No I'm not saying that. I'm saying that the commitment to be very successful and at the top of a career takes a lot of time, energy and hours. For men and women. Which means choices have to be made. There are clearly plenty of brilliant women who do achieve this. There's many high profile women in top level jobs.
There are more women in professional roles than men BUT significantly more men in senior positions. Why do you think this is?
Why are women able and willing to put in the work to train, complete qualifications and gain experience to work in a profession yet struggle to progress into senior roles? This isn't simply due to choice, there are structural barriers in place which were created and continue to be enforced by the patriarchy.
What I am saying is that, for many women, there is an additional barrier and that boils down to their biology. Decisions to be made. Whether to have children. Whether to stay at home with their children. Whether to outsource childcare. Whether to pursue their career and have their partner stay at home. Or whether to have children at all.
Yes, the fact that only women can give birth to children does create a barrier to career progression BUT the decision to have children, to use childcare etc is not just a decision made by women. Beyond pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding there is no reason why a man cannot be an equal parent and this is what we should be advocating for ..... more men working flexibly, taking time out to care for children, factoring in the fact they have children when making career decisions. That would make a huge difference.
But these things aren't patriarchy. They are a combination of choices, ability, opportunity and, biology.
Choice, opportunity and to an extent, ability are heavily influenced by societal structures and expectations around gender roles.
This isn't a case of whether someone can be bothered or not. It's a case of whether someone who has the ability want to put the sheer number of hours in, away from their families and pursue that top level career. And many women decide not to make that choice. (And others do). This isn't just women though, the same applies to men.
Why do you think many women decide not to make that choice? In my research and academic career I have spoken to and gathered information on thousands of women and their career choices. It's very clear to me (and others who research this topic) that men and women do make career decisions differently but that these are heavily influenced by societal expectations and stereotypes around gender roles.
It's absolutely fine to disagree with the vast majority of my post. Respectful debate and challenging ideas are always a good thing.
What other parts of the vast majority of my post don't you agree with?
Well, considering you don't believe in the patriarchy and my research and writing is predominantly about the impact of the patriarchy on women's career development I'd say we don't have much in common!