Must Read: Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennetts
By jessie kornberg • April 24, 2007•Balancing Private and Professional Life
Readers may know Leslie Bennetts from her reporting at The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Now Bennetts has a new book out, and it argues that women who opt-out of work in favor of family jeopardize their families' ultimate well-being by sacrificing their economic self-sufficiency. Now matter what you think about the "opt-out revolution" and issues of work-life balance, the factual research that supports Bennetts' work makes The Feminine Mistake a must read.
Write a comment
Please login to comment
1 Comments
KHernan881 August 20, 2007
I haven't had a chance to read this book yet, however it sounds fascinating. It sounds like a support book for one side of the "mommy wars" and also a sort of recruiting tool for the same—the working-mom side of the battle.
There is a follow up to this book's release on The Juggle at: http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2007/08/17/leslie-bennetts-on-the-reaction-to-the-feminine-mistake/
In the Juggle post, Sarah talks to the author about the reaction to the book. I find it particularly interesting that Bennetts notes the biggest resistance has been from affluent stay at home moms who have to defend their choices.
I work for a number of reasons. I never really thought about financial independence as being one of the top reasons. However, when I really examine the situation it is part of it. Even after being married for more than 10 years, there is a lot of uncertainty involved in planning a life that depends on 1) the continued survival of a man and 2) the continued survival of a marriage. Add into the mix, I have a husband that likes to live in perpetual debt and earning my own money is the most financially responsible thing I can do for myself and for my kids.