Dana Goldstein on why most women lack bargaining power during the recession, and what it means for work-life balance.
You can’t always get what you want. Especially in a recession.
Unfortunately, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, network television correspondents on a nationwide book tour and media blitz, haven’t gotten the memo. In their book, Womenomics, Kay and Shipman tell women that all they need to do to fulfill their work-life balance dreams is, well, ask. Want to work three days a week instead of five? Just ask. Want to work from home? Just ask. Need to walk your dog every day at 5:15? Heck, march right into you boss’ office and tell him it’s nonnegotiable!
The authors advise, “Your company needs you more than you realize and quite possibly more than you need them.”
But as the national unemployment rate inches toward the double digits, is that true?