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Women say life is a balancing act(HOUSTON) - "You can have it all" is a familiar phrase to women coming of age in the late 20th century. However, the difficulties of balancing work and home life, in reality, present a much more complicated picture, according to a new national survey. In fact, this challenge is recognized as one of the more pressing problems facing young women: one-third (34%) of women surveyed consider the time pressures of trying to meet both family and work responsibilities one of the most serious problems young women face, surpassed only by domestic violence. These are among the major findings of the fifth edition of The Shell PollSM, an opinion survey conducted for Shell Oil Company by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. Men and women were polled on a wide range of gender-related issues, including the workplace, personal finance, sports, politics, the Internet, household roles and various businesses' treatment of both sexes. "The Shell Poll findings seem to indicate that men and women agree on quite a few substantial issues that have an impact on the lives of American females," said Susan Borches, vice president of Corporate Affairs for Shell Oil Company. "For example, a majority of Americans surveyed say that more work needs to be done on equal wages and equal funding for school athletic programs. Our goal for this survey has always been to encourage Americans to talk about the issues and values that are important to them in their daily lives. This edition provides many opportunities for discussion." According to the survey results, Americans are conflicted about mothers' roles in the working world. By a close margin, women say it's fine for a mother with young children to work if she can handle the obligations to her family and to her job (51%). Forty-three percent of women polled say a mother who can afford it should stay at home with her children. Men's perceptions echo women's. However, women show some concern over the possible stress they face in blending work outside the home with family life. Two-thirds (65%) of surveyed women believe mothers working outside the home face more stress than do stay-at-home mothers (15%). Men agree even more, with 72 percent saying mothers who work outside the home face more stress than mothers who stay at home (16%).
All's fair in love and gender wars Women who are part of a couple claim to do all or most of the cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. For example, a majority (58%) of women say they do all or most of the household chores, including cleaning and laundry. Men seem a bit reluctant to give their partners the credit, though: nearly the same proportion (61%) of men say those are shared responsibilities or predominantly something they do. Men claim to be doing all or most of the driving (60%) and home maintenance or car repairs (67%), and women tend to acknowledge - though not to the degree men do - those areas in which the man of the household bears the burden. About half (49%) of women say the man of the house does the driving, and 57 percent say he takes care of most or all home maintenance or car repairs.
Equality of the sexes must go further, men and women assert In addition, clear majorities of both men (58%) and women (66%) believe American society must go even further in establishing equal rights for women. Perhaps not surprisingly, 57 percent of women polled say they have benefited personally from the women's movement. Almost one-third (31%) of surveyed men say they have benefited, as well.
Businesses' treatment of women not always deemed equal Surveyed women report that HMOs (71%), airlines (70%) and department stores (85%) treat women as well or even better than they do men. In each case, no more than one in seven thinks these industries treat women poorly. However, large minorities indicate room for improvement in some industries: at least one-fifth of women perceive discriminatory treatment from hotels (21%), real-estate companies (33%), and banks and insurance companies (36%). Close to half of women (46%) believe investment advisors treat women worse than they treat men (39% of men agree). This pales in comparison, though, with the negative judgment women give car dealers: an overwhelming 77 percent of women in The Shell Poll say auto dealers treat women worse than they treat men. Men agree, with 68 percent of them saying women receive worse treatment. Interestingly, a majority of men polled (51%) say women are treated better than men in only one of eight types of businesses: clothing/department stores.
Also see: The Shell Poll is conducted by the Washington D.C.-based survey research firm Peter D. Hart Research Associates. Telephone interviews were conducted January 7 to 13, 2000, by trained interviewers with a representative national sample of 1,040 randomly selected females and 413 randomly selected males |
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