career

The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued

tina — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Like many of my generation, I am a child of divorce. I watched as my newly single mother struggled to work, find and pay for childcare, and afford lawyers that could compete with my father’s during endless days of court. I watched as we plummeted into poverty while my wealthy father’s lifestyle barely changed. I am the daughter of a woman who chose to sacrifice her career to raise me, and who was subsequently penalized by a system that encouraged her to do precisely that. As such, I am profoundly grateful for the tenth anniversary edition of The Price of Motherhood, a book where former New York Times reporter Ann Crittenden reminds us that despite the incessant rhetoric about “family values,” America has yet to put its money where its mouth is and motherhood is still dangerously undervalued.

Crittenden seeks to demonstrate that it is motherhood and not being female that is the primary source of women’s inequality. Mothering, she claims, is dismissed by American culture as something menial, and the housewife’s work is neither politically nor economically recognized as labor. Despite this; however, inflexible workplaces almost guarantee that women will have to cut back or quit their job when they have children, resulting in a “mommy tax” of approximately $1 million in lost income for an educated mother. Moreover, when women sacrifice their careers to raise children, their unpaid labor does not entitle them to the breadwinner’s income during marriage or after a divorce. Women often have to ask their husbands for money to cover basic expenses or they’re put on an allowance that is only a fraction of the husband’s income. During divorces, many states are reluctant to give women half the assets or the highest child support payment. They also rarely go after dads who refuse to pay even the smallest sums. It is because of all of these reasons that Crittenden argues that motherhood is the single biggest risk factor for poverty, and women—who have fought to earn respect for their work in the workplace—need to keep fighting to win respect for their work in the home.

By design, Crittenden’s book promotes an intersectional approach to examining the “price of motherhood,” utilizing gender analysis, the law, public policy, and economics. Each chapter features an in-depth analysis of one of the problems facing mothers and multiple sources, including personal stories of Crittenden’s life as a mother and interviews with other women. Crittenden’s decision to use such a wide variety of sources, coupled with the structure of the book, ultimately facilitates her argument that “the price of motherhood” is derived and perpetuated from multiple locations. The book’s conclusion features a list of concrete suggestions and policy changes that should be made to “bring children up without putting women down,” a list that could be helpful to a wide array of readers, from mothers and feminist organizations to politicians.

Crittenden chooses not to rely heavily on theory, possibly in an attempt to make her book accessible to a wider audience and to better showcase her breezy, witty writing. Unfortunately; however, a lack of theory allows her to ignore feminist theorists who fear a focus on motherhood produces the idea that women are “naturally” suited for the family. She never addresses theorists, such as Wendy Brown, who argue that women should be wary of relying on the state—a patriarchal institution—for protection, or who argue that welfare regimes only swap a woman’s dependency on a husband’s paycheck for a (patriarchal) government’s check. Indeed, Crittenden seems slightly wary of taking a position on the “naturalness” of women’s mothering, hinting at times that there is something innately caring in women. I also felt she stressed the importance of having a mother at home too much, which could lead to a backlash.

Overall, I think The Price of Motherhood is a tremendously important book. It is perfect for an introductory women’s studies class, or any economics, law, and public policy class with a feminist focus. It is also a book I think every woman should read. We’re told repeatedly that we can “have it all,” but The Price of Motherhood reminds us that mothers don’t have it all—yet.

Written by: Shannon Hill, March 1st 2011

Her Place at the Table: A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating Five Key Challenges to Leadership Success

gita — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

By Judith Williams, Deborah M. Kolb, Carol Frohlinger

Jossey-Bass

Her Place at the Table, as its subtitle suggests, offers women a guide to leadership success in the modern work environment. Each of the “five key challenges” forms a chapter. The first challenge is drilling deep, gathering the information needed when deciding whether to take on a new job or project, or when negotiating the circumstances under which you take on a new job or project. The second challenge is mobilizing backers, building a support network and setting the rules of engagement that every good leader needs. The third challenge is garnering resources to ensure you have the tools you need every step of the way. The fourth challenge is bringing people on board and overcoming the inevitable resistance to change. The fifth and final challenge is making a difference, which may mean actually changing things, or giving yourself credit and taking credit for what you’ve accomplished.

