Career and Family Advice for Educated Women

Woman in Kitchen Singles Mixer

“The job of making a home and operating it properly is the most responsible post a woman can accept. The husband is absent from the home much of the time; hence, the care of the home and the care and training of the children are largely a matter for the wife and mother. No matter how responsible a place the woman held before her marriage, her position as homemaker and mother is infinitely more important.”

“It has been said that the successful homemaker needs all of the highest qualities of heart and mind. To list all the qualities required of an ideal homemaking wife and mother would be like cataloguing the virtues of a saint. No one can hope to reach such perfection but they can, nevertheless, make every effort to approach it.”

“The homemaker needs steady nerves, an even temperament, a sense of humor, and a cheerful disposition. She must have the ability to adjust her personality to others, and must have a spirit of fairness and a willingness to compromise. It is doubtful whether or not a girl should marry if housekeeping and homemaking are distasteful to her.”

From The Girls Place in Life, by J. Frank Faust, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools, Chambersburg, PA. 1942.. Published by McDonnell & Company Champaign, IL

Image from Alumnae Quarterly, 1971

Alumnae Quarterly, 1971

The Debate on Women’s Role. AQ 1971

“The last five years have marked a new interest in feminism and a continuing debate on women’s role, who she is, and what she wants. Today we are bombarded on all sides by the mass media on the subject of ‘Women’s Liberation’ and we are being subjected to consciousness-raising in a variety of ways.”

Career Opportunities for Women by Beverly Kane Schaffer ’61. AQ 1972

“In the past, most women worked when they were young and then permanently dropped out of the labor force for marriage and motherhood, and then return when their children are in school or are on their own.”

“Not only are more women working but the trend is for them to work full time rather than part time. Most women work because they or their families need the money they earn to raise their standard of living or to help meet the rising cost of living. Relatively few women have the option of working solely for personal fulfillment.”

“Women entering college must progress from the notion that they are educating themselves solely for the role of wife and mother (a role they anticipate playing immediately upon graduation) to the knowledge that even though most of them will marry, they will also want to work for a large portion of their life span and therefore they must seek an education that will enable them to pursue interesting careers.”

Career and Family Advice for Educated Women