Closing the gender gap

Reading Jennifer Rubin’s opinion on closing the gender gap (“Closing the gender gap isn’t simple,” March 7) has me shaking my head. She states that one of the reasons the momentum has slowed is the far-right has tried to reinforce traditional gender roles. I was not aware of this.

As an educated successful CPA, fiscal conservative, mother and grandmother, I firmly believe that a lot of traditional gender roles have just to do with that, gender. Last I checked men can’t have babies nor can they breastfeed. Mothers are very important in all of our lives and believe it or not, we do have a very important role in raising our children. Men also have an important role. It is the balance of both a mother and a father in raising children that is important. She appears to try to make a point that only careers and earning money are important.

The wage gap has certainly been an issue for women who have continued in the workforce and not taken a “baby break.” But even she states that women generally start their careers on parity with men (which is real progress because it wasn’t that way when I began my career). But advocating that government, employers, unions, managers and opinion makers should become role models for couples who don’t want more traditional roles is concerning. She is advocating that government take a role in forming family values.

I personally do not want to have the government telling me how to raise my family or live my life. I believe each family should makes their own decisions as to which roles each family member fills. — Lucinda Crabtree, Bakersfield