PressEthic

It was hard to miss the headline ‘Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood’ on the front page of The New York Times. After all the headline was making a claim that would surely antagonize a lot of feminists. The story that followed was full of quotes and studies backing up the statement. I admit, that as a woman I might have been an unduly biased reader therefore, in the interest of giving the article a fair chance I read it thrice—these are the problems I had with it:

1. Most of the quotes used to make a point about women choosing motherhood over careers were of young college students. However, in the middle of the article the writer claims, ‘It is less than clear what universities should, or could, do about it. For one, a person's expectations at age 18 are less than perfect predictors of their life choices 10 years later.’

2. There is absolutely no quote from women students who would not make this choice. It would have created more balance if the writer had presented the perspective of some women at elite colleges who would not put marriage and children before careers. (We all know there is no lack of them at Harvard and Yale!).

3. This is an extract from the article: "At the height of the women's movement and shortly thereafter, women were much more firm in their expectation that they could somehow combine full-time work with child rearing," said Cynthia E. Russett, a professor of American history who has taught at Yale since 1967. "The women today are, in effect, turning realistic." What purpose does this statement serve? So women who want to combine full time work and children are unrealistic? I found this statement most disconcerting because it had come from a woman professor at an elite college. What kind of signal does this send out to young women who are investing a lot of time money and energy in their college education for a full-time career? Stop being unrealistic!

4. I also had concerns about the survey that was used to substantiate some of the arguments. A sample pool of 138 students (out of whom 40% didn’t say they would put motherhood before career) is not substantial evidence to draw such macro conclusions.

The emphasis should be on developing a social system that will facilitate women in juggling careers and children-- better day-care facilities and reasonable maternity leaves. I respect every woman’s right to choose children over a career but, refuse to see how women educated from the best colleges in America, pulling out of the work force at the peak of their careers can be viewed as a positive trend. If it is, then maybe I live in a different reality.

Note: I posted this story in the morning and had to take it off because of technical problems. I apologize to anyone who tried to open it and got the 'page not found' error.