Working Women Don't Have Wives: Professional Success in the 1990s

Although ``the glass ceiling'' and other obstacles inherent in professional life may still prevent women from reaching the top, argues Apter ( Altered Loves: Mothers and Daughters During Adolescence ), the primary reason for women's slow career progress is that they don't have wives to take charge of domestic details. Basing her conclusions on studies of working women conducted in 1982 and 1992, the author found that most--even those who in the early 1980s were aggressive careerists--have families to whom they devote a good deal of energy. Our society offers minimal social supports for working mothers, and few companies promote women who need or want to spend more time at home. Apter further suggests that 1970s- and '80s-style feminism may actually hinder women's upward mobility on the job, tending to value traditionally male characteristics (e.g., ambition and competitiveness) over such ``womanly'' traits as nurturing. Unlike men, observes the author, the most successful women often do not have families--their job is their life. In this provocative book, Apter makes a plea for company policies that would enable women to take time off to be with their children or to work flexible hours without having to sacrifice professional success. (Jan.)