Stratifying by Sex

While reading Alice Kessler-Harris' essay about male and females in the work force I found myself continually questioning what is happening to families.  Right now my plan for life is to graduate, get a job, and eventually start a family, but I wonder how difficult it must be to balance all of those different aspects of life.  At the end of her essay, Kessler-Harris brings up the idea, if more women are working what is going to happen to the family.  I am wondering the same thing.  I don't think that there should be a difference between the opportunities or compensation for men and women.  The work force should be based on merit rather than gender.  With that said taking care of the family should not solely be reliant on females either.  It is easily proven that women tend to have a more domestic side which helps with the housework and the child care, but forcing a woman to stay in the home can seem constricting.  I don't think I have an answer to what I think that work force and home care should be broken down into, but with the reading it does make me question what I will do with my time in life when I am older.  Members of families seem to be becoming more independent and are spending less time with each other because both parents are in the work force.  Kessler-Harris has raised a point, even if it wasn't her main argument, of how both women and men can work together to have a successful family life as well as career.