A Time magazine cover story and a week of programming on NBC immediately followed the release of The Shriver Report. This week, California's First Lady will use the findings to engage participants in her annual conference on women. If the continuing activity fails to "ignite a national conversation," it won't be for lack of planning and effort.
A new report about women's changing roles in society that has been sparking conversations across the country will be at the center of Maria Shriver's California Women's Conference on Tuesday this week. As one of the threads throughout its programming, the conference will discuss the findings of The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything--the "seismic shift" since women have quietly become half of the American workforce.
Tuesday's conference--which will be web cast at the Women's Conference website from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PST--includes a diverse range of speakers, from Caroline Kennedy to Cindy McCain, Alicia Keys to Richard Branson, and Katie Couric to Eve Ensler. A panel facilitated by David Gregory will include Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, political analyst Amy Holmes, and ABC Senior National Correspondent Claire Shipman. The website, which features excerpts from the report and writings of well known personalities, is interactive. A community forum prompts site visitors for their input: "A National Conversation has been ignited and you are at the center of it: What do YOU think women want?"
Shriver, an experienced journalist and current First Lady of California, says she started thinking about the study when last year's Women's Conference sold out in just a few hours, with standing-room-only workshops on such topics as empowerment, activism, and entrepreneurship. "I wondered what was going on," Shriver mused in the report's preface. In answer to questionnaires, women said "they feel increasingly isolated, invisible, stressed, and misunderstood. ...We decided we need to learn some new, hard facts about today's American woman. ...How does she want to live her life moving forward?" Shriver brought her ideas for a sweeping study to John Podesta, former Clinton Administration chief of staff and president of the Center for American Progress. The resulting $2 million project includes a national poll sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and Time magazine.
Shriver says that the fact that women now make up half of all American workers "changes everything in our country--it changes how we work, it changes our children's school schedules, it changes our relationship with men, it changes laws in government, and it changes what businesses need to do to retain the American worker today." Yet according to the report, our leading institutions--be they government, business, faith based or in the media--have all failed to adapt to the changing paradigm of the American family.
An important finding in the report is how much men and women actually see eye to eye. Equal numbers report the same stresses in daily life and similar goals when it comes to issues like money, childcare and balancing work and home life. They share the belief that government and business have failed to adjust to their needs. Shriver says that "men seem to be in agreement with these issues that women have traditionally been very out in front on--whether it's child care, the need for flexible hours, the need for paid family leave--and I think that that's really exciting because this is no longer a woman's movement, this is a smart American policy."
In hopes of stimulating actual policy changes, The Shriver Report has been delivered to Fortune 500 top executives, Congressional leaders and committees, senior White House advisors as well as President Obama. On "Meet the Press" a week ago, Jarrett pointed out that the Obamas have always talked openly about the challenges of balancing work and family in their own lives. She said the administration will look at "what are the best practices in the private sector" that can be adapted to give employees flexibility in government and around the country. In an interview discussing The Shriver Report on NBC News, President Obama revealed personal details of his own negotiations with Michelle over work and family and added, "When I think about policy, I'm constantly thinking about how can we strengthen families, how can we provide more resources, greater flexibility so that women can thrive, because I think if women are thriving everybody's going to be thriving."
Though The Shriver Report itself noted the lack of stories reflecting these topics in the media, since the report has been released it has generated a flurry of coverage. (See Gloria Steinem's essay on this site, It's Not a Man's World or a Woman's Nation.) A week ago, I joined a press conference Shriver and Podesta held specifically for bloggers, hoping to foster continued coverage and discussion online. The full report can be purchased as an eBook or read online at awomansnation.com, and their website encourages visitors to "stay informed" by joining their mailing list, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as "join the conversation" taking place at the Women's Conference site.
Shriver says, "We are really interested in the feedback. That's why we've developed several web sites to try to build a community of people." She adds, "We have power in our voices and in our numbers. People want to ask for flex time--you can point to studies that are in the report that talk about smart business practices like [those of] Deloitte, Hewlett Packard and so many other businesses." Progressive businesses, she says, have learned "how to retain women in the workforce, and how to retain men as well, who are increasingly interested in their caring roles as opposed to just their breadwinning roles."
John Podesta adds, "We hope that people will read this report ... and create a real conversation about what this means to America, and what it means for both men and women to create strong and happy lives and families."
This article originally appeared at The Women's Media Center.
Follow Marianne Schnall on Twitter: www.twitter.com/marianneschnall
Maria Shriver (mariashriver) on Twitter
The Women's Conference - Empowerment, Inspiration and Education ...
The Women's Conference 2009 - Be Who You Are...An Architect of ...
The Shriver Report || A Woman's Nation Changes Everything. A Study ...
Your Questions About the 'Shriver Report' on Women in the Economy ...
Surely the issues that women face in their 80’s are different from those faced in their 60’s? The 60’s are the decade when women contemplate retirement. Can I handle it economically and psychologically? Should I transition to retirement through reduced work load (assuming that’s an option)? How can I make the most of my retirement years?
