Interviewer: So, why do you write these strong female characters?
Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Because you’re still asking me that question.
So, Marissa Mayer banned working from home for her Yahoo! employees. Hilarity ensued. Not really. More like polarization between women has intensified. I have a vague sense male CEOs and workers are sitting down with popcorn to watch the catfight and go “Rawr.”
I worry that our reactions, no matter how well-intended and articulate and based in truths, aren’t wholly productive. Why is it more outrageous for a female CEO to ban flextime than for a male CEO? I don’t think it is. It’s a questionable business decision, and only time will tell if it is a good one, but would the outrage be as severe if it came from a man? I doubt it, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Let’s talk about the policy itself. It constricts parents of both genders. It constricts adults of both genders. It constricts any male or female who would like to enjoy the benefit of staying home with a sick kid, taking an aging parent to the doctor, or giving blood at a time that is convenient for them. In this post I wrote last June, I posited the following:
Ideally, in order for one spouse to have true flexibility in and control over his or her scheduling, the other spouse would have it, too. Because for every mother I know who needs flexibility to support her career, I know a father who needs flexibility to support his family life. For every mother who needs control over her schedule so she can present a case in court or put on a hard hat and climb into the sewers, there is a father who needs flexibility to leave work early to coach his daughter’s softball team or make dinner while the mother is making closing arguments.
Let’s talk about the person who issued the policy. Marissa Mayer never claimed to be a pioneer/crusader for the family-friendly workplace. Au contraire. I think she made it very clear from the time she was hired that work was her priority. Frankly, this policy change doesn’t surprise me at all. My friend, Elissa Freeman, wrote a piece defending Mayer, and even expressed the hope that
(m)aybe, just maybe, Mayer has a grander plan. Once she has the credibility of saving a company and winning the respect of Wall Street, she will have the potential of standing on an even grander soapbox for carving out family friendly policies. Policies that even the old boys will have to take into consideration.
Maybe, though I doubt she will, because that is not who she claimed to be or what she claims to want.
I understand having higher hopes for a female CEO of such a large company. (I, too, cheer a little louder for the underdog when they break through barriers, whether it is a female CEO, a gay couple getting a marriage license, or the New York Mets breaking .500.) Yet, just because a person is in possession of a uterus doesn’t mean she also possesses wisdom, empathy, or vision. As a matter of fact, I know of plenty of women who hurt the causes of gender equity and families in general. Last January, I decried a new rule by the Federal Reserve making credit cards available based on individual, rather than household income. In that post, I was urging women to get more involved in politics. Then, I did more research on the Federal Reserve. Three of the five members at the time were women.
It’s understandable women feel thrown under the bus by one of their own. I’m disappointed, too. But I’m inclined to be cautious with my criticism. I fear we do more harm than good by having different expectations for women in power than men. I worry when we criticize a person rather than a policy. I don’t want to cloud the very important issue of family-friendly work-places and productivity by calling Marissa Mayer on the carpet for being a FEMALE who made a certain decision rather than a CEO who made a certain decision. Counterintuitive as it seems, advancing gender equity might be better achieved by leaving gender OUT of it.
It’s a good move she made, it was a logical decision. It’s clearly tough for a lot of people to work their best from home…It’s a privilege and not a right. Lot’s of jobs don’t even have that option
We shall see! I’m curious to see what the results will be at Yahoo!
this was awesome just so good thanks for writing it couldn’t have lived with out hearing that
Thank you so much! I’m glad you stopped by!
I feel Marissa is just trying to save Yahoo. She’s there to turn the company around, she will probably try anything that Yahoo was not doing to make that happen. This is like when she didn’t want to be on a cover of magazine pregnant, she wants to be seen as a business woman. We don’t ever go “Why hasn’t that male CEO ever posed with his children on the cover of a magazine. He needs to appear to be more of a family man.” Lets see if this works as a business strategy before we judge it.
Great points. And, I, for one, would LOVE to see a guy with his kids on the cover of a business magazine. Think of the message it would send!
