Larry Summers Would Relate
Advertising exec Neil French has resigned after telling an industry audience that women in advertising don't rise to the top because "they don't deserve to," thanks to the demands on them as mothers.
Defending his remarks, Mr. French told the New York Times, "A belligerent question deserves a belligerent answer. The answer is, They don't work hard enough. It's not a joke job. The future of the entire agency is in your hands as creative director."
After an outraged response from some of those present, French, 61, resigned his position as creative director of the advertising conglomerate, WPP Group.
Interestingly, French's remarks mirrored those of Larry Summers last winter, when he said that women didn't rise to the top levels of math and science primarily because their domestic responsibilities kept them from working the necessary hours.
But that argument was overshadowed when Summers' second argument, that women are genetically less capable at math and science than men are, caused a storm of controversy.
What's ironic about the sensitivity to this issue is that it's something lots of women would agree with—they do more at home than men do, and they pay a professional price for doing so.
The answer would seem to be getting men to accept at least an equal domestic burden.
But many women genuinely don't seem to want that; many women (along with most men) genuinely seem to believe that they are—dare I say it?—genetically more inclined to bond with their kids than men are. I've spoken to lots of moms who say that it's not a question of culture; their young children just have a stronger connection to them than they do with their fathers. And if you suggest that that bond is a social construct, these women can get very offended, and expound upon the connection between a child and the person who carried it for nine months inside her—an argument that makes some sense to me. How could a baby not have a stronger connection with that person than with a guy who just shows up in the delivery room?
Moreover, I've found that many women don't really want a man who isn't at least their professional equal. I know a couple of house husbands, and they all say that they sense a subtle disrespect from women they know, and they're not particularly welcomed among, say, groups of mothers at the playground.
So, back to Summers and French. Both men are clearly on to something; they're taking stabs at explaining an issue that affects most everyone in our society. It's just particularly sensitive for women. Why? Because, I think, the ultimate truth of this debate is that many women want it all—quantity kid time and professional succcess—but can't have it all, because, well, no one can really do that. There aren't enough hours in the day.
Whereas men don't want it all; we want to spend more time at work.
Who knows? I'm hardly an expert on this stuff. But in any case, I would propose two things: That when men try to discuss this issue, we try to do so with sensitivity, recognizing that this is, at least now, a more cutting and troublesome issue for women than it is for us.
And second, that women who believe in changing roles for their own sex are consistent and support men who try to change gender roles for themselves.....
