US Business Culture: "He's just a housewife?

Today’s 33-second video takes on a social aspect of doing business in the USA: Spouses are often invited to business social events, particularly holiday parties and weekend events.

Several Danes have told me that they have trouble knowing what to say to spouses who are stay-at-home parents, who these days can be male or female, gay or straight.

“What is this?” they tell me. “Some kind of 1950s housewife type of situation?”

On the contrary – in the US, having one parent stay home to focus on raising school-age children is a status marker. You can afford it!

Few areas of the US have the extensive public day care options available in Denmark. When the kids get a bit older and have sports, drama, and other after-school events, someone has to drive them there: public transport in the US is often dirty and dangerous, and in many suburban areas simply unavailable.

In addition, “home schooling” one’s children has become a popular option in areas where schools have been shut down for long periods during the COVID pandemic. Home schoolers are often but not always politically-conservative parents, and they often form networks so that the kids can have social contact with other children their age.

Bottom line, stay-at-home parents are often highly educated, sometimes even more educated than the working parent. In addition to their child raising, many run small businesses on the side. You can be confident that they’ll have plenty of conversation to offer.