Revitalizing UU Women's Groups

The Modern Woman’s Time Problem

Memberships in UU women’s groups across the country have declined since women began seeking outside employment in great numbers. Paid work has brought great fulfillment to many women and has made more women independent. It has also, in combination with a cultural norm that encourages women to bear a heavier portion of child-rearing responsibilities, limited the involvement of employed women in church women’s groups. Since UU women’s groups, in the past, stimulated not only individual changes but also social changes and since women’s struggle for equal rights is not yet over, the curtailment of women’s groups should not be taken lightly.

In the early stages of the feminist movement, consciousness-raising groups helped women to develop their identities and define their interests. While the development of identity is still a concern to some women, it is secondary to problems such as “working the second shift,” low self-esteem, assertiveness and domestic abuse. The most chronic and pervasive, although perhaps not the most acute, modern-day problem among women seems to be the problem of time.

Employed women describe feeling pressed from all sides by work, family, and community responsibilities. As one woman from the Minnesota Valley Fellowship (MV) in Bloomington, Minnesota, observed, “They’re (employed women also raising children) working harder than we did [at that age].” When invited to attend their church’s women’s group, it is common for women to decline due to their limited time. As Jan Wolff from MV pointed out, “Young women are not coming because they’re too busy; it’s not that something is wrong with the [women’s] group.”

Women attending MV Fellowship are strongly encouraged to attend women’s group meetings for support and information. With a smile, members often add, “Tell your husband to vacuum, and then you spend a few hours on the first Saturday of each month with us.” Yet, their group, like so many UU women’s groups, attracts mostly women who are retired, along with a handful of younger women who have a lighter workload, a flexible schedule, or the freedom to work at home.

The problem with time that employed women commonly refer to is related, in part, to men and women’s unequal sharing of child-raising and housekeeping responsibilities. In some circles, it is called the second shift problem because women first work at their places of employment and then return home to work another unpaid shift of work. Research continues to show that women work far more hours, in total, in a week than do their male counterparts. We might assume that partners of enlightened UU men probably fare better than women as a group, but it would be difficult to determine just how much.