Although designed a bit like a self-help book or how-to manual, Her Place at the Table avoids many of the normal pitfalls associated with these genres. Most self-help books and how-to manuals present a world that’s just a bit too rosy. Everything’s easy. You’re perfect and wonderful. The world is your oyster. All you have to do to succeed is ask the universe to give your perfectly wonderful self what you desperately want and truly deserve. All stuff, fluff and nonsense. Her Place at the Table, on the other hand, engages with the world as it is and deals honestly with the internal and external obstacles that women face in the workplace. From the introduction through all five chapters, the authors detail the myths and misconceptions that hamper women’s progress in our careers and give detailed strategies on how these challenges can be overcome, including specific examples from real women who have overcome these challenges to succeed in their own careers.

Some of the strategies detailed in the book may be out of reach for women just starting their careers, or may not work for every individual situation. However, the advice is generally realistic and practical. I found myself wishing I’d read the book long ago, perhaps before encountering some of the traps the authors tackle. Now that I have read it, I intend to revisit it often and to recommend it to as many women as possible, starting with you. Go. Read.

Written by: Melinda Barton, January 9th 2011

Picture Me

brittany — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Directed by Sara Ziff, Ole Schnell

Strand Releasing

There is a moment in Picture Me, a documentary about the fashion industry, where model Sara Ziff’s father recalls hearing his daughter’s look described as the girl next door. The camera closes up on Ziff in a two page Tommy Hilfiger ad. “I guess that depends where you live,” her father quips, flippantly alluding to the exclusive world of high fashion. Filmed largely by Ziff and then boyfriend Ole Schnell, Picture Me documents Ziff’s developing modeling career from her first trip to Paris at eighteen to her eventual burn out at twenty-three and, along the way, exposes the human side of an industry built on solely on image.

Picture Me began as a homemade video diary and it maintains that feeling throughout. Adorable, sometimes cynical, animation by The Boos punctuates the various themes of the film. The visuals of notebooks and grade-school graffiti offer a consistent reminder of disrupted youth and the choice to forgo education; many of these models are simply schoolgirls, invited into this world as young as twelve and aged out by their mid-twenties.

I commend Ziff’s bravery for sharing her personal experience; however, I was disappointed by the lack of attention given to the privileged position she was in, especially in regards to physical appearance. “Modeling just happened to me,” Ziff states as she recounts being approached on the street as she walked home from school on day. Yeah, it happened to you because you’re tall, skinny, and blonde and you were walking down the street in New York City. Turns out Ziff’s ambivalence is rooted in deeper emotional issues such as putting off college. She also struggles with the age-old dilemma of using her body as a commodity by comparing modeling to stripping and when shortly into her career she begins to out earn her father, a college professor, Ziff wonders why she should make so much money for being “pretty and on time.”

This film is rife with contemporary social issues, especially around work and women’s bodies. Most interesting were the admissions by the models who share everything from being sexually assaulted by photographers to being told they are fat in a host of different languages. The models interviewed are cognizant of the way they are being treated, like a “robot” or a “prop” but are unaware of how to resist or respond. Ziff offers many of the most poignant insights herself—“Skinny is power. And it’s the one thing you can control.”—and her relationships with the other models are refreshingly sincere and drama-free. Unfortunately, the filmmakers missed an opportunity to connect their story to a broader social context and the many feminist issues are either ignored or under-developed.

Nonetheless, Picture Me is an excellent platform for discussion and would serve well as an educational tool, especially for media entrenched teens.

