Carol brought up a very good point (see previous blog comment) — If Hillary’s campaign made 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, then why is it still intact? That thing must be miles deep.
Lois described the many ways in which the Clinton campaign and Clinton herself reminded us how to deal with those who would hold women back.
Yet she didn’t win. She did all those things right and didn’t win. As Deborah Tannen has written, so much of what she said, did and wore was “marked” — commented upon, ridiculed, taken as indicators of weakness or inconsistency.
What does this teach us? Does it really tell our daughters that they can be whatever they want to be?
Many women (not just Democrats) feel that something very unseemly and uncivil has taken place. Many young women have been inspired by Clinton, but hopefully made more wary as they pursue their careers. They should be wondering if some of what women before them accomplished at great sacrifice is being undone?
We do indeed walk a thin pink line in any job and we’ve seen that there are a vast number of people who want to keep it that way — not just in the media. In this sense, we’ve been shaken hard — reawakened to snakes in the grass we considered harmless.
Hillary Clinton showed us how to fight back, those who despised her for her gender showed us that they are very much still around.
TAGS: Feminism, gender and leadership, Hillary Clinton, sexism, the thin pink line
As usual, over the weekend, I had the chance to catch up on some reading - the April 21 issue of New York Magazine was one of the things I read. Amanda Fortini’s article, The Feminist Reawakening, published before the Pennsylvania primary, makes the point that the media treatment of Hillary Clinton not only reminds some women that we still have a long way to come but has had the unintended benefit of making other (younger) women aware of just how thin that pink line really is.
However things turn out for Senator Clinton’s candidacy, this is a good thing.
TAGS: Feminism, Hillary Clinton, Political skills, Politics, politics at work, power, women leaders, women's equality
I attended The White House Project EPIC Awards last Thursday held at The American Museum of Natural History in New York. We were all seated beneath the huge blue whale that hangs from the ceiling. It was a celebration of 10 years The White House Project has devoted to enhancing women’s progress in a wide variety of fields. As their website indicates, this job is far from over. There have been a lot of derogatory remarks made about "old feminists" lately because Hillary Clinton is in the race for President. But, truth be told, none of us makes it to the top of our fields alone. We all need help. And we all stand on the shoulders of giants. So the next time you read or hear someone disparaging women who’ve stuck their necks out, like the tall tree that catches the wind, trying to advance women’s options, tell them that. We need each other. That doesn’t preclude helping men. It just means we should all consider from time to time what we’ve contributed lately to helping women reach higher levels of business, government, and other fields dominated by men. And getting there is only part of the battle. Staying there requires help from other women too. We’re a long way from both goals and we need each other.
TAGS: Feminism, Leadership, The White House Project, women's equality
A friend sent me an article, Why Are So Many Women Depressed, by Dennis Prager. She wanted to know what I thought of it. My first thought was why would anyone with half a brain put his name to this absurd nonsense. The net-net of the piece is that feminism unrealistically raised the expectations of women and failed to deliver. Hence, feminism is at the core of a high incidence of depression among women. Prager then has the audacity to claim, “ For most women — of course, not all — careers are not nearly as fulfilling as are a good marriage and family.” Dennis… from where did you pull these numbers? Or, to paraphrase Jerry Maquire, “Show me the study.” Psychologist Anna Freud had it right when she said, “It’s the good, capable, conscientious woman who is more likely to be depressed than her counterparts.” Maybe if we lived in a society where women weren’t forced to choose between a career and family they wouldn’t be so depressed. Maybe if the full range of a woman’s capabilities were acknowledged and utilized without her having to dumb down so as not to offend male bosses, colleagues, brothers, or husbands women wouldn’t be so depressed. And maybe — just maybe — if people like Dennis Prager spent less time focusing on what’s wrong with women and more time focused on what’s right with them despite the choices they make, women wouldn’t be so depressed. Now you know what I think about the article. What do YOU think?
TAGS: Dennis Prager, Feminism, women and careers, Women and Depression, women and families
