Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day: Still Relevant

Today is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, a program sponsored by the Ms. Foundation for Women “to create an opportunity for girls and boys to share and communicate their expectations for the future.” The Foundation estimates that over 6.4 million boys and 10.1 million girls 8-12 years old will participate and “engage in guided, educational activities designed to encourage them to dream without gender limitations and think critically about a balanced work, home and community life.”

Courtney E. Martin, in the Christian Science Monitor, questions the relevance of a day like this at a time when young people are shunning corporate life for self-employment, consulting, and part-time work. She has a point, which I personally appreciate after having traded the corporate life for motherhood and freelancing. (My partner’s still with a Fortune 500 firm, though, so our family represents both sides of the picture.)

I believe, however, that there’s still room for a day to share our work experiences, whatever they are, with our children, even if it means taking then into our home studies instead of an office building. Many of us do a little of this as a matter of course, but why not make an extra effort on this day to explain current projects or take a child to a client meeting?

For those of us not doing any income-earning work, why not share some household-management tasks, e.g., making a shopping list and planning an effective route, organizing and paying bills, etc.? This is work, too, and part of the overall household operation. Our children see it happen all the time, but if they actively participate once in a while they may have a better appreciation for what’s involved. I’d venture to say that LGBT households are in the forefront when it comes to recognizing the importance of both parents’ contributions. It only seems fitting that we incorporate both into a day about showing children our work.

Martin claims that “It is not a failure of feminism that we are opting out. It is, in fact, a tribute to it.” I agree. This is not a reason to dismiss Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day as irrelevant, though. It is a reason to evolve it.

(And for heaven’s sake, it’s been a few years now since “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” morphed into “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” Can’t we shorten it to “Take Our Children to Work Day” at this point?)