The world that we live in today is subjected to societal gender roles that both men and women tend to follow. In a number of different ways, society has shaped women to believe that to be successful, they have to be single. 

In the stereotypical “Leave It to Beaver” family, men bring home the money while the women stay home and care for the kids. And many women who plan on having kids didn’t pursue a career that requires them to travel because of the lack of time that it allows them to be at home with their children.

A study done by the United States Department of Labor in 2016 concluded that the number one full-time job obtained by women in the workforce was elementary or middle school teachers. Accordingly, both private and public schools allow their employees to have the same holiday breaks off as the students.

My mom has been an elementary teacher for more than 25 years while my father has worked as a computer technician at a local hospital in Wichita Falls. Subsequently, I have always viewed my mother as my caretaker because she was the one to pick up me and my little brother from school, cook our meals and put us to bed. It’s not that my dad didn’t care for us, his job demands him to spend long hours at the office so he didn’t have the time to do as much as my mom did.

My family is an example of how multiple different people across the globe have grown up where their mother was tasked with the role as caretaker, while their father worked most of the time. For this societal standard to change, gender roles need to change as well.

A study published by Pew Research Center in 2014 analyzed that the number of stay at home dads have increased by almost 1 million people from 1989 to 2012. This number will continue to increase along with the number of successful women in the workforce.

For example, take Cecile Frot-Coutaz, the chief executive officer of the FremantleMedia Group. As the CEO, Frot-Coutaz has been in charge of managing well known TV shows, such as America’s Got Talent, The X Factor USA and Family Feud. She is married with two kids.

As accomplished as Frot-Coutaz has been, it goes to show that women can have successful careers and manage a family as well.

Andrea Pedon is a mass communication freshman.