I recently enjoyed a novel by Lauraine Snelling,  No Distance Too Far, about a woman doctor in the early twentieth century. She faced difficulties in her profession in part because she was female. Fortunately, women now are more free to use their vocational gifts.

In fact, over half the labor force in the United States is now female. However, as we more or less expect all adults to become paid workers, problems develop. Articles in The Economist and The New York Times touch on these issues. We have less time for other activities: relationships with family and friends; care of our children, the sick, and the aging; volunteer work; physical exercise that keeps us fit; and creative work that fulfils us but doesn’t pay the bills. We are reminded of the survival mode of earlier times when all except a few elites labored during every waking hour.

Returning to the days of gender inequality is not an option. Also, those struggling simply to stay afloat in these times don’t have much choice but to continue. Some of us, however, can consider new work models, perhaps leading to wider discussion about our career-oriented world. Why not new patterns for the times in which we now live?

Part time work as a choice? Working at home for a period of one’s career? (More of a possibility because of the Internet.) Job sharing? And if a woman has the option to be a traditional stay-at-home wife and mother and chooses this path, we can support her in her choice.