By their 70’s, most women have left the work force and different issues emerge. As a retiree who recently turned 65, I would have like to have learned about the experiences of women in their 70’s, as I try to get a handle on what may lie ahead, assuming I get there.
When I was in my early 50’s, I became aware of the invisibility of older women, but I am still surprised when I see this in organizations/websites dedicated to the empowerment of women.
What’s behind this? Is it fear of old age? The women featured in the “sixties plus†category looked like they were in their 50’s—-a nod to our society’s obsession with youth which would have been a lot more difficult to pull off if there had been sections on women in their the 70’s, 80’s.
Karen
http://www.the-next-stage.com/
Younger women are still given the message through media that the way to get ahead is by being sexy and using your breasts instead of your brains.
I'm not sure how far we've actually gotten, Maria. Your report is quite skewed.
way, for women to see the impact and value that they have had
on society.
We are the backbone of our community. We are powerful and nurturing
at the same time.
We do things that are end-goal orientated, with a sense of purpose
and ON PURPOSE...
We want change! We want a world that we and our families can live in
with pride and dignity.
It is not a good time to be a working woman in California. I've lost count of the backwards steps I've taken financially and professionally.
Reagan passed a laws making it nearly impossible to raise income or property taxes, even in times of dire economic consequences. Even if Schwarzenegger wanted to, the votes simply aren't there. That means California has to rely on other means of revenue. That works out great when the economy is booming, but if the economy does a nose dive then so does teh California revenue.
The overall structure of the government of California is an absolute mess requiring a great deal of reform. But neither side is willing to take that on, so you're stuck with the current situation.
The problem is a lack of leadership that has to courage to do whats necessary. Its bipartisan.
If memory serves, this was similar to the response women gave in the 60's when asked how they felt about housewifery. It also echoes the remarks working class men gave about wage-slavery, and self-esteem issues around success or not in their role as provider. Patriarchies are hierarchical, working class men still have no voice, and now working class women are treated the same.
To me this reads as a story about social stratification as much as gender. The upper classes have options not available to the rest; and aside from the occasional Kennedy or Gates, they are not interested in sharing.
From where I stand, industry and business have become family un-friendly. Regardless of the messenger, Ms Shriver's message is important. It might be helpful to remember that the labor model we use in the West today is recent. We used to work seasonally - until monster industry came along and we were welded to time-clocks. The damage to families is documented from the morality stories of Dickens to this piece.
Vigilence is required in order to pushback on these trends. Don't believe the myth of mult-tasking! The world deserves your full attention, and when you are off the clock, your kids do too!
If in fact life in this country is a 50/50 proposition, (as it is in my marriage where we share roles and I stay home with my son) NBC is doing a disservice in not addressing the evolution of the modern man in equal share.
Honestly, I blame men for not demanding this discussion. The world needs a male Oprah right now. Someone to champion a dialogue that touches the festering part of male ego and awareness, a return to virtue. Imagine Cornell West, Yo Yo Ma, Mohammed Yunus, and some guy named Mitch from Indiana discussing what they think about when grooming themselves. Or Derrick Bell, Gary Zukav, and some 14-year old boys discussing the difference between force and power.
NBC, create Part Two.
Another Violation.
Apparently you can do whatever you want to do?
She seems like real piece of work. Above the Law?
That's the problem with these kids that are born into privileged families.
Like George W.
These are not people buying lavish things and taking outrageous vacations, but rather two individuals struggling with extremely high housing costs, medical expenses and child care payments. Many families face daycare costs that are twice that of a mortgage/rental payment - for a basic "no frills" child care setting. If one of the children (or parents) faces a serious health issue, for some of us "it's all over" and we're ruined financially. Same goes for a job loss of either partner...or a divorce, where one is left a single parent.
We need the Boomers (and those older) to really listen to younger families. We're not looking for a handout...we just want a fighting shot to survive in today's economy.
My parents worked hard and had a lovely home and were able to send my sisters and me to college. I have a BA from UCLA and a Teaching Credential from Cal State LA yet regardless of how hard I worked I could not significantly help my daughter nor afford to send her to college. I just lost my home to foreclosure after a 15% ($900/mo) paycut enacted by our Governor. I don't vacation and hope that I will be able to retire before I'm too much older. Per Social Security I've contributed $80k to the system and I pay $350/month toward my job's retirement; while I want to collect what I've put in I also want the next generations to have better health care, a clean environment, economic equity, peace and a social safety net. In other words I have empathy. The Boomers I know are all still working and struggling; none of us are better off than our parents, the American dream passed us by. Hopefully we'll all unite and demand that every generation has a chance for that dream.
"An important finding in the report is how much men and women actually see eye to eye. Equal numbers report the same stresses in daily life and similar goals when it comes to issues like money, childcare and balancing work and home life. They share the belief that government and business have failed to adjust to their needs. Shriver says that "men seem to be in agreement with these issues that women have traditionally been very out in front on--whether it's child care, the need for flexible hours, the need for paid family leave--and I think that that's really exciting because this is no longer a woman's movement, this is a smart American policy."
I look forward to focusing on being united for the common and highest good as we move forward.