essay#3-introduction

Does emotional labor lead to greater levels of inequality? Is there discrimination in who is expected to perform emotional labor?

“Backlash”

Last Thursday when I came to work I found my co-worker, Arleta in tears. Sitting on a stairs on the back of the building and trying to put herself together after having an emotional breakdown. She began telling me how miserable her day was. At first she was confronted and criticized by the manager, than the all day she spent surrounded by mean male co-workers and finishing her shift offended by disrespectful customer. Her emotions didn’t only reach the limit but when she couldn’t take it anymore she faced discrimination, when a long term waiting promotion was put on hold, because the other person fit in better. The other person was a man, who worked there much less and his qualification for that position were the same as her.

Many people say women should stay home and take care of the household. I disagree with them, because women’s nature it’s to be responsible for their children, husband and home in general. They were fighting for over a century for their liberation from religious, legal, economic and sexual oppression and their access to higher education, but as of today almost 100 years later, when emotional labor is more common and accessible for women than men, it seems like the battle is not over yet.