Choosing between marriage and career
Women have made commendable strides when it comes to the upward trajectory on the professional ladder. Men have been occupying the most lucrative positions in most organizations across the board. Still, this status quo has been turned over its head as well as women are continually taking their place among the high-status jobs in organizations.
After some number crunching, the U.S Department of Labor reports that, in today’s professional world, women occupy 50% of managerial positions. These changes may have occurred at the workplace, but they have not left the home environment untouched. That women have assumed more critical roles in the office also means that their roles in the household have changed. This, however, comes with a caveat; social constructs have it that women have the chief responsibility when it comes to raising a family; as such, many women are left deliberating whether to sacrifice a career for marriage. In making this decision, women have to consider what values they hold dearest to them and what implications the decision to settle in marriage or chase a career path may have in the future and, most importantly, the golden years that come after retirement.
The dilemma of choosing between marriage and career is one that elicits all sorts of responses. Many believe that money is not all there is to life and that one needs to have a reliable support system around them that starts with the family. Looking at it from an economic perspective, the prospect of having to focus on a career and not worrying about family may seem lucrative for the financially motivated. However, there is research to show that there the argument that everyone needs companionship to be complete happens to be true. This is even more affirmed when it comes to old age as older couples are able to live a healthier standard of life when it comes to graceful aging.
Many of those that choose to forego the commitment that comes with marriage are typically motivated by the prospect of making significant strides in the professional world. As lucrative as the opportunity is, there are statistics to show that there is better potential to make better financial progress by combining the effort of a couple who both have a career. The sharing of responsibilities can do more for a professional seeking commercial success than having to take on financial security singularly.
Couples impact each other in a way that is important for each partner’s growth. One instance of this is the fact that couples tend to practice the same type of health behavior. This can influence each partner positively and can also come with detrimental effects. The value of having a partner should, in old age is also affirmed by dyadic coping. Spouses cope with different events in life interdependently. Couples often experience stress together, and this has shown that they can deal with stressful situations better. Emotion regulation is an integral part of coping with tough situations in life, and this has also been observed in couples, where each partner attempts to regulate the other’s emotion while at the same time monitoring their own. The frameworks used to analyze how a couple stays together in a couple and age together reveal that the female is more driven to seek this support in old age by finding a mate and committing to marriage.
The argument that women would be better of marrying and pursuing a career at the same time examined through intersectional analysis would hold true. This is because the motivating factors and variables at play remain relatively the same for both genders.