The shifting of the woman place in the modern society

Some of the most successful career women never go to an office. Home is where their work is, and their chief responsibility is to smooth their husband’s rise through the ranks. Their reward? Their husbands can earn considerably more than their dual-income counterparts.

Feminists are furious. Having spending the past 50 years trying to get women out of the kitchen and into the boardroom, they are not pleased to hear that the exact opposite is happening today. More and more women are shedding the pinstripes and leaving the boardroom battles, the 18-hour days, the transatlantic commutes and the dreaded weekend conferences to their husbands. Instead of wasting all their talent and energy on a career, they are taking stock in what they perceive to be the greater long-time investment – their husbands.

Different sociologic researches prove that a man’s chances of a succeeding largely depend on his choice of wife. Several studies have recently shown that married men earn 10% more than their single counterparts and about 20% more if married to non-working wives. A study by the economic department of Indiana University also found that the greater the job-market value and level of education of a woman, the less likely she was to work after marriage.

We are not talking about the Lady Macbeth syndrome, whereby a woman realizes her own ambitions through her husband’s career. Today’s modern wife doesn’t need a husband to get ahead. She has already proved her own worth in the business world.

A recent poll among teenage girls in the UK has shown that the vast majority consider their own, traditional mothers-to-be role models rather than the tough women in the grey Armani suits that advertisers like to portray. Such women are regarded now as anachronisms from the previous decade. The superwoman complex is so Eighties. A woman can’t get the balance right if she is at the service of others all the time. She needs to spend a certain amount of her time looking out her family; it is an essential part of every woman’s life.

Husbands reap the full benefit of today’s neo-traditional wives, who tend to be better read, better groomed, more relaxed and altogether more fun than the friends they left behind at work. The fortunate husbands have no greater concerns than those of winning the next deal and becoming partner / director / president. They can work until midnight if they have to, or accept the client’s last-minute invitation without the slightest criticism. When they rattle on about their day, their wife is not only interested, she is insightful. It’s no surprise they earn more.

For such husbands coming home becomes increasingly a pleasure. They know that everything will be calm and settled. All the really boring stuff will be done. By “boring” isn’t meant the laundry or the supermarket shop. It means administrative work, such as looking after family’s investments, preparing tax returns and other managing.

Their wives view their domestic lives as “small businesses” (in some cases, big businesses) to be run with the same efficiency as any job – but with far greater growth potential.

Competition in the workplace is fierce today than ever. As a result, men and women are spending more hours at work than they would naturally choose to. To do well means having to neglect your family. Moreover, to do well is to depend heavily on the family.

“You can’t have two achievers in a marriage,” says Penny Mansfield, of the UK marriage and partnership organization One Plus One. “One person has to take a back seat and it’s usually the woman. It’s not always even conscious. Women have this great sense of equity. They say to themselves: “I accept the lion’s share of responsibility at home because I accept that he is under so much pressure.” Marriage is about compromise, not equality.”

Of course, it is difficult to step back and give up your independence when you have been brought up to work.

In a study examining levels of contentment among husbands after seven years of marriage, American psychologist John Gottman found that 75% complained of a decline in marital happiness. The lucky 25% had something in common: they all accepted the influence of their wives. They listened to their wives and depended on their opinions; they relied on their ability to smooth them when they were anxious.

Divorce is not something a modern wife has to worry about. If anyone should be worried, it’s the husband. The chances of his finding another wife equally as intelligent are slim.

Ex. 1.2 Make an annotation of the newspaper article, using the clue content and structure analyzing phrases from the table:

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