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“HAVING IT ALL” –
AT WHAT PRICE?THE PRICE OF MOTHERHOOD BY ANN
CRITTENDENCHAPTERS 1 & 2
BY CHRISTINA CRISOSTOMO
ANN CRITTENDEN
New York Times reporter, Pulitzer Prize nominee, Newsweek correspondent, Fortune reporter, visiting lecturer at MIT and Yale, CBS News commentator, author……and mother!
1: WHERE WE ARE NOW
The myth of mothers “flying the coop”…
1: WHERE WE ARE NOW
Of all married mothers with children under 18...
Approx. 28% are not in the labor force
Approx. 20% are at least partially employed
Approx 50% work full-time (min. 35 hrs/week)
1: WHERE WE ARE NOW
“A full-time ‘wife’ is often the only thing that makes family life possible.” (17)
Myth of fathers becoming equal parents
80% of CFOS were men with nonworking spouses
64% of male executives with children under 13 had nonworking spouses
1: WHERE WE ARE NOW
So…where are we now? “It is still women who adjust their lives to
accommodate the needs of children…who forgo status, income, advancement and independence. Nowhere is this more dramatically illustrated than in the experience of the nation’s most educated women – the ones who had the best shot at having it all.” (27)
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
“The unwritten requirement for success in corporate America is to be a corporate man” (29)
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
Those who point out the challenges of “having it all” come under fire…
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
These women wanted to “persuade the ‘male structures and conventions of business’ to accommodate women’s preferences.But no one else was ready to admit that women were different at all.” (32)
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
A history of “having it all”
1910 grads: career or family
1930s grads: job then family
1950s grads: family then job
1970s grads: the first generation to try “having it all” But most followed the “job then family” path, later on in
life
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
Goldin study of female 1970s Harvard MBA grads Less than 20% reached mid-life with a career
and family – and half were childless Walker and Swiss study
Majority of mothers felt reducing hours would be detrimental to their careers, but 70% cut back anyways
Complex mix of feelings over what was viewed as an unnecessary conflict between child care and professional goals
2: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
“Things would have been easier…if they ‘had only one child,’ or ‘had no kids,’ or had been ‘born a man.’” (35)Mothers face…
Limited opportunities for advancementDiscrimination Judgment Unsupportive
policies Lack of representation in leadership
across a variety of fields.
IN THE NEWS…
Articles from September 11th & 12th, 2012
THE FACTS
First day of class – “Sex, Gender, and Culture” Prof. Adrienne Pine’s baby Lee woke up with a fever Pine couldn’t take the baby to daycare sick Pine: “Cancelling did not seem like an option.” Brought Lee with her and lectured with Lee either
crawling on the floor or strapped to her back When Lee got restless, Pine informed the class she
would quickly breast-feed Lee and did so, without stopping the lecture
Pine is a single mother
STUDENT REACTIONS
“She did what she had to do. She’s a mother, and she needed to take care of her child.”
“I feel like it was really unprofessional of her...she should have at least stepped out of the room.”
“I think what’s inappropriate is that she brought her child to class in the first place…it’s very distracting.”
At least one student dropped the class
AU REACTION
AU stated that it follows a law that requires it to give new mothers frequent breaks and private places to pump breast milk for their children
“AU does have a policy that provides leave when a child is sick…AU’s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Policy provides the opportunity to take paid leave to care for the sick child and protect the health of the community.” – AU statement sent to ABC7
BACK TO CRITTENDEN
Trend of mothers working full-time Pressure felt especially by single mothers
A highly-educated career woman attempting to “have it all” Even with daycare, seemingly supportive
University policies, she still struggles
BACK TO CRITTENDEN
Professionalism defined on men’s terms, necessity for women to balance work/family Pine felt compelled to teach the first lecture despite
her child’s illness Simply bringing a child to work – let alone
breastfeeding publically – would be unprofessional/unsupported in many work environments
Value of a mother’s work (i.e. breastfeeding) Influence on negative student reactions
QUESTIONS (1/3)
What is your reaction to Pine’s situation, in light of reading Crittenden? Do you think it would have been different prior to reading Crittenden?
QUESTIONS (2/3)
We should know best – what are our generation’s feelings about “having it all”? Consider: Increasing workweeks (De Graaf and Batker) The “necessity” of a “full-time wife”/The myth
of equal parenting Studies of Harvard grads Challenges mothers face in the workplace
Is it attainable? Is it still taboo to talk about not being able to have it all?