Why Women Still CanT Have It All By Anne-Marie Slaughter

There is a huge debate going on today about gender. Society believes you’re a boy if you like blue, and like to play sports and go hunting; and you’re a girl if you like pink and have long hair and pig tails and play with Barbie dolls. Society has forced us to choose between the two. I believe that both women and men can both have it all. As Dorment says, ‘competing work life balance and home as much as women’. (Dorment 697) I believe in this article Richard Dorment, has argued his opinion very well, I think both men and woman equally need to be involved in housework as well as taking care of the children. In today’s world were judging who were going to be even before were born. Throughout this article Dorment effectively convinces his audience that men and women should be equal by using statistics and emotional stories, Dorment uses personal stories and extensive research to make readers believe in his credibility, and lastly Dorment employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos effectively.

In the essay “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” by Richard Dorment, the topic of equality in the genders is explored. This topic includes various aspects of the lives of men and women, including work in and out of the home. Dorment responds to other opinions and viewpoints and explains why “no one can have it all.” He brings up many convincing arguments that show why the feminist push for equals rights for women is not producing the outcome that people want it to have. I agree with what much of Dorment is saying in this essay, and the following paragraphs will explain Dorment’s argument.

bell hook is a famous feminist author who wrote the book “Feminism Is For Everybody” hooks attempt to create a quick, simple start on feminist history, theory, and politics to the masses who receive a misinformation, misunderstood, and maligned version of the feminist movement. Hooks says “To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism”.We define feminism as the advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.Where she simply define and shows that being feminism does not mean women have to become mean or they are better than men,she simply saying that men and women need to be equal like the civil right movements. The book begins with a brief statement of feminist political positions, then discusses some history of the movement.She discusses the change in the movement from personal to groups where women have close relationships with one another and began to feel personally empowered by their participation in the establishment of large, and how some women feel like they are working for the high middle-class women.Every single time it doesn’t matter you a women or men, you will always have someone in the higher level than you.hooks feel like it will very exciting for the women who have the power to work with other so they could build each other up..Hooks views the formation of large women’s organizations as the beginning of a stage where the movement took on the role of

In today’s economy, it is a hard fact that many women will have to enter the workforce. In her article for The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t have it All”, Anne-Marie Slaughter examines the difficulties faced by women who either have children or would someday like to do so. Having given up on the task of holding a high powered government position while being the mother of a teenager, her kairotic moment, the author discusses the changes that would be necessary in order for women to find a real work-life balance. Although Slaughter 's target audience is primarily women who seek high powered positions, the article contains ample information that should appeal to both men who seek to balance the needs of a growing family with their work responsibilities, as well as workplace policy makers who could help usher in the necessary changes. Her goal in sharing her experiences is to argue that women can succeed at the very top level of their organizations, “But not today, not with the way America’s economy and society are currently structured” (Slaughter).

Anne-Marie Slaughter constructed the article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” including personal and statistical measures to prove that, though women have come far, they are not to the standard of men. She begins the article informing us of her job as the first female director of policy planning at the State Department in Washington D.C. Admittingly, with such a high-profile job and finding herself struggling to balance her 14-year-old son, she made the decision to quit her job after two years. Accordingly, Slaughter pondered her years working in a high power workplace, realizing

In, “Halving the Double Day” by Dorothy Sue Cobble, she realizes that women get the bitter end of having a poor socio-economic status. Women are more burdened than men with balancing activities. Cobble states, “But none feel the pressure more than those juggling full-time employment with what can seem like a second shift at home” (Cobble, 1). Cobble believes that women, especially in lower income households face more stress and have less time to do things they want in life because they are burdened with finding and working in jobs as well as balancing house hold duties. Unlike men, who’s primary role in the household is to go out and work, women now who are in lower income families have to take on both roles assisting in income and doing house work. Furthermore, Cobble emphasizes that only those who are rich can benefit from the vast benefits that outsiders see in living in America. Cobble states, “Similarly the highly touted family-friendly workplace-the coveted market nook with flexible work schedules, job sharing, child care assistance, and comprehensive health and welfare coverage-is not yet a reality for the majority of salaried workers, let alone hourly workers”

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.