Very well balanced post. Liked it a lot.
It is nice to see this kind of writing. Do you have a favorite you like to write about?
What a nice compliment! Thank you! For your question, you know, it’s funny – the Liberty category has stuff that I absolutely need to write or I feel like I will explode. The Life and Happiness categories have things I absolutely love to write. So happy you stopped by and commented!
What is this? Rationality? On the internet? Quick, take a blurry picture of it walking through the snow, we’ll make millions.
Bwah! I’ve been chasing it for YEARS. And, thank you!
If we objectively wait and see whether her decision to ban flextime improves Yahoo, then we are treating her like any other CEO. I don’t question the decision because she is female, I question it because it seems so old-fashioned and counter-productive.
BUT … maybe there are indicators that flex is being abused by her staff and she needs to find out if they get more done in a standard environment, or if collaboration is a key to success.
I’m with you 100%. Thank you for commenting!
A well written and thought out post eliciting thought provoking commentary. I am all for taking the gender out of it. We are all in this big boat together and can either work together or go in unfocused circles.
What great compliments, thank you! I come down on the side of preferring to work together… 🙂
I think it is a difficult society that we live in, particularly for parents of young children. I say parents because I don’t think men have the opportunities for flexible working arrangements either in most cases. Surely society would benefit as a whole if the majoirty of workplaces were family-friendly, as opposed to the current minority.
I wrote a blog post recently about the discrimination of women in the workplace when it comes to hiring and ongoing employment. It is often taken into account when employing women whether they are likely to ‘breed’ in the near future or if they have children that may get sick. In Australia (where I live), it is illegal to discriminate, but it still happens all the time. And the men are just expected to get on with it and do the traditional full-time role, while the mother juggles by herself. It is all very unequal and unfair for everyone.
If you are interested in reading my blog post, you can find it here at http://mummylovestowrite.com/2013/02/26/discrimination-of-women-in-the-workplace/. Hopefully it is ok that I posted the link
It’s extremely difficult, for all the reasons you state here. And I don’t mind at all that you posted the link! Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Reblogged this on Julia in der weiten Welt des Internets.
Thank you so much for the reblog!
Thanks for that.
Thanks for your point of view! I totally agree.
Thank YOU! I’m so glad you stopped by!
Wasn’t she pregnant when she took this job? Is that the same woman? I bet she’s got a nanny. 🙂
Yep. That’s the one. I’ll bet she has several. 🙂
I love your post. I haven’t made my mind about leaving gender out yet, but I agree that we can not have different expectations for each gender. I think women are still judged different than men, but I can also imagine the tabloids going crazy if that decision had been made by a men. We, women, have still many places to conquer in the ladder of equality, one of them is having a Female US president, but I feel it is coming.
Everyone no matter the position has to answer to someone else, there are commitee and boards..it’s simply easier to blaim only one person! But i agree with you and this post is great :advancing gender equity might be better achieved by leaving gender OUT of it.
Well said. I especially agree, when you say that just because a woman is a woman it doesn’t mean that she will fight for other women’s causes. Indeed we should question the policies, and not those who create them, but then again, how do you make that separation?
It’s very hard. I can understand having the different expectations for different genders, based on their most common experiences. Still, though, I try not to be angrIER that I would be if a man had made the same decision.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
Nice Enlightening Post. I am rooting for the new Yahoo CEO.
Nice props! Thank you! 🙂
Reblogged this on ELANA – The Voice of the Future.
interesting post 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Reblogged this on Lylin's Mind and commented:
Don’t you just love Joss Whedon?
Yes! Yes, I do! If only for this quote alone! And, thank you so much for the re-blog. 🙂
Reblogged this on ysbang68.
The most impressive line of your post:
‘Counterintuitive as it seems, advancing gender equity might be better achieved by leaving gender OUT of it.’
I loved it.
Thank you very much. 🙂
Okay, that’s hilarious. Thanks for including me in your roundup…