This week my feeds have been abuzz with Anne-Marie Slaughter's recent piece in the Atlantic: Why Women Still Can't Have It All. I feel vindicated that in her systematic and articulate piece, Slaughter echoes my sentiment that we no longer live in a world where women have to act like men in order to succeed:
I continually push the young women in my classes to speak more. They must gain the confidence to value their own insights and questions, and to present them readily. My husband agrees, but he actually tries to get the young men in his classes to act more like the women—to speak less and listen more. If women are ever to achieve real equality as leaders, then we have to stop accepting male behavior and male choices as the default and the ideal.I have no beefs with Sandberg, and I'm glad she's been a part of the ongoing discourse on women and careers. I won't forget her mantra "don't leave til you leave." But for a more thoughtful perspective on women's place in the working world, replete not only with personal anecdote but with practical advice for individuals, managers, and policymakers (and sans Sandberg's annoying MBA-speak), turn to Slaughter.
