The Conversation


So, by now you've probably read or heard of Anne-Marie Slaughter's cover story in The Atlantic, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." Slaughter's article has blown up the Internet (did you hear the kaboom?), setting readership records for and launching a massive debate about gender equality in the workplace. Kudos, Dr. Slaughter! Yes, people have been talking about it for weeks now, but I just can't stop bringing up her ideas—after all, as a young woman hoping to "have it all" someday, I'm a huge fan of writing that gets people talking about these important issues. That's why we have to keep talking about em!

Tell me, did you have the same reaction to the article as I did? I thought, "Wow. I realistically don't know if I'll be able to have kids with all that's expected of me at work and in society." Pretty rough! But then I studied the piece again. Turns out the outlook may not be so bleak, and it's actually pretty exciting. As lovely young ladies (go ahead and curtsy, it's cool), we are the generation with the opportunity to change society and the workplace, and our work can benefit not only all generations of women, but also all people with jobs. And how cool is that? Extraordinarily cool.

Slaughter argues women aren't kept from the top because we're not as driven as men—and the ladies we've written about on this blog certainly prove that. Rather, we're not there because we face inherent societal obstacles. For example, consider the schedule set in place by the current educational system: it's based on a different era, when farming was a dominant profession and stay-at-home moms were the norm. Neither of these trends exists today, but the system hasn't adapted to modernity. Slaughter outlines the deeply rooted norms we need to address and how to do it. These two make a ton of sense:

Changing the culture of face time: In her article, Slaughter cites studies that show more time at the office does NOT necessarily equate to increased employee value. The expectation that employees will work late hours in the office not only means parents are missing out on time with their families, but also that daytime productivity actually decreases. Slaughter says today's office should be a "base of operations" rather than the "required locus of work."

My take: To a Gen Y-er like myself, this makes sense. So many companies use incredible video conferencing technology to communicate with overseas offices—why wouldn't they also utilize it to make meetings held at odd hours accessible to all employees and ensure that long hours can be spent outside the office building?

Rediscovering the pursuit of happiness and revaluing family values: According to Slaughter, the pioneering generation of feminists kept their personal lives out of their professional personas so that their commitment to their careers would go unquestioned. This has had detrimental consequences. Today, parenting continues to be held as inferior to other outside pursuits, which can impact employers' decisions on both allowances and promotions. Women and men in power should work to create an environment where family values are embraced, which means doing like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg does and openly acknowledging you're leaving work at 5:30 to have family dinner—and making up work time at home after dinner.

My take: Slaughter is absolutely right in that we need to start turning the role of parenting into a valued one, rather than a taboo. After all, we're raising the next generation of world-changing workers and leaders. I think this change starts with individuals becoming aware of their deep-rooted perceptions ("My coworker is leaving for the afternoon to take her toddler to a doctor's appointment? She's not as driven as I thought…") and altering them ("I know she'll be doing work at home to make up for the office hours she missed.").



More on work, while we're talking about it:

How to Ace the Most Stressful Job Ever

Working Girl: The Assistant Diaries


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