Supplementary Article for Course 2: Are There Professions Specific to Each Gender?

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Gender roles and the double working day 

When we assume that what is familiar is normal, we ignore other ways of being and living. Using the term “normal” implies that there is a standard to meet. Gender roles are exactly that: social and cultural norms that dictate how men and women are expected to act and behave.

According to gender roles, men are not supposed to show their emotions: they are expected to be strong, rational, and the primary breadwinners for their families. Women, on the other hand, are expected to be tender, loving, sentimental, and maternal.

When discussing inclusive spaces for women entrepreneurs, it is important to analyze how gender roles have historically led women to work as homemakers, preventing them from financially supporting their families. Men need to take responsibility on many levels: emotional responsibility for their families, sharing of household chores, and appropriate workspaces for women who work a double shift (at the office and at home).

Therefore, to create inclusive spaces, it is essential that we not only consider how women work in companies or how they navigate the corporate world, but also how we can deconstruct gender roles. 

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Gender roles in the division of labor 

Even with advances in women’s rights, there are still (care) tasks that are assigned exclusively to women. Not only that, but this unpaid work is viewed as an expression of “love” for our loved ones. In other words, women are expected to take on the responsibility of caring for children and the home, as if it were an inherent part of their nature “as women.” 

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Hegemonic masculinity—or, as we sometimes like to call it, “toxic masculinity”—is a concept in which men do not show their emotions, do not “lose their cool,” and are always rational and critical. In hegemonic masculinity, there is no room for men to consider getting involved in household chores. 

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In short, discussing gender roles in the workplace means holding men accountable for helping to create inclusive spaces and challenging hegemonic masculinity. It is urgent that housework and child care cease to be solely women’s responsibilities, as this has created an extremely unfair situation for us, in which we work long hours without pay. 

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Double workday 

In the wake of the early feminist movements, women have gained ground in the public sphere: they have moved from the domestic sphere into the workplace, politics, culture, and other areas. Today, we can find many examples of women leaders and many narratives that encourage women to become financially independent from men. 

Even so, women have not yet been able to fully break free from the domestic sphere. We take care of the home and the family, and we also enter the workforce. This is known as the double shift. In other words, in addition to our socially recognized work, we must devote hours to unpaid labor caring for children, the home, and sick or elderly people. 

For example, maternity leave in most Latin American countries lasts three months, while paternity leave ranges from 2 to 14 days, depending on the country.

So, when society expects women to juggle paid and unpaid work, how can we envision a future of inclusion without addressing this issue?

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The Feminization and Masculinization of Work

When you think of domestic work, nursing, teaching, or social work, who do you picture doing it? 

Gendered social norms have a clear impact on the world of work: the feminization of professions and industries. Women have been moving from the home into the workforce for decades, but it is no coincidence that these jobs continue to be associated with caregiving. Behind this gender-based division of labor lies a society that still believes women are better suited for certain roles than others.

Let’s also talk about male-dominated industries. According to the Center for Public Policy Research at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), the engineering, mining, and agricultural and livestock production sectors are dominated by men, who make up more than 75% of the workforce compared to women. 

Male identity is the one socially attributed to the role of breadwinner—to providing for the needs of the people who are part of his family, whom he is expected to support. Holding positions in industries related to knowledge and productivity is not a biological given, but rather a cultural consequence of a patriarchal society.

Simply put, a woman who enters a highly male-dominated field is also—even if she doesn’t realize it—a woman who dares to challenge the social norms internalized by our society. Building networks in these spaces is a great help in supporting one another and reversing the historical division of labor.

Inclusion helps us all 

Both in the workplace (and beyond) we must break free from established and historically assigned social norms. The internalization of these gender roles compels us to pause and reflect on what needs to change at home, within my work team, and across my organization.

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