Women With Attitude

Peterme.com takes on the much hyped book Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children, by Sylvia Anne Hewlett in his blog entry, Are We Entering a Post-Feminist World? He has insightful things to say on this book which argues that brainy successful corporate women may be winning the race at work, but apparently pay the price of no children and no boyfriends/husbands at home, in order to succeed.

One of his discussion participants points us to the Salon review by Joan Walsh who really digs deep and challenges many of Hewlett's opinions. As a mom, she hits the nail on the head when she says the real problem is the zero tolerance of any humans — moms, dads, or simply people — in the corporate stucture. One way ticket to Free Agent Nation. She gives this advice,

The advice I'd give my daughter, thanks to the survey data, would have less to do with blunting her spirit and intellect so as not to intimidate a mate than finding a career path where she can work for herself, and steer clear of dreary corporate America, until corporate America cleans up its act.

Two excellent writers on this same subject who deserve lots more attention are Arlie Russell Hochschild, (Second Shift) and Anne Crittenden, (The Price of Motherhood).