Women in the workplace: the opt-out myth

"The Opt-Out Myth" by E.J. Graff (Columbia Journalism Review): This is one of the first articles that I have read that considers all sides of this debate and, most importantly, uncovers the media's biased reporting of the women in the workplace issue. Definitely worth a read: http://www.cjr.org/issues/2007/2/Graff.asp

Here's an excerpt: By offering a steady diet of common myths and ignoring the relevant facts, newspapers have helped maintain the cultural temperature for what Williams calls “the most family-hostile public policy in the Western world.” On a variety of basic policies—including parental leave, family sick leave, early childhood education, national childcare standards, afterschool programs, and health care that’s not tied to a single all-consuming job—the U.S. lags behind almost every developed nation. How far behind? Out of 168 countries surveyed by Jody Heymann, who teaches at both the Harvard School of Public Health and McGill University, the U.S. is one of only five without mandatory paid maternity leave—along with Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland. And any parent could tell you that it makes no sense to keep running schools on nineteenth century agricultural schedules, taking kids in at 7 a.m. and letting them out at 3 p.m. to milk the cows, when their parents now work until 5 or 6 p.m. Why can’t twenty-first century school schedules match the twenty-first century workday?

The article was referenced in this article on Salon about the book The Feminine Mistake, which the article author describes as "another book telling women they are doing something wrong."

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/04/03/feminine_mistake/index.html