The Dignity of Work

Hilary Rosen caused a huge stir recently when  she said that it was wrong for Mitt Romney to be using his wife Ann as his guide to women's economic struggles, because she "had never worked a day in her life."

Mitt Romney and the Republicans were quick to jump on that remark as a way to attack President Obama, despite the fact that Hilary Rosen isn't affiliated with either the President, his campaign nor the Democratic National Party.

It was an unfortunately myopic comment by Ms. Rosen, in that pretty much everyone agrees raising children is indeed hard work, and as a Democratic supporter she should have known it was also the type of comment which can ignite a firestorm of negative publicity, which it did.

So Romney scored some points in trying to close the 'gender gap', as polls were showing President Obama with around an 18% point lead amongst women voters.

The disparity in support by women was largely due to Romney's backing of the GOP's so-called 'war on women', so named because the policies pushed by the GOP strip women of basic rights over their own bodies, including not only abortion, but also contraception, various types of pre-natal treatment and a host of other rights, such as equal pay for women than for men doing the exact same jobs..  The GOP also has been working to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, Head Start and a variety of other programs that millions of women and their families rely upon for basic heath care needs.

So chalk up a small win for Romney in the publicity battle, though a comment by a random Democrat not connected to the President over whether 'stay at home' Moms are "working" doesn't really compare to the GOP's sustained support of policies that increase economic hardships for millions of less fortunate women.

Recently, Mitt Romney illustrated how phony his 'indignation' over Hilary Rosen's comment really is.  In talking about his plans for welfare reform, Romney said "even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work".   He followed that up by saying “I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.”

This begs the question, 'if a poor mother who receives benefits in order to take care of her children needs to go outside the home to "have the dignity of work”, why doesn't Ann Romney also need to go get a job in order to enjoy that same "dignity"?

If raising children is "work", then poor women receiving welfare and raising their children are already "working". If Ann Romney is a "hero to Moms" for staying home and taking care of her kids, why isn't the same true for poor mothers?

Hypocrisy, writ large. 


It should be noted that Hilary Rosen made her comment in the context of saying that Ann Romney isn't the best person to consult on the economic situation of working mothers, as she has enough money to make the choice to stay at home with her children, and hasn't been a member of the 'outside work force'.

So in context, Hilary Rosen was correct. Ann Romney doesn't have to go outside the home and get a job for pay, and has no economic need whatsoever, so she isn't the best person to give advice on the struggles of women who do.


While it's certainly true that Ann Romney has had to put in a great deal of effort to raise five children, pointing out that she hasn't had to get a job outside the home shouldn't be controversial in any way.

The supposed 'controversy' arises over the meaning of the word 'work'. Hilary Rosen used it to mean "work outside the home at a job", while the Republicans so 'outraged' over her comment are using it to mean "put in a great deal of effort".

No matter your beliefs about our society helping those least fortunate, such as children born into poverty, if a wealthy woman is 'working' when she stays at home to raise her children, so is a poor woman.

And the same level of 'dignity' should accrue to a poor mother staying home to raise her children as it does to a wealthy mother doing the same.

In the end, "dignity" isn't the benefit most women, or men for that matter, are looking for when they go to work.

It's the money.