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ASKING WOMEN TO THROW THE BLOW
Posted by Charlotte on November 9, 2009
There are certain subjects that are seen as too delicate or to close to women’s business for men to tackle in conversation, mainly things related directly to women’s bodies – abortion rights, maternity to leave… And so, as a certain mainstream medium with a certain line to toe you have to find that one woman who will agree with your stance to drive the knife of ‘you poor wrong women don’t understand’
One such example of my convoluted opening can be found at the Daily Mail today – Year-long maternity leave, flexi hours, four day weeks… why would ANY boss hire a woman?
The author Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, repeatedly posits women who have the audacity to ask for flexible working, the opportunity to work and raise a family as greedy for wanting their old job to fit their new life. These women, Shulman intones, are not worthy of our pity anyway because they’re not the poor factory workers/tube drivers/ but middle class, middle earners – the kind of woman she was on the way up the ladder.
Yes rather than perhaps consider the fact that these women can’t negotiate these deals because industry has women so over the fucking barrel just say it’s not worth it because they only women who benefit now are women not quite well to do enough to pay for a live in nanny and private school.
Schulman’s article says loud and clear, everyone who wants a nice job with perks should work like the old boys club of the 50s, while you can expect to see the children on holidays and the occasional school event, they should be largely out of sight and out of mind.
This article burdens women once again with wombs we’re born with taking in no consideration as to how we might like to use them, and entirely erases the role of a partner, or males interest in something other than working all the time.
Why are paternity and maternity leave still not talked about in the same breath?
Alan Sugar is probably very happy that on the day he told us that women are their own worse enemy, someone stood up to prove the point for him.
I’m quite sure Fawcett dispelled that myth a while back – not that I can find the proof.
I think we all can agree, change is not greed, it’s the future.