Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Oh My!



If you haven't read my piece on how research on women and gender roles gets a selective form of popularization, you should do that first. Then read this USAToday article, which came out right before the Mother's Day celebrations! I love the way working mothers are stabbed in the back just a few days before receiving flowers and breakfast. Nice.

Note that the article begins like this:

Companies that woo and retain employees by offering mothers flexible schedules may not anticipate a backlash from others who consider it unfair.

A survey out this week and timed for Mother's Day exposure, shows that 20% of women and 25% of men say, "I am often left picking up the slack for my co-workers who are moms."

Then the article invites people to comment on:

YOUR OPINION: Is flex time for mothers good or bad for the office?

Mmm. Eighty percent of women and seventy-five percent of men answered that picking-up-slack question negatively, but that is not the headline. The headline is about the minority who did not. Suppose that we had asked people at the office how often they have to pick up slack because their bosses have gone golfing? What do you think the percentages might have been? But we don't ask such uncouth questions.