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While the Idaho professor interviewed for this broadcast was forthcoming in admitting she doesn't experience discrimination in her line of work, listen if you can to her painfully slow and carefully-worded response.  Talk about a cautious reply and for good reason.

That's because in many areas, the pendulum has swung far in the other direction.  For example, in academia we now see a disproportionate skewing toward women, with far more women attending college now than men.  

Notice too, that she didn't appear to talk about Americans much, either...She has to reach outside US culture to discuss her students and THEIR problems with social expectations. Are you going to change those cultures too?  Isn't that nation-building of sorts?  

The bottom line is that this says a great deal about the strides American women have made, and good for them.  There is a difference, however, between having choices and making good ones.

The professor's discussion on ensuring that women can SIMULTANEOUSLY have both career AND family, while still being fulfilled, flies in the face of what many women are now saying, unless one is Supermom.  

Also interesting was her comment along the lines that women should realize ALL of their goals and aspirations.  

While that makes for a fine thing to work toward, men typically don't realize all THEIR goals and aspirations, and they're presumably the knuckle dragging mono-brows in the way of women as described on your program.  

So why does she think it's reasonable women are being held back?  The reality is that practically speaking we all have trade-offs.  Men and women must prioritize and realize that on this earth, at least, we don't always get what we want...but if we try sometime, we get what we need.

posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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