Joan Williams

On Thursday, an online tempest erupted when Hilary Rosen went on CNN to explain why she didn't think Ann Romney was a worthy voice for America's women because she "has actually never worked a day in her life." The kerfluffle might seem familiar. Twenty years ago, Hillary...

Co-written with Rachel Dempsey.

I almost don't want to write this post, because it brings attention to something I'd much rather be ignored. In the frenetic lead-up to the March 23 opening of The Hunger Games, there are articles about the movie's restrictive costumes, about its

Co-written with Rachel Dempsey

When The Atlantic's article "The End of Men" came out over a year ago, I, like many women, was irritated. But it took me a long time to understand why I found the article so grating.

It...

co-written with Rachel Dempsey

In the last post, we talked about the problem of pregnancy discrimination against women in hourly jobs -- cases where mothers were refused simple accommodations that would help them have healthy pregnancies. Discrimination against pregnant women and mothers is a huge problem for working-class...

In the 1970s, after it became illegal to discriminate based on race, some employers responded by imposing high school education requirements for blue-collar jobs. Today, employers who want to keep women out of "men's jobs" do something similar: they wait until workers get pregnant, and then deny them "light duty,"...

The Academy Award nominees came out on Tuesday, and to no one's surprise, this was not a good year for women in Hollywood. As they have been for the Oscars' 83-year history, the (non-gendered) prestige categories -- Best Picture and Best Director -- were dominated by men. Of the producers...

[co-written with Rachel Dempsey]

A few weeks ago a group of European scientists published a study claiming that sex differences between men and women are much larger than we previously thought. The study found a very small overlap between men and women for personality traits such as...

For years I would wake up at 5:30 in the morning every Black Friday, leaving the kids with my mother-in-law, and get to the mall by 6:15 a.m. Every year, I would return six or seven hours later, loaded down with presents, and my mother-in-law would say, "There you are!...

co-written with Rachel Dempsey

Once a year or so, a study or trend piece comes out about why women are bad to work for. Like Good Morning America's "Bad Female Boss? She May Have Queen Bee Syndrome." Or The Daily Mail's "Men are the best...

The staff list at the website for the radio show "Car Talk" includes an entry for the "Head of Working Mothers Support Group" -- Erasmus B. Dragon. Because working mothers spend so much time running around that they're exhausted all the time!

It's a cute pun, but...

Co-authored by Rachel W. Dempsey

As we discussed in our last post, a recent study by the non-profit Catalyst found that the best strategy to get a raise is to make your achievements known around the office. Seems simple enough, right? Let your co-workers know about a deal...

Co-authored by Rachel Dempsey

It's not your fault.

That's the message of the career advice book Rachel and I are working on together, and that's the message of this new report from nonprofit research group Catalyst. Despite all the advice women receive telling them that...

When the second Google hit (after Wikipedia) for "corporate cronyism" links to a speech by Sarah Palin, you know why progressives need Occupy Wall Street.

Occupy Wall Street's power lies in the "We are the 99%" theme. The poignant and evocative stories on the Tumblr of that...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's mother left her with two key pieces of advice: Be independent, and be a lady. She's both.

I was able to talk with the Justice about everything from her mother to the role of international law in American courts to her now infamous plane ride...

Co-authored by Rachel Dempsey.

In the debate over work-life balance, there's one argument we can't seem to move past: Women have made a choice to have kids. Now they have to live with their decision and all of its consequences.

But this argument rests on an underlying assumption that, when...

When Sekiko Garrison told former boss Michael Bloomberg she was pregnant, his answer, she alleges, was simple: "Kill it!" Allowing mothers flexible work arrangements, he reportedly commented, was like allowing a man time off to practice his golf swing. The CEO who took over when Bloomberg...

Co-authored by Rachel Dempsey.

This week's issue of Newsweek, timed to coincide with Thursday's Republican primary debate and Saturday's straw poll in Iowa, sparked controversy for its striking picture of Michele Bachmann over the headline "Queen of Rage." Conservative commentators called the candidate's photo sexist, saying...

This week's Time cover story, "Chore Wars," is a wake-up call for those who think men and women are approaching parity, at home and in the workplace. After the huge steps made towards equality in the latter half of the 20th century, progress is stalling out.

Of...

On July 18, unions and employers came together to make work-life balance a reality for hourly workers.

The common assumption is that workplace flexibility is impractical for hourly workers. Not so: On that Monday, models emerged to offer workplace flexibility in three contexts where it might seem...

Google+, Google's new social network, was launched last month to much fanfare as an invitation-only service. According to early data, membership in the first few weeks was close to 90% male. Now it's more like a 75/25 split -- better, but nowhere near parity. A popular meme earlier...