Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

axios.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 432 posts

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#201

Post by jimbokun »

black_knight wrote: post #147
rajin444 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…

In civilised societies, women still give birth, but after they are born both parents are given the possibility to stay at home with their child. This usually takes the form of the birth-giving woman staying at home for the first few months, while the child is dependent on frequent breastfeeding, after which the other parent stays at home with the child for a few months until they are ready to to start kindergarten ar…

This is one of those policies I believe is broadly popular with voters in both US political parties, but never gets implemented because capital has more say in our government than voters.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#202

Post by geraldwhen »

rajin444 wrote: post #131
poulsbohemian wrote: post #72

It's election season and I've been out talking to voters, who share their life stories... what I would say is that there are many women who are choosing WFH because they either can't afford or can't find day care, which may lead to deciding that hey, they might as well have another baby if they are now committed to this employment model. I've spoken to several women who were over-qualified for the jobs they had taken…

> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…

There is a lot of self delusion in tech. I’ve known women in their late 30s who were unmarried and “may have kids some day”.

Basic human biology is not taught in schools.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#203

Post by rayiner »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #72

It's election season and I've been out talking to voters, who share their life stories... what I would say is that there are many women who are choosing WFH because they either can't afford or can't find day care, which may lead to deciding that hey, they might as well have another baby if they are now committed to this employment model. I've spoken to several women who were over-qualified for the jobs they had taken…

That’s part of the story. The other part is that many women don’t want to be in the workforce. Among women with children under 18, the majority (50-45) would prefer a “homemaker role.” https://news.gallup.com/poll/267737/record-high-women-prefer.... Among women without a college degree, whether or not they have kids, it’s 44%. The pandemic also coincides with a few years of strong wage growth among working class households. A lot of women left the workforce because they no longer had to work.

It’s important to remember that most people have “jobs,” not “careers.”

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#204

Post by dilap »

maxbond wrote: post #144
rajin444 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…

> Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because they’re the only ones that can do it. This seems pretty reductionist to me. Men can absolutely raise children. Husbands in heterosexual couples should absolutely be raising their children and not leaving the entire task of raising them to their wives. Gay men can also raise children. I don't think you meant to be disrespe…

If you're breastfeeding, it's gotta be the woman. And ideally, you are breastfeeding.

Beyond that, most women strongly want to be with their babies. There was a NYT article a few years back about the boom of internet baby monitors, and it was kind of heartbreaking -- a bunch of women sitting at their desks glued to their baby monitors wishing they could be with their babies.

I think we've really fucked up as a society when "women can have kids and be with them" is considered strange or a luxury -- it should be the most natural thing in the world.

No profit in it, though.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#205

Post by xeromal »

kridsdale2 wrote: post #162
francisofascii wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it worked both ways. Couples in a more positive state got stronger, couples in a more problematic/conflict state got worse.

It's not that simple. It's how each psychologically responds to stress and gloom. Some get energized and others get shut down.

Funny how that worded to assume the lockdowns were stress and gloom. My partner and I flourished in the lockdowns. You posit that we reacted positively to stress and gloom, but we saw it as freedom. Working from home resulted in an uptick in projects, sex, cooking, and other positive freedoms.

I'll end that it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Some people hated being trapped at home and others thoroughly enjoyed it.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#206

Post by jimbokun »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #159
rajin444 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…

I get the sense that you are trying to be needlessly provocative... >Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society Who is doing the forcing here? Many women wanted to enter the workforce. Some didn't want to enter the workforce. Some were forced by their situation or by economic changes, but it isn't like someone on HN was holding a gun to their head telling them to get a job, so I'm a little unclear…

> Some were forced by their situation or by economic changes

So you answered your own question.

> Read back what I wrote - my point, which is well documented in many places - is the way women in our modern era are not only the predominant child-care givers, but also most likely to attend to household duties (cooking, cleaning, etc), and more and more are also the primary breadwinners.

That contradicts the data I've seen cited, which found that men perform more paid work and women perform more work in the home, but the total number of hours they work is basically the same.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#207

Post by planetsprite »

maxbond wrote: post #144
rajin444 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…

> Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because they’re the only ones that can do it. This seems pretty reductionist to me. Men can absolutely raise children. Husbands in heterosexual couples should absolutely be raising their children and not leaving the entire task of raising them to their wives. Gay men can also raise children. I don't think you meant to be disrespe…

People's role in society shouldn't be determined by their biology, but the manner in which their biology manifests in their life outcomes is determined by their biology.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#208

Post by abnry »

nineplay wrote: post #196
abnry wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A SAH spouse is not an equal partner with a 50% contribution. More of an oldest child with extra responsibilities and a higher allowance. This is a really depressing way of looking at things.

Spend any amount of time among ( let's be honest ) men and you see this attitude over and over again. They "let" their spouse stay at home. The SAH spouse spends all "their" money. The working spouse "supports" the family. There's a constant stream of posts on reddit about how how a working spouse should be able to come home and play video games for hours - they work so hard and deserve a break. Does the SAH spouse w…

The attitude some have of a SAH spouse does not make the definition of a SAH spouse.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#209

Post by [deleted] »

ryandrake wrote: post #197
ethbr0 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been amazing to me that developed countries have bemoaned birth rates... and then done nothing effective about it. You know what says "This country values parents who choose to have children?" Actual replacement of lost income potential and career progression. Yes, in the US there are tax credits, SNAP, etc. None of these even come close to replacing the life income changes. If we were serious about it, we'd hav…

> It's been amazing to me that developed countries have bemoaned birth rates... and then done nothing effective about it. I always thought a low birth rate was a net-good: Something all countries are striving for. Like when your country drops below 2 births per woman, it has "made it" into the ranks of Developed Countries. Lower birth rate means fewer bodies to feed and a smaller environmental footprint. Sure, I gues…

[deleted]

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#210

Post by xnyan »

dilap wrote: post #204
maxbond wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because they’re the only ones that can do it. This seems pretty reductionist to me. Men can absolutely raise children. Husbands in heterosexual couples should absolutely be raising their children and not leaving the entire task of raising them to their wives. Gay men can also raise children. I don't think you meant to be disrespe…

If you're breastfeeding, it's gotta be the woman. And ideally, you are breastfeeding. Beyond that, most women strongly want to be with their babies. There was a NYT article a few years back about the boom of internet baby monitors, and it was kind of heartbreaking -- a bunch of women sitting at their desks glued to their baby monitors wishing they could be with their babies. I think we've really fucked up as a societ…

Pumping and storing breast milk is extremely common. You can absolutely give your child breast milk and work, and I know many professionals who do.
Post reply on HN