Debuting The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation ChangesEverything, the Center for American Progress held a conference last week to discuss the status of working women and their families. In our June 2009 “Women’s Work” package, Dana Goldstein called for more pink-collar jobs but warned that if we pit “men against women, we are going to lose the battle.” This is a problem the conference wrestled with as well: How do we get men to advocate for feminist policy?
There are still a few obstacles in the way of this. Aprivilege problem could be keeping some men from supporting feminist measures: As Paul Waldman has pointed out, those who do not face discrimination often do not believe it is real. MichaelKimmel, a conference panelist, even posited in a 1994 essay that some men might not be afraid of women exactly, but rather of being emasculated by other men. These sorts of anxieties might prevent some men from becoming allies for equality, even though reforms to improve women’s quality of life are in their best interest as well.
As Courtney Martin discusses in her column today, the work/life balance is not just a women’s issue. Women, men and families need more workplace flexibility: They need paid sick leave, family leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave. These are all worker's -- not just women's -- rights issues, not unlike the minimum wage and the 40-hour work week that labor fought for. Now, we need worker’s rights to be updated to support the modern family with two breadwinners.
Perhaps the best way to attract male support for these goals is toframe the issues in broader, more inclusive terms. As panelistssuggested, we might shift the language from a “women's” to a “family”issue. After all, 80 percent of Americans believe “businesses haven't done enough to address the needs of modern families.” Some men may feel uneasy in a debate about women’s rights, but they might reconsider the need for equality as fathers and husbands.
--Pema Levy
Pema Levy is a Prospect fall 2009 intern.
