A Truce in the Battle of the Sexes?
By Paul Seaburn – Feb 1, 2011
Until recently, the world of business according to us men generally accepted these two adages: “Behind every successful man is a woman” and “Behind every successful woman is a man whose job she took.” According to a nationwide survey by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress, both may finally be heading to the dumpster where broken glass ceilings, pantyhose and terms like “stewardess” and “girl Friday” are trashed.
“The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything” looked at today’s workplace, where virtually half of the employees are women, and found that nearly seventy-five percent of men and women believe this is good for society and the economy. I assume this includes Mr. Shriver, aka California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported his wife when she left the TV news business but refused to let her give up her more valuable job as Kennedy family member.
The study found that both men and women generally agree that women can be equal partners in work, regardless of whether or not they have children. I’ve found that this agreement suffers when women who are mothers ask for larger offices to accommodate pictures of their children. This also applies to fathers, although it’s more acceptable for men to use office space for sports paraphernalia from their kids since footballs and baseballs can be tossed around for stress relief.
A big surprise in the report is the finding that both men and women are comfortable with women in the household earning more than men. How long this will last remains to be seen. The study did not single out the views of male accounting department heads being asked to approve a female executive’s expense reports for “Full Monty” tickets, three-Cosmopolitan lunches and company boxes for the Mr. Olympia competitions.
While support for working women is up, the study found that both sexes continue to be concerned about its effect on children and home life. This concern has not translated into more family support options at the workplace for women. Many women must still take unpaid leave for a pregnancy, but men are allowed to use vacation time for the conception, sick time for the birth and mental health days for the post-partum-party hangover.
Only ten percent of the men survey strongly agreed with the statement that men have “lost the battle of the sexes,” while nearly 31 percent strongly disagreed. I wish the study had also asked how having more women in the workplace has affected the use of work-related sports clichés. I personally think there are too many male-oriented sports clichés at work, but I also believe that the modern office can do without a big sale being celebrated by the staff hitting the floor, raising their legs in the air and kicking in unison like a gold-medal-winning women’s synchronized swim team. Thank goodness for the unisex high-five.
In a country where 50 percent of the population is female, it makes sense that the workplace should match this proportion. Now, can someone explain to me why both men and women are terminated with a ‘pink’ slip?
By Paul Seaburn – Feb 1, 2011
Until recently, the world of business according to us men generally accepted these two adages: “Behind every successful man is a woman” and “Behind every successful woman is a man whose job she took.” According to a nationwide survey by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress, both may finally be heading to the dumpster where broken glass ceilings, pantyhose and terms like “stewardess” and “girl Friday” are trashed.
“The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything” looked at today’s workplace, where virtually half of the employees are women, and found that nearly seventy-five percent of men and women believe this is good for society and the economy. I assume this includes Mr. Shriver, aka California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported his wife when she left the TV news business but refused to let her give up her more valuable job as Kennedy family member.
The study found that both men and women generally agree that women can be equal partners in work, regardless of whether or not they have children. I’ve found that this agreement suffers when women who are mothers ask for larger offices to accommodate pictures of their children. This also applies to fathers, although it’s more acceptable for men to use office space for sports paraphernalia from their kids since footballs and baseballs can be tossed around for stress relief.
A big surprise in the report is the finding that both men and women are comfortable with women in the household earning more than men. How long this will last remains to be seen. The study did not single out the views of male accounting department heads being asked to approve a female executive’s expense reports for “Full Monty” tickets, three-Cosmopolitan lunches and company boxes for the Mr. Olympia competitions.
While support for working women is up, the study found that both sexes continue to be concerned about its effect on children and home life. This concern has not translated into more family support options at the workplace for women. Many women must still take unpaid leave for a pregnancy, but men are allowed to use vacation time for the conception, sick time for the birth and mental health days for the post-partum-party hangover.
Only ten percent of the men survey strongly agreed with the statement that men have “lost the battle of the sexes,” while nearly 31 percent strongly disagreed. I wish the study had also asked how having more women in the workplace has affected the use of work-related sports clichés. I personally think there are too many male-oriented sports clichés at work, but I also believe that the modern office can do without a big sale being celebrated by the staff hitting the floor, raising their legs in the air and kicking in unison like a gold-medal-winning women’s synchronized swim team. Thank goodness for the unisex high-five.
In a country where 50 percent of the population is female, it makes sense that the workplace should match this proportion. Now, can someone explain to me why both men and women are terminated with a ‘pink’ slip?