Written by: Alicia Sowisdral, September 12th 2010

Video Slut: How I Shoved Madonna Off an Olympic High Dive, Got Prince into a Pair of Tiny Purple Woolen Underpants, Ran Away ...

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Sharon Oreck

Faber & Faber

Sharon Oreck has the career that any child of the ‘80s would envy. She has produced over 600 music videos, many of which defined the monolithic “MTV generation.” She has been nominated for Oscars, Grammys, Women in Film awards, and of course, MTV Music Awards (twenty total!). From 1984 to 2000, Oreck’s work was a model for the visual repertoire that shaped the collective imagination of teens around the globe. Her role in popular culture is so far-reaching that she has been included in a film alongside such figures as Hillary Rodham Clinton (14 Women).

The majority of Oreck’s memoir relates events that occurred while shooting Sheila E.’s "The Glamorous Life," Aha’s "Take on Me," Madonna’s "Like a Prayer," and my personal favorite, Chris Isaak’s "Wicked Game." Upon viewing the videos, Oreck’s talent is immediately obvious. But what was she thinking when she was shooting? Apparently, she was thinking about a lot.

Reproductive rights, feminism, beauty—these are just a few of the topics that Oreck contemplates in Video Slut. Her most empowering moments as a writer occur during the introspective climax, which pairs her decision as a pregnant teen to keep her baby with the demise of her first production company, NO Pictures.

Oreck’s book is written in a tips-from-your-cool-older-sister style. Oreck spares no details and even offers pointers for making it in the scantily clad rock video world—most importantly, don’t make fun of executives until after they’ve left the room. More notably, this narrative updates the classic format for celebrity memoirs by exchanging the contexts of alternating chapters between a video career and an early pregnancy at sixteen. Video Slut puts the spotlight on the largely undocumented moments during video’s heyday—overqualified assistants, moonlighting pot dealers, egotistical bigwigs, and pop stars are the mediums through which Oreck relates her professional and personal milestones.

This is one of the most likable new books that I have read, and I look forward to more of Oreck’s outstanding work; her experiences combine elements of after-hours stand-up comedy, frank confessionals, and visionary strategies for survival when the odds don’t look so good. After all, that’s what petty cash is for, right?

Written by: Maria Guzman, August 24th 2010

The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:00:00 +0000

By Ivanka Trump

Touchstone

I’ve always admired Ivanka Trump. As the Vice President of Real Estate and Acquisitions for the Trump Organization and owner of her own luxury jewelry line, I look to her as a role model. Her first foray into literature has been wildly successful, landing on the New York Times Bestseller List and garnering praise from the publishing community. Although the book starts out promising enough, with Trump refusing to apologize for the advantages she has enjoyed, her sage and learned advice begins to take a backdrop to anecdotes about her privilege.

Throughout the book, Trump attempts to prove that her success is not a product of her family name but of her hard work. This assertion, however, is undermined by constant references to her less-than-ordinary upbringing. Few if any people other than Ivanka Trump can boast that Michael Jackson attended their childhood ballet recital, nor could they brag about having a “part-time job” as a world-class fashion model while in school. Many of Trump’s youthful recollections involve some of the most influential people in the world and, while fascinating to read, discredit the notion that hard work will yield success similar to Trump’s.

Contrary to Trump’s belief, her career trajectory cannot be credited to hard work, at least not exclusively. Her refusal to acknowledge that high profile connections have played a role in her development is absurd. Prior to graduating from college, Trump was offered an internship at Vogue by Anna Wintour, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. I sincerely doubt that even the most brilliant fashion journalist with limited connections would be offered such a coveted position from the editor herself—and prior to graduation, no less.

It’s true that Trump’s successes are her own, but her book overlooks the fact that success comes from being in the right place at the right time, and is dependent upon having the opportunity to excel. Trump tries to downplay this notion, but I believe it is something that she understands intrinsically. Her book is called The Trump Card after all, undoubtedly a strategic decision to capitalize off of her family’s famous name. Branding the book as “Trump certified” probably didn’t hinder her chances of securing a publisher, either.

