About a woman in the morning train

Every workday morning I take a regional train to Berlin. Today I took the 8 AM train and was
observing office women. Here they were, in female suites, hair done, make up, calm and clever look.
Who were they, these women running with the men instead of the wolves1?

Women running with men

They caught my attention because they were like me – women. Yet their appearance and behavior
were different than I am used to – reserved, controlled, self-confident. This is unusual to the classical
image of a woman – emotional, unpredictable, fragile. Such „deviation“ was noticed not only by me
but also by the society. One morning in 1960s it woke up and found no ready breakfast on the table,
because the wife, the mother, the house-keeper; they all went to work. And not to just any work but
she stepped into the office2 - a man’s territory3.

This step is still discussed widely among men and women all around the world. As everything in life it
has both – pros and cons. On one hand, it is considered a big step forward for women gaining their
freedom and equal rights. On the other hand, a big step back in suppressing women’s nature by
going to hunt a mammoth instead of being a guardian of a family’s fireplace.

What was gained?

By stepping out of the home only environment women definitely gained a chance to evolve
professionally. The education they accomplished got a chance to be used in practice and give real-life
results in pursuing a career. Even though challenging it gave a chance to earn income and took off a
full responsibility from men as the only providers for the household. Moreover, this step into the
workforce empowered women to have higher self-confidence and self-respect. More and more
companies are founded and led by women. Due to higher number of women working in the offices
they became more female friendly or just female.

What was lost?

Human society is based on the institute of a family. It takes two people of different gender to create
a new life and both of the parents (who also can be same gender couples) are important and have
their different roles to grow a healthy child. Since the 1960s when women went to work into a
competitive environment the family as an institute faced a few issues. Not only did the couples start
having too little time together but also children do not see their parents enough. Women have
especially challenging life due to a so-called second shift4 when after work hours they have to do the
household chores. Otherwise, many working and career-oriented women choose not to have a family
or get married, and this choice affects the society to demographically descend and age.

1 Reference to Esthes “Women who run with the wolves” book.

2
By office work I mean work in an office with a computer.
3
I highly recommend watching American TV show “Mad Men” – it will guide you through the reality of a
woman back in the days.
4
Arlie Hochschild's book Second Shift
What does she face in Germany?
Since I did not talk with a woman on the train, I can only guess what challenges she faces at work.
But I do have an impression that women in Germany are pretty empowered, emancipated and free in
fulfilling their aims. According to Eurostat in 2017 there were 71.5 proc. of working female in the age
group 15-645, not to mention that the leader of the country is a woman and she’s in the leading
position for over 12 years in a row. It seems that Germany’s labor market is not very friendly for
immigrants who do not speak good German or sometimes the obstacle is specific German education
system and the opportunities that come only after graduating. Or, as B. Jennen points out in her
article on #MeToo case in Germany6, even if the sexual harassment exists, Germany does not want to
talk about it.

“Moneyish” points out that due to more women in the office there is less or no sexual harassment
and equal pay actually does exist.7 (not sure if I’ll use it)

Offices can be different

I reach Friedrichstrasse and after couple of stops with S-bahn I walk into my office. It is 80 percent
women including the Director. Haven’t faced any of the women issues from above. (personal
experience, also not sure if to use).

5 http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do
6 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-07/german-laws-protect-women-
german-culture-does-not
7 https://moneyish.com/ish/women-who-work-in-these-types-of-offices-report-less-sexual-

harassment/