what Sabine
>has said, essentially all of it. What I want to add is that as a result it
>is not only the employers (men) looking down on a working woman but also the
>women. I am working in Munich and living in the countryside.
This is in Bavaria, which I understand is quite Catholic and conservative.
In the U.S. too, I think there's a lot of variation from place to place.
I wonder if everything would be as wonderful in the religiously and
politically conservative regions of the U.S.
The fact that
>I didn't stay at home when the first child arrived along with the fact
>that my husband and I have different names has certainly set our family
>apart from the others. Things are gradually improving - the financial
>situation for most families in Germany is such that the woman will at least
>have to work part time. However, working if you NEED THE MONEY is accepted.
Honestly, I think that this motivation drove what attitude changes
have happened in the U.S. as well. I don't agree with this attitude
at all, and I find it frustrating, but I hear it from U.S. political
conservatives all the time. There's a lot of US political rhetoric
still that "moral decay" comes from the fact that "both parents"
have to work outside the home due to financial pressures (and those
evil foreigners are taking away "our" jobs, so what's a poor
breadwinner to do . . . oh, right, he's supposed to join promise
keepers, yeah :-P).
I would like to say that I think working women and changed attitudes
are here to stay in the U.S., but sometimes I'm not so sure. As
Susan Faludi said in _Backlash_, it can be surprising and discouraging
how reversible women's progress can be.
>of my boss's incentives in his efforts though this may be unfair). The
>longer this goes on the more bitter I get. Swimming against the stream
>all the time with very little help is tiring.
>> Are you sure it's only a difference of 10-20 years compared to the US?
No, I guess not. Reading this stuff is making me more and more glad that
my husband and I decided not to settle in Germany, although I can't say
that I ever REALLY seriously considered it.
Best of luck in getting your habilitation, and congratulations on getting
so far already!
Karen