The Trump Card is an interesting read, but it is misleading to categorize it as “business and economics” literature. While the book offers generic career advice, it mainly serves to remind the reader that with hard work and persistence anyone can achieve extraordinary success, provided that they have a billionaire father.

Written by: Cheryl Santa Maria, August 11th 2010

The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:05:00 +0000

By Catherine Kaputa

Davies-Black Publishing

Ask yourself this question: what is your unique quality or attribute that makes you an asset to a company? Can you answer that? Whether you are a recent graduate or have been laid off from your job, you need to know how to market yourself and create your own brand. That's where Catherine Kaputa comes in with The Female Brand: she teaches how to brand yourself and helps you stand out from the rest of the applicant pool.

Throughout the book, Kaputa recognizes the differences between the female and male gender, and how they work differently in the corporate world. However, Kaputa emphasizes to her readers NOT to act like men, but use their feminine qualities to their advantage. Examples include being a team person instead of the barking leader, using your intuition to understand people, and having an unique image. When Kaputa discusses image, it's not about being a beauty queen, but projecting your confidence. This could be a suit that makes you feel like a million bucks, or (for me) a pair of cool glasses that always get noticed.

The emphasis of the book is to catapult women to the CEO and other top corporate positions. Besides the branding lessons by Kaputa, every chapter ends with a story by a successful woman who tells her story and her rise on the corporate ladder. In addition, inspirational quotes appear before each story from other powerful women.

As a member of the Class of 2009, every single section of The Female Brand was essential. It has taught me to re-sculpt what my professional goals are, and how to get them. An additional tool that the book provides is worksheets to help you put your plans into action. Kaputa also encourages communication with other co-workers and senior administrators to help you improve. Whether you have a job, looking for one or want a change, this is the perfect book to plan your corporate image.

Written by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch, July 19th 2009

Mama PhD: Women Write about Motherhood and Academic Life

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Edited by Elrena Evans and Caroline Grant

Rutgers University Press

At the beginning of the second year of my MA program in English, I found out that one of my advisors was pregnant. I’ll never forget what she said to me: “You know, you would think that academia would be a supportive place to have a kid. It’s so not.” She was a then-junior faculty member, and would put off going up for tenure for two years.

When I started reading the individual essays in Mama PhD, I realized that my advisor’s story was the rule rather than the exception. The collection is divided into four sections, “Part One: The Conversation”; “Part II: That Mommy Thing”: “Part IV: Recovering Academic”; and “Part V: Momifesto.”

You can find many of contributors in the online journal Literary Mama (especially the editors, Evans and Grant), though for the most part they represent a range of academic fields, from biology to philosophy.

For the most part, the essays in Mama PhD are concerned with capturing the deep ambivalence the authors feel in their abilities to balance parenthood and professional demands of teaching, committee work, and research. Indeed, some women, such as Jessica Smartt Guillon, depict experiences of pregnancies met with blatant hostility—even from mentors and colleagues who claim to be feminist. Others stories capture women’s hard-won academic success in the midst of raising several children, like Leah Bradshaw’s powerful essay “The Facts, The Stories.”

But make no mistake: this collection is an unequivocal critique of the infrastructure—or lack thereof—in place for women who want to explore their identities as both mothers and intellectuals. The joint essay “Nontraditional Academics” issues a call for women who leave the academy temporarily or permanently to pursue their interest in full-time motherhood to stop hiding and join forces to build a community and increase visibility. While Mama PhD is certainly aimed for women in academia—and the men, women, and children who love them—those readers interested in feminist issues in the world of work will also find this collection a compelling and provocative read.

Written by: Heather Brown, April 15th 2009

The Late Bloomer's Revolution

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:26:00 +0000

By Amy Cohen

Hyperion

Cute chick + NYC + media job + boyfriend troubles + comedically quirky friends and family + insipid metaphors + lightbulb moment resolution = book deal! Next, it will surely be opening at a multiplex near you.

