Ok...ok....you guys...hang in there. The author Dee Dee Myers (DD for the rest of this blog post) does NOT say that all men should stay at home while women rule the planet. Infact, the misandry-filled title does little justice to what in reality, is a very interesting book.While I attack fiction books with the gusto reserved for devouring idli-dosa-coffee breakfasts at Komala Vilas (ah....that is another blog post in itself), I usually borrow non-fiction, and return them barely read to the library. This book proved to be a different read.
DD explores three topics in very great detail throughout the book. She quotes from many research sources, simultaneously contrasting the research findings with her actual experience in the White house where she was sometimes marginalized. I could not have agreed more with her viewpoint. There are many chapters where I actually put the book down and laughed with relief as I realized that I was not alone when I found myself in many frustratingly unfair situations.
1) Why are there so few women leaders?
When you look at schools and colleges, there appears to be equal numbers of men and women. However, in many professional fields, in every ascending level of corporate power, there are fewer and fewer women as you get closer to the top. Previously, it was thought that if enough women are educated, sooner or later, you will see women in every echelon of the corporate world. In reality? This has not happened to the desired extent. Whats worse, the only jobs where women are paid equal to men, are the minimum wage ones. As you examine the more highly "valued" professions, the salary gap becomes glaring. While many women choose to step away from the rat race or at least slow down for their family, many find it increasing difficult to get back into the game when they are ready to do so. The few women who do get ahead, are held to much higher standards, and have often had to work twice as hard as their male peers
2) Why should we care anyways?
Equal opportunity for women is not just some politically correct BS. The question is not whether women can be "as good as men". Rather, the real question is, what are the unique feminine skills that women bring to the table? Read the book for the full list, but, there were so many things that DD wrote, which I could identify with; women are collaborative, oriented towards the common good as opposed to personal aggrandizement, detail oriented, and compassionate. Corporations and nations solve problems more effectively when women and men play equal roles in making key decisions. DD's examples of women in the middle east and war torn African nations is especially heart rending.
3) What should we do?
Well, when we talk about women rulers, people immediately bring up examples of women in major leadership roles who seemed to channelize all the worst qualities of men. DD offers a compelling argument to explain this. When there is one woman in a room with twenty other men, she tries to act like a man, because that is the only way she can survive. When there are, say ten women and ten men, suddenly, the gender pressures are gone. Women do not have to try and do the "tough" thing; they are free to do the right thing. DD talks about critical mass, role models...and many such more measures.
And I kept nodding my head furiously (in agreement, that is) as I read all this. I work in a male dominated industry, and have had to work ferociously hard in order for people to get over my gender, my looks, my physical stature, and my ethnicity. Eventually, I earn their respect; but do i have to go through a trial by fire every time?
Fear not, this is no feminist propaganda. It a simple cost-benefit analysis, in book form. So sisters (and brothers) try to read this. I greeted my work day with a little extra spring in my step the next morning.
(Image source: Barnes and Noble website)