For example, in Ann-Marie Slaughter’s essay “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” she arguably wrote that while she held office all she could think about were her sons. While she was regularly commuting between Washington and New Jersey many female politicians at her side and feminists at her side were horrified by the fact that she would give up the high-power position she was in for her “family.” This has even made some women say “I’ve never had to compromise, and my kids turned out great” (678). Although there is a shift in perspective of women being able to hold high-power positions it has caused this expectation that women should only focus on their career and disregard their home life. During this essay, Slaughter speaks about how women can have it all and then some with their careers and home lives, it would be absurd to want to spend more time at home with such a high-ranking career. Although, it is simply not true. Slaughter insists that you cannot enjoy a home life along with such a career. She states that if she was not sleeping or in a meeting she was writing reports, commenting on drafts, etc.

A woman has many decisions and sacrifices to make when balancing work and family. Ann-Marie Slaughter is the author of “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” where she explains what it is like to hold a higher ranking position and have children at home. She begins by building her credibility with personal facts and sources, citing other women in younger and older generations. Slaughter fills her essay with high emotion to empower women to be able to have a higher profession without giving up the time with the ones you love. She describes what it is like to lead her business life, and struggle to guide her children, when she doesn’t even have time for herself.

The Revolution released the potential for America to become very democratic; allowing space for political and social struggles to spread ideas of freedom and challenge the old way of doing things. Ideas of liberty invigorated attacks on both British and domestic American foundations and so did the beliefs of equality in the Declaration of Independence, which caused many in society who were seen as the substandard bunch such as women, slaves and free blacks to question the sanction of their superiors.

In recent history, the majority of the movement regarding the gender gap in the workplace has been in response to the opportunity available to males versus female. Today however, that debate topic has shifted to explain why opportunity does not grantee professional success and what role society plays on that restriction. It was already said by Sandberg that a difference in biology affects the choices individuals make, and that issue alone is independent from any social construct that would usually affect choices. Slaughter outlines one of these societal flaws is in the “unspoken rules” or norms of hiring and firing in Washington. She states, “to admit to, much less act on, maternal longings would have been fatal to their careers.” Often a euphemism for being fired is saying that one is leaving to focus on homemaking. It seems to be implied by the authors that often, merely having a family that deserves time and

Women’s role within the household has changed considerably over a period of time. In the later days in the United States women were to attend to the children and to the house and not do much more than that. Children are now being raised by stay at home dads instead of the stereotypical stay at home moms. According to Gardner, "Real-life families have changed considerably since 'Mr. Mom ' appeared, with more men sharing child-rearing and household chores." (Gardner 2010) This is occurring because women’s jobs are no longer labeled as being just for women. Men have gotten a lot of criticism for being stay at

Feminism and Historicism play a major part in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Good Country People”, first published in 1955. The story focuses on the importance of identity and the parallels between truth and deception. In “Good Country People”, the Hopewell family, maintain a small farm in rural Georgia with the help of tenants the Freemans. The pious Mrs. Hopewell’s mottos ‘nothing is perfect’ and ‘it takes all kinds to make the world’ are manifested in her unmarried thirty-two year old daughter, Joy who later changes her name to Hulga, wears a prosthetic wooden leg because of a childhood accident. Hulga who has a Ph.D. in Philosophy, cannot advance her academic aspirations because of a weak heart; because of this she must live in her

In the article “The End of Men,” Hanna Rosin offers several examples of women overpowering men. The inequality between men and women has become a critical issue in today’s society. According to Rosin, women are slowly surging ahead in the workforce and family life while men are left behind struggling to meet expectations. Rosin argues that this role reversal is taking place because women are simply better suited for postindustrial society.

Robert Dorment’s summary from his article talked about that women always complained about men did wrong but men who worked so hard for their family and work-life balance. Richard used that word “castigate” for men that means women scold men, but they did not realize men worked so hard. Other quote about the castigation of men, “…person whose husband, by her own admission, sacrificed much in his own academic career to do other heavy lifting with their children, all so she could pursue her dream job and then complain about it, bitterly, in the pages of a national magazine” (Dorment 708). Anne-Marie Slaughter explained that women who get promotion from other positions that they realized they do not have spent time with their family and some women who leave their jobs because of their family reasons. The quote said, “It is unthinkable that an official would actually step down to spend time with his or her family that this must be a cover for something else” (Slaughter 682). Third article called Women, work and work/life balance: Research roundup talked about the wage inequality and unequal responsibilities between men and women. Women have more family responsibilities than men do because some women are staying at home while taking care of their kids. Last article, Work-Life Balance – An integrated Approach: The case for joint and several responsibility talked about the