Tell the stranger at the dinner party that you are a glassblower, an acrobat or a housewife mom, and he will most likely give you a questioning look. Motherhood, as work, has long been ridiculed in society and falls into the category of "fake." However, the husband and father from the city of Plano in the state of Texas (USA) answered the skeptics with an open letter. His wife is a housewife, and he calculated to the dollar how much her labor costs.
Expensive labor
Steve and Glory Nelms have a two year old son named Ezra. Steve, realizing that his wife makes a huge contribution to the development of his son and the maintenance of their home in order, decided to prove the value of such work.
On his blog, the man listed each action Glory performed daily and the average salary he received in the professional world. As of 2015, work on childcare brought about $ 36,660 a year, cleaning - $ 5200, cooking - $ 12,480; financial assistant had a rate of $ 15 per hour, which corresponded to $ 3900 per year. After adding up the average earnings of a total of seven professions, Steve made a startling conclusion: his wife's role as a housewife was worth $ 73,690 a year.
“I can’t let my wife sit at home!” Steve admitted. “Her hypothetical salary of a housewife mom is almost double my real income.”
Public reaction
The man received thousands of comments. Some people thought his calculations were innovative, others protested, arguing that motherhood was his wife's choice. Some readers were indignant and assured that raising children and housekeeping should not be valued in money.
Many people, however, appreciated the attention directed to the undervalued work of the mother. “I would like my grouchy husband to read this,” one woman shared. “He endlessly demands that I find a job, and expects me to combine it in some way with cleaning, cooking, and caring for children!”
Steve's open letter, of course, made people raise this burning topic. A loving father and a grateful husband did a wonderful thing for housewives around the world - drew attention to the value of their work.