This read was so formulaic I had to remind myself that The Late Bloomer's Revolution is actually a memoir, not fictitious chick lit. We all know too well the irritating law of chick lit bestsellerdom: a free-spirited, but still safely conventional, damsel must learn to balance career, relationship, and self-esteem in the glamorous paradise of the Big Apple while watching out for charming, narcissistic, Prada-clad snakes! To make sure I did not forget this book's classification come review-writing time, I actually stuck a yellow sticky flag under the very, very lightly printed "A Memoir" that appears teeny-tiny over the author's very, very boldfaced name.

Perhaps it's because I truly love a deeply moving memoir that I find a book like this one to be a fluffball wafting around in a genre that once had at least a couple of anti-glib gatekeepers. However snobby and cranky that might sound, let me add that Amy Cohen's sharply observant, empathic, and witty writing style somewhat refreshes this 'single and scared silly' story, which turns out to be a securely strapped-in ride on the bourgeois emotional roller coaster. (Big Daddy always hovers in the background like a safety net).

The story opens with one of the book's best characters: Amy's wonderfully wise, laugh-out-loud funny and intellectually curious mother. Unfortunately, she and her fantastically original dialogue exit the stage all too soon, struck down by cancer. At the same time as her mother's death, Amy suffers through the loss of Josh, the man she thought she was going to marry, who ends up marrying a cartoon femme with the requisite big boobs. As the story continues, regular gal, imperfectly attired, small bosomed Amy's woes are compounded with the loss of her job as a television writer, several terrible dating experiences, and a crummy, dark, claustrophic apartment.

Amy's journey toward adult independence begins in her mid-thirties. She suddenly finds that it's time for her to learn to confront fears and take charge of her life—alone... as a woman... alone... in the lipstick jungle... alone... without a diamond ring on her finger. Did I mention, alone? So what does our heroine do? She learns how to ride a bike. For Amy, bike riding (a pat metaphor for balance) is a major phobia, having never learned as an urban-bred child. The realization here is that Amy is still able to enjoy life without being married because she conquered one big fear.

Less a journey through profound grief (which would have been a richer story), The Late Bloomer's Revolution anchors itself with a fear of spinsterhood, insidiously fostering this fear. Entertaining and well-written, yes. Will you like plucky Amy? Definitely! Will you forget this novel-memoir as soon as you put it down? Unfortunately, I think so.

Written by: Cheryl Reeves, October 15th 2008

The Anti 9-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube

admin — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:52:00 +0000

By Michelle Goodman

Seal Press

Offering variations on the theme of independence + passion + thrift = making it, Goodman combines personal experiences, interviews with women doing it their way, statistics and strategies to inspire and prepare us for better living outside the cube, or inside, if that’s where we currently happen to be.

Themes include devoting more time to a pet project, getting a more flexible work schedule, working abroad, finding your dream career, breaking into your dream industry, learning to build a house, fight wildfires and do other unladylike (ahem!), non-secretarial things for a living. Working from home, being your own boss and stitching up the seams of your patchwork paycheck and used clothing are covered somewhere between asking for Friday off and jumping out of the plane.

As a consolation, an appendix called "A Temp’s Survival Guide" reassures us it’s OK to take a normal job some of the time, and provides details on how to do it with dignity and flexibility and how to get your feet off the ground one lunch break, subway ride or underemployed year at a time.

I recommend this book to women and men for recognizing pitfalls and potentials in time management, shoestring budgeting and fundraising. I’ll keep it for the bibliography, references, free accounting and legal services for beginning businesses and NGOs and glossary of legalese. I used the “No-Fear Negotiation” advice to muster more out of my first “What do you require?” talk.

