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"First, thanks to Anne-Marie Slaughter for peeling the band-aid off an open wound of American womanhood. It's our dirty little secret: Balancing work and family is still impossible for elite American women because of the way we structure work, family, love, marriage, careers, masculinity and dignity." Joan Williams in The Huffington Post
"These changes will be hard to accomplish until society recognizes the value of raising children and respects what science shows and parents know: children need available, emotionally responsive parental care. Such care takes not only time and physical presence but also effort and energy." Letters to the Editor, NYT 6/25/12
"Let's start by recognizing that the women's movement never told anybody that they could "have it all." That concept was the brainchild of advertising executives, not feminist activists. Feminism insists on women's right to make choices -- about whether to marry, whether to have children, whether to combine work and family or to focus on one over the other. It also urges men and women to share the joys and burdens of family life and calls on society to place a higher priority on supporting caregiving work." Stephanie Coontz on CNN
"But neither Atlantic, nor the New York Times, nor any of the other major media outlets that has run or commented on Slaughter's article, spotlight these working mothers-the majority, in fact-who are struggling with daily hardships because our country does not provide basic policies that help value families in the workplace...These women are not thinking about "having it all," they're worried about losing it all-their jobs, their children's health, their families' financial stability-because of the regular conflicts that arise between being a good employee and a responsible parent." Ellen Bravo, in Women's Media Center Features
"Slaughter's article wasn't about women working in these kinds of jobs, of course. Her central point, that many top leadership positions are structured in such a way that makes them inaccessible to anyone who wants to be an involved parent, is a critically important one. But it's also critically important that media cover the story that is unfolding in so many women's lives -- a story of women contributing to the larger world while raising children, combining work and family in ways our society has never seen before, creating new possibilities for women, men and families." Tara Sophia Mohr in The Huffington Post Women Blog
"Unfortunately, in many of the responses to and interviews about her article, the conversation quickly devolved into the unwinnable debate "should mothers work or stay home." That's not what Slaughter did or what she was talking about. And yet, that's where we ended up."Cali Williams Yost in Fast Company
"It's obvious that we agree with Slaughter's points, and they align with our values and the reasons we set out on our own mission to reshape work environments around the world. There's one piece she mentions, though, that needs to get much, much louder: The issues Slaughter raises here aren't just for women; they're issues for men as well. If a man wants to "have it all," he is forced to choose between his career and his family as well. Slaughter says she's signing up men for the cause. We wholeheartedly believe that men can strive for the same thing Slaughter is arguing. There's no reason that all workers-high-powered professionals and shift-workers, male and female-can't have fulfilling careers and family lives. Let's face it. We're all suffering under an outdated, outmoded and out-to-lunch system that's inherently broken. Anyone who's given up what they love, who they love or even worse, who they are on the career ladder may too soon find out it just wasn't worth the climb. For men or for women. We've seen the future of work and know what it takes to get people there." Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson on the Cali & Jody Blog
You can also listen to an NPR interview with Ms. Slaughter and take a peak at her 12 minute video interview with Judy Woodruff of the PBS News hour.
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