Assignment 8 Part 1: Test results Brief self-reflection on the article: "Why women still can’t have it all", by Anne-Marie Slaughter The possibility of being superwomen is attractive, at least for me. But also this surreal idea has led me to put a vast amount of pressure on my self. Reading this article was really interesting, not only in an academic way but also I identified myself in different personal aspects. This article is one of the most humane and realistic I’ve ever read. On the first place, I completely agree with the idea that nowadays women are expected to be superheroes. The fact that we are getting more power and spaces in the labor market also puts pressures on ourselves to be at the top of our games, in our professional and personal spheres. The author starts with a very engaging imagine in which she is at a glamorous presidential dinner thinking about her children. This made me think about also about my priorities, we could certainly have the great job we want and conquer our ambitious goals, but for many women out there that also have the desire to become mothers, how much could we enjoy fully this demanding work schedules? The fact that the author portrays this type of situation as a personal struggle is a hard reality that we must face. Telling her story about how she resigned to the white house and the critiques she got for that, especially from the feminist movement, made me reflect on the actual meaning of feminism. I have the sense (or that’s how I personally perceive it) that there is a side of feminism that erroneously rejects the idea about women wanting to take a pause on their careers to focus on their children and family. The author mentions the difficulties she had to express herself in a true way without lying to women and promise them the dream of “doing it all”. Another interesting point around the same topic is how sometimes between women we put ourselves down. As mentioned in the article she received many negative comments of women that citizen her decision of leaving white house to be with her children, and I think that’s where we need to evaluate the true meaning of feminism. Some people involved in the movement have a negative connotation about being home taking care of children, some women want to prioritize this aspect of their life and personally, I think that choice is personal and women must t support each other. The problem is that sometimes having the high standards of being “Superwomen” can make you feel less of a woman as the author mentions. Because of these unrealistic standards, women are facing puts strong pressures every day that can be deleterious for women emotional well being. I got the sense that the article proposes flexibility as a good and realistic solution to conquer personal and professional goals. If we can have flexibility in schedules this could be possible, and that where social norms could be modified to REALLY start having equal opportunities. For me is very idealistic to think that men and women are equal in the labor force because for natural causes if women decide to have children she cants possibly be working with the same schedules as men If they also want to be in charge of their children. In my perspective, if companies would offer flexibility on schedules being a parent and a successful professional would no longer be a myth or an unreachable goal. I was personally interested in this article because lately, I’ve been thinking about these issues myself. I just got an internship in DC and part of me has always wanted to work in international development in a big firm. Also, since I was a child I dreamed about having a family and experiencing motherhood. I feel that sometimes when I tell people that I want to pursue a career in the nation's capital in International development they are wary and make comments that discourage me. I agree with the author that we should be able to make the decision to put our careers on hold for the time we consider necessary in order to also pursue our personal dreams, and that’s what I plan to do in the future. Feminism should empower ourselves to also enjoy our gift of being a mother and that should certainly not be seen as an inferior choice that could make us feel embarrassed and less of a woman.
