Why women still can't have it all: study
There's a certain pressure, particularly on educated women, to take advantage of all the gains inherited from the feminist movement or, as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently broadcast in her book of the same name to "lean in," and enjoy both a career and a family.
While it may be increasingly possible for some women to have it all, is that really a recipe for happiness? Probably not, suggests the Boston Globe, citing the work of Marianne Bertrand, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
Such women, by definition of having met both professional and personal goals, should report higher levels of well-being -- except they don't, Bertrand reports.
Among college-educated women, there's pretty much "no evidence of greater life satisfaction or greater emotional well-being among those that have achieved the double goal of combining a successful career with a family life compared to their peers who have families but no career."
In fact, in order from happiest to least happy, women with only a family ranked the highest, followed by women with a family and a career, women with a career only, and then women with neither, Bertrand suggests.
All of which should come as no great surprise, suggests Anne-Marie Slaughter who penned an article for The Atlantic last summer explaining why women still can't have it all.
In it, she outlines several ways in which business culture must change in order to provide better work/life balance for professional mothers.
She discusses how staying late at the office and working weekends must be adapted to accommodate working parents (both mothers and fathers) so they can work from home when necessary.
Employers must also consider time spent with children or fulfilling other family obligations with equal respect as time spent on other outside activities — like marathon training, community outreach or religious observances.
How well have you been able to balance your life? Has this made you happier?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Paul Smith | Jun 14, 2021 1:25:15 AM
Sure, lets revise the whole workplace to accommodate women........
Posted by: Kel | Jun 14, 2021 1:51:44 AM
I agree Paul. I'm not a misogynist or anti-woman, but how far do they want us to bend over backwards?
Posted by: Jim B. | Jun 14, 2021 3:19:07 AM
Well Kel, the answer is: until you fall flat on you back, bang your head on the floor and suffer a concussion. Then they will be able to step in and displace you.
Women have more going for them than they realize, even the government had
programs for them, but none for men. is that equality?
Posted by: Deborah | Jun 14, 2021 8:31:13 AM
Seriously? I guess you MEN make enough money to have your pretty little wives stay at home and raise the children. If men stepped up into their roles and became the real providers their ancestors were, maybe women wouldn't have to step in to close the gap. Secretly men don't want women to succeed because that would mean less time cooking their meals and doing their laundry. Yes, let's convince women to stay at home and raise their kids and nurture their men - since apparently, that is the key to happiness!
Posted by: leane | Jun 14, 2021 9:55:17 AM
It's amazing how the brain washing of women has so confused all of the above, we seem to think that serving others is a low life job when in actual fact it is the most satisfying. Earning money at a job is an individual serving what ever business they work for. What is so bad about making meals for your family? Is it better and more satisfying to serve money? Or Big business? All work is about serving someone or something. What is success a stressed out person who is miserable and full of anger?
Which is truly the most satisfying? Well one just has to look at the break down of the family. Two incomes, control of the amount of children we have, all the modern luxuries yet misery. Let's open our eyes, women need to support one another regardless of their decision to serve in the home or outside of the home. As well women need to be aware of their anger towards men and vise versa. Lets stop looking to blame and make excuses for ourselves and truly help serve one another.