My friend’s daughter quit her job. Just like that. I called her in utter shock and asked her why she did that. She held a promising position in a prestigious multinational firm; she was young and had a career ahead of her; it was a job she loved doing; and she had studied many years in prestigious institutions to get that job. Why throw it away? I cannot manage it all, she said. My heart sulked.
She joined the long list of women who quit their jobs not because they can’t do it, or do not like to do it, but simply because their households do not make the alignments needed to keep her in the work force. She was tired balancing both work and the responsibilities at home. If managing the kitchen and the house, taking care of the many guests and the family, and playing the role of the wife and daughter-in-law were the priorities of her household, she decided that struggling to keep her job was pointless. I thought she gave up too soon. In this day and age this is unacceptable, I argued. She told me she had tried, but could not take the physical and mental stress any longer.