Who’s Afraid of Take Your Kids to Work Day?
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
So, tomorrow is the official, “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” If you’re familiar with the history of TODASTWD (no idea if that’s the official acronym or not, but I really hope not–though if anything ever needed an acronym, it would be this day), you know that the inclusion of “and Sons” in the day counts as a minor victory for boys. Or at least a recognition that it’s a bit unfair to dismiss the needs of schoolboys altogether.
If you remember back when it was first introduced, it was just “Take Our Daughters to Work Day.” The whole concept was started by the Ms. Foundation, and it fell nicely into the whole “You Go, Girl,” style feminism that was so big in the ’90s. Obviously, the point was to teach girls about how empowered they were to succeed by taking them to work. This may be the ultimate in upper middle-class ideas. I can just imagine everyone getting excited at the meeting where they first introduced the theme, with people thinking about all the little girls who would be learning about Mommy’s law office or PR firm or college faculty meetings. Or maybe, as someone who has done everything from waiting tables to cleaning on construction sites, I’m just a tad bitter. Anyway, what a lot of people don’t know is that when they first publicized TODTWD (note the lack of, “and Sons,”), boys were left more or less out in the cold. In fact, some of the suggestions about what to do with the boys left behind in school on TODTWD revolved around spending the time teaching boys about the glass ceiling, sexism in America . . . you know, the fun stuff that wouldn’t alienate them at all.
Anyway, I’ve never actually been in or known an office that participates in TODASTWD, so I don’t know if offices actually follow the recommendations on the Foundation website for how to spend the day, but it looks like it has maintained a shred of its roots. Apparently, workplace coordinators are given a number of suggestions on activities to do with the kids that have been brought to work, and several of them are of the, “discuss stereotypes about gender roles in the workplace,” type. As it happened, my own dad did take me to work, long before TODASTWD ever existed. I did what most children do when they end up in workplaces where there is actual, you know, work to be done rather than conscious-raising sessions: I drew on pieces of copier paper, played with the stapler, and probably bothered his secretary more than I should have.
This is not to say that I don’t understand the value of the intent behind TODASTWD. When I was a little older and desperately interested in being a journalist, my parents had a journalist friend of theirs take me to work with her. She covered the Bullets (yes, it was that long ago–they were still the Bullets), and I got to go sit in the press box, watch the reporters work on the story, and attend the post-game interview. It was definitely one of the coolest days ever. And that is the kind of mentorship and inspirational opportunity that can be incredibly valuable to kids–boys and girls. I would just rather the whole Take Your Kids to Work thing focused more on a valuable mentorship or inspirational experience rather than being a day to forward politicized goals.
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