Poll: Can Women Have It All? High-Flying Official Revives Question

Hoa Quách (Editor) June 27, 2012 at 02:55 pm

I think it depends on what type of career a woman wants. I also don't think having a full-time nanny or babysitter while a woman works constitutes as "having it all." "Having it all" to me means being able to spend real quality time with your children while still being able to hold a full-time gig. So, in most cases, women still cannot have it all–especially in a country where we are pressured to do so much.

Things I Learned June 27, 2012 at 03:00 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRTkCHE1sS4

Selina Forte June 27, 2012 at 03:07 pm

I want to know why these same questions are not posed to the men in our society? Are women the only ones who raise the children? Are men the only ones who work to support the family? It's a ridiculous question.

James Jones June 27, 2012 at 03:17 pm

What is ridiculous is the notion of "having it all". For men or women.

Things I Learned June 27, 2012 at 03:28 pm

"Anne-Marie Slaughter, who gave up her job as a high level State Department official to better care for her kids, has created enormous buzz with her Atlantic cover story, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” Duh: It’s not like men ever could, either.
I know, lots of women juggling work and family are still angry — feminism promised us we could do both. “Have it all”: Be the main caretaker of your healthy, happy, smart children and still have a great career.... Slaughter goes on at length to conclude that women like her can’t indeed have their professional achievement and their family time, too. But what’s weird about the whole debate about women’s struggle to balance their lives is that men have absolutely no hope of achieving this kind of equilibrium.... Then, too, most of the women even bothering to debate this question lead privileged lives already. When Slaughter stepped off her career ladder, she downgraded to merely being a tenured professor at Princeton. Would that we all had that “choice.”... If feminism is still about equality between the sexes, women should look to men to see what successful, guilt-free “balance” looks like. Hint: The formula is a lot less “have it all” and a lot more “suck it up.” http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/men_never_could_have_it_all_pfI1pufaM6BWGwdGUBZu9K?utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost&utm_content=Oped+Columnists&utm_source=SFnypostopinion

Dave Patterson June 27, 2012 at 03:59 pm

I agree with Selina Forte, why do we only ask these questions only of women? Feminism gave women the opportunity to think equality. With wages stagnated for 40 years women have had to work to keep the family income up with inflation, even if the wanted to stay home with the kids. Combine that with the fact that women's wages are only about 75% of men's wages, women have a difficult road to climb. Women can't be equal until our society catches up with reality. Tradition is our enemy, and only we can change it!

Things I Learned June 27, 2012 at 04:19 pm

American businesses are so stupid that they don't realize they can cut costs by hiring women for 25% less than men which would keep inflation down.
"Women Make only 75 Percent of What Men Make – Fact or Fiction? Last night NBC's Savannah Guthrie implied that women are paid only 75 percent of what men make for the same work. What she accomplished was to perpetuate the myth that women aren't good with numbers. ..." http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2011/03/02/women-men-fuzzy-math/

James Jones June 27, 2012 at 05:15 pm

Let's ask the question then, "Can Men Have it All?"
You mean can I stay at home with my children AND have a productive and successful career? NO. Next question......

Tom Yarnall June 27, 2012 at 06:25 pm

It is my opinion that women whose priority is a career outside the home should not feel obligated to have children. It is not fair to the children. If they always get second choice I believe it impacts their self esteem and mental gratification. I have no scientific basis for my opinion and that's just what it is, an opinion.
Should they have an accident the women should just do what millions now do. Go to the corner abortion shop and get it taken care of, but that's a subject for another time..

Selina Forte June 27, 2012 at 06:52 pm

So if a woman works then she shouldn't have a family? Please. That is such an antiquated notion.

Tom Yarnall June 27, 2012 at 07:01 pm

Small mom and pop companies could, in fact, pay their female workers less than males for doing the same job, but you can be sure that the major contributors to our economy have pay scales that are identical for all. There are no female pay scales as is the implication. The company of about 300,000 that I worked for had pay scales for every job description from janitors, production workers, engineers, etc and not one was designated to be for female or males.
A good example of the fallacy of the report was in the engineering department where there were many engineers, technicians, technical writers, etc. There were secretaries who were definitely on a lower pay scale. Because most of the highly technical people were males, it would be accurate, but disingenuous, to state that the engineering department paid females much less than males even though a good percentage of female engineers were at the top of the pay scale. This example is not an exception in our society where equal rights are a priority There is an army of ambulance chasing lawyers ready to jump on anyone who does not abide by the law. Once again, the report is disingenuous.

Tom Yarnall June 27, 2012 at 07:14 pm

No Selina, I said that if her career takes priority over the family. I know a plenty of hard working mothers who are able to do both and always give priority to her children and raises them to be good upstanding citizens with contentment..
I really am talking about the whiners who are unable to do that.

James Jones June 27, 2012 at 07:19 pm

Selina: So if a man stays home to raise his children, he can't have a six figure salary? So unfair...........

