crittenden ch. 1-2

“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)


Those who point out the challenges of “having it all” come under fire…


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)


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


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


“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?

crittenden ch. 1-2

Self Improvement