The bonus for women goes beyond the atypical use of “she” as the default pronoun. If this is a woman’s book, it is not through a degradation of men or even praise of women. It does, however, dedicate a substantial chapter to women’s personal experiences and advice on entering and thriving in predominately male fields. An astronaut, fire jumper, construction worker, fisherwoman, ranger and pastor relate their experiences of being a female rookie, discrimination, job demands, job satisfaction and talking to their families about what they do. Other chapters challenge boring roles in ordinary workplaces. It is still more normal for women than men to be in mediocre cube or front desk jobs. This book offers a variety of break-out-of-job-jail strategies, most safer than fire jumping, but thrilling nonetheless. Anyone changing careers or looking to siphon more time, energy or funds into a project they feel passionate about could apply the advice and inspiration in this employment improvement how-to guide.

Written by: Heather Irvine, June 20th 2007

Lipstick Jungle

admin — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:35:00 +0000

By Candace Bushnell

Hyperion

Lipstick Jungle is the latest installment of literature from Candace Bushnell. Three very powerful women attempt to not only survive, but to succeed in the cut throat business world of New York City. Victory, Nico and Wendy are all at the top of the respective fields (fashion, media and movies). Though they may be at the top of their game, it doesn’t make life easier. Each must make difficult decisions to keep their families together, advance their careers and find their own independence.

The book is filled with Bushnell’s classic feminist perspective; that women can do the same things that men can do in both business and love. The theme throughout the book is that women can do whatever they put their minds to, no matter what they are doing with their life. Even though we are in a modern society, where everything is supposed to be better than how some of our ancestors had it, this is not necessarily the case. In many ways women have to work harder and prove themselves far more then men do. I highly recommend this book; it’s a light-hearted, guilty pleasure that is perfect for summer reading by the pool or the beach.

Written by: Diana Tierney, May 23rd 2007

Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career: Launching a Flexible Business That Fits Your Life, Feeds Your Family, and Fuels Your Brain

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:04:00 +0000

By Karen Steede Terry

CMS Press

As an independent woman who has considered on more than one occasion the seemingly pie-in-the-sky idea of starting my own business, I tore through Karen Steede Terry’s Full Time Woman, Part Time Career with as much élan as I tear through anything chocolate. I hoped to uncover a treasure-trove of secrets that could set me on the path to a great new career beginning. I was not disappointed, but after reading, I am acutely aware of the energy and persistence necessary to start up a small business. So, although the book has not quite persuaded me fleet-footed toward self-employed stardom, it is most certainly a resource that any goal-oriented, dedicated woman can turn to for solid advice.

If any woman is capable of addressing the nuts and bolts of starting up and running a small-business whilst balancing family obligations, it is Terry. Her credentials boast her success in software instruction, as well as consultations to Fortune 500 companies and state agencies. But the real draw Terry offers is that any woman can be prosperous both professionally and personally if she is committed. Proof lies in the book’s interspersed profiles of several women who have achieved their career goals through self-employment. These mini-biographies provide the reader both like-minded role models and practical business counsel. Jenny Harrison, a part time software and programming languages instructor, contributes valuable advice regarding individual endeavors into launching a business: “Don’t work part time if you think it’s going to be easy or that you’re going to get rich. It’s the flexibility you are gaining that’s important.”

It is this flexibility that Terry emphasizes throughout her book. The advantages a part time home business yields range from an increase in professional development opportunities, to writing off taxes for an office located in the home, to customized vacation time. The drawbacks of self-employment are to be seriously considered but fortunately, they are few, and Terry gives the reader a great deal of support with ideas for part time businesses – professional coaching, freelance writing, and public speaking among them – tips on how best to market oneself and maintain a professional image, and myriad resources to set the enthusiastic career woman on her way. To that end, the investment of time and energy put into starting one’s own business is far outshined by the rewards of doing so. As Ms. Terry herself professes, “No guts, no glory!” No glory indeed.

Written by: Ixta J. Menchaca, April 12th 2007