Things I Learned June 27, 2012 at 07:31 pm

Hey remember who paid women less than he paid men?
"Last week in Albuquerque, N.M., Barack Obama spoke about his commitment and support for a Senate bill which would make it easier to sue an employer for pay discrimination. Yet... Obama pays his female staffers less than his male staffers. ...[H]e took a swipe at John McCain... "Mr. McCain is an honorable man, we respect his service. But when you look at our records and our plans on issues that matter to working women, the choice could not be clearer. It starts with equal pay.... [W]omen still earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2008...." Plans are one thing, but actions are quite another and CNS News decided to take a look at the actual numbers... showing how much Barack Obama paid his campaign staffers compared to how much John McCain paid his. The results could be considered shocking, especially after reading his previous statement in New Mexico... The women working for Barack Obama in his Senate office make, on average, $6,000 less than the men that work for his Senate office.... Hillary Clinton pays her female staff members almost 100 percent as much as her male staff members, John McCain pays them over 100 percent as much and Obama just over 80 percent of the annual pay that he pays his male staffers...." http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/256761 He still does: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/war-on-women-white-house-found-to-pay-women-less-on-average-than-men/

Selina Forte June 27, 2012 at 07:46 pm

Of course wages are based on experience, education, and qualifications (as they should be). But that doesn't mean that there isn't still a disparity.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/katetaylor/2012/06/13/even-women-doctors-cant-escape-the-pay-gap/ http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/wage_gap_facts.html http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/04/focus-3

Tom Yarnall June 27, 2012 at 09:44 pm

Selina, I did review a couple of the web sites and, once again, found apples being compared to oranges. The reporters always seem to want to generalize, but do point out the difference is not nearly as great when you compare apples to apples. I think there are so many variables to consider coming to a definitive conclusion is a guess at best.
For example, if a person needs a complicated surgery do you think they would opt for a female surgeon or a male or do you think they will take what they get? The question could go for all disciplines. I would not be surprise if female gynecologist make more than males. Do I think that females possibly make less when comparing similar jobs? Yes, but don't think that's the case with Fortune 500 companies, but what do I know. The difference has/will diminished as time goes by.

Deanne Goodman (Editor) June 28, 2012 at 12:34 am

Agreed! No one can "have it all."

Mary June 28, 2012 at 02:56 pm

You cannot just base pay comparisons between men and women on the location or the companies they work for, i.e.. the White House, or a Fortune 500 company. Pay is based on many things including the type of work and responsibility involved. In order to determine an inequity you have to take a male and a female with the same job description and responsibility to see the difference. Just because they work at the White House doesn’t mean anything, one could be a secretary and one could be a President Obama's Chief of Staff. Totally different jobs with different responsibilities should not make the same salary.

Things I Learned June 28, 2012 at 03:16 pm

Things I Learned
3:31 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 "...[Barack Obama] took a swipe at John McCain... "Mr. McCain is an honorable man, we respect his service. But when you look at our records and our plans on issues that matter to working women, the choice could not be clearer. It starts with equal pay.... [W]omen still earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2008...." "Obama [paid women] just over 80 percent of the annual pay that he pays his male staffers...." http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/256761 Mary 10:56 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012 "You cannot just base pay comparisons between men and women on the location or the companies they work for, i.e.. the White House, or a Fortune 500 company Pay is based on many things including the type of work and responsibility involved. In order to determine an inequity you have to take a male and a female with the same job description and responsibility to see the difference...." Poll question for Mary: In your independent opinion is Barack Obama: a. ignorant? b. innumerate? c. a panderer? d. a liar? e. all of the above?

James Jones June 28, 2012 at 03:27 pm

Do the "wage gap" figures take the number of hours worked into consideration? Men work longer hours.
http://www.statcrunch.com/5.0/viewreport.php?reportid=7996

Things I Learned June 28, 2012 at 03:38 pm

Why no no they don't. They also don't take benefits into consideration. Or this:
"The chart above provides evidence that men suffered from fatal occupational injuries (4,703) at a much higher rate than women (368), by a factor of almost 13 to 1 (BLS data here) in 2008. For certain types of occupational deaths like "Contact with objects and equipment," the male-female gender death gap is even greater (41 to 1), and for "Fires and explosions" the gap is 24 to 1." http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/09/occupational-male-female-death-gap-is.html

Mary June 28, 2012 at 04:18 pm

Things -
So you think that anyone called a Senate Staffer does the same work and has the same responsibilities? You can’t figure out the term “EQUAL pay for EQUAL work” means the jobs and responsibilities are exactly the same? Go do your research and find out the titles, job descriptions, and responsibilities of the people referenced in your links. Senate Staffer is not a job title. Find a man and a woman working for Senator Obama or President Obama that have the EXACT same title, job description and responsibility and compare their salaries. When you figure out your statements regarding links you believe berate the President of the United States are really propaganda aimed at manipulating the uninformed, you might think twice before engaging in your hateful rhetoric.

Things I Learned June 28, 2012 at 04:54 pm

A: "Barack Obama said women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men but '[p]ay is based on many things including the type of work and responsibility involved. In order to determine an inequity you have to take a male and a female with the same job description and responsibility to see the difference'. Barack Obama sets an impossible standard that even the Sun God Himself can't live up to."
B: "Pay is based on many things including the type of work and responsibility involved. In order to determine an inequity you have to take a male and a female with the same job description and responsibility to see the difference." A: "We agree. However Barack Obama said the opposite as you can see in the quoted material that I have cut down even more of to make my point really really obvious. You appear to feel He is not a sexist and my comment cannot be read to say He is an idiot. Here are some other explanations for you to choose from." B: "Pay is based on many things including the type of work and responsibility involved. In order to determine an inequity you have to take a male and a female with the same job description and responsibility to see the difference. H8ter"

Mary June 28, 2012 at 05:08 pm

Things -
Lack of knowledge and lack of common sense are two traits you can be proud to own. I am tired of your foolishness. Someone else can try to explain the errors of your way.

Things I Learned June 28, 2012 at 05:19 pm

http://splicd.com/-UPRWLMJeoE/0/77