In 1991, I had my first and only child. My husband came home from work on a Wednesday and announced he’d been laid off. I went into labor on Thursday. I never planned to work after having a baby. I wanted one child, had that one child, and now I wanted to raise her. Life [...]
Tag Archives | work/life issues
Women’s Business Travel in the Real World
All the recent articles about mommy business trips have my dander up, and there’s not enough Selsun Blue to settle down this cranky old broad. Bring on the coal-tar shampoo, baby. The real skinny on business trips is that they stink equally for moms and dads. Business trips are exhausting and usually only fun the [...]
Why Aren’t American Women as Competitive as American Men?
Thirty-three years after the Equal Rights Amendment failed ratification, American women still don’t earn the same as their male counterparts. Despite earning more college and postgraduate degrees than men, women remain a minority in higher paying positions. A 2013 Calvert Report found: “In the S&P 100, while women make up 19% of board of director [...]
Margaret Thatcher: The Epitome of ‘Leaning In’
I’ve had the movie Iron Lady sitting on my TiVo for months, just waiting for viewing. Given the recent passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – and the rare occasion that both of my kids were asleep at the same time on a rainy Friday afternoon – I decided to finally watch the [...]
The Case for Normalizing Part-Time Schedules
As a country, we have spent the last six weeks arguing and debating and, sadly, name-calling over how women who happen to be mothers should be working. But what if we looked at the issue from a broader perspective? Would we be able to stop the judgment game and, instead, think about how to make [...]
Breaking Up With Feminism?
I’ve long said that blogging and the Internet makes freedom of speech a reality for women. Women may have had the “right to speak” before, but who would hear them? I’ve also identified as a feminist since my teenage years. Still, I’ve been disenchanted, shall we say. And while I’m going to a panel soon [...]
Questioning Sheryl Sandberg: We’re Not “Trashing,” We’re Exploring
When I heard the buzz about Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (written with Nell Scovell), I figured it was more of the same ideas I’ve been reading for years. I figured her “lean-in circles” in corporate offices would do as much good as lactation rooms. It’s easier for [...]
Rebelling Against “Mom”: Finding Fulfillment Beyond the Media’s Myths of Motherhood
The misrepresentation of women and mothers in the media is rampant. The new article about the so-called phenomenon of the “retro feminist wife” is only the latest example of how the media claim to have identified versions of 21st century womanhood that are really just exaggerated caricatures designed to sell magazines and books. According to [...]
In Praise of Filth: A Feminist Housework Manifesto
I’ve been thinking a lot about housework lately, and I’ve concluded that dirt is a feminist issue. I became a stay at home mom almost by accident. I became pregnant in the middle of my doctoral program, which also coincided with moving to a new city. It made no sense to get a new job [...]
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I Want My Mother Back
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Charles Ramsey and the Racial Language Barrier
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Brave’s Merida is Herself Again. But for How Long?
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Can “Maybe” Empower Our Children in Times of Fear?
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When Big Pharma “Strong” Arms Mothers, We All Lose
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College Debt Has a Female Face
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Workers Have Advice for President Obama
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President’s Woes Don’t Equal Watergate
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Angelina the Amazon
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6 Things You Need To Know Right Now: Scandals Abound!
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Veronica Arreola: Thank you! Brenda just sent me this link to a woma...
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tinfoil hattie: Oh, I so,relate to that. And I am so sorry for you...
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Bernadine Spitzsnogel: What a terrible choice these women are forced to m...
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Holly: Great summary of in real life scandals....