What stops women from becoming CEOs, politicians, and surgeons at the same rate that men do?
Some reasons include overt discrimination, subtle cultural factors, and discouragement
of girls from studying math and science. Those factors absolutely need to be addressed, but
they�re not the whole story. An important explanation for this disparity that doesn�t
get as much attention is the differences between choices men and women make about their educations,
careers, and family life. To give an example, a recent study attempted
to answer why there are so few female politicians in the US by asking successful women why they
wouldn�t run for public office. While the study found some important institutional barriers
were partly to blame, it also found that women�s preferences played a huge role in the decision
to run for office. The women cited the potentially devastating loss of privacy, the pressure
of constant fundraising, the threat of compromising one�s principles, and the long hours away
from their families. The study found that women, on average, are less willing to make
the sacrifices necessary for grueling political careers. And the women who do enter politics
often do so later in life when their children are older and the toll on family is not as
great. These women are making the choices on how
to balance work, family, and public service that are right for them. It�s hard to fault
them for that even if we�d like to see more women in politics. And, as an aside, it turns
out most men don�t want to run for office either citing precisely those same concerns.
One way to increase female workforce participation is to have men perform a larger share of household
and child rearing duties. Stay-at-home dads are becoming more common and it�s been shown
that even a modest increase in a man�s contribution to child care and housework duties actually
helps women balance their work and family obligations.
This is a great development, but as I�ve discussed elsewhere it�s hard to encourage
these kinds of cultural changes through policy. Top down rules like mandatory paternity leave
can actually backfire. In the end, decisions about how to parcel out household duties can
only realistically be made at the individual and family level where people can take their
particular desires, needs, and abilities into account.
It�s not as simple as saying men should do more at home because such changes require
cultural and individual shifts that can�t be mandated from above. Additionally, given
the choice there are many women who would still choose to spend more time at home. The
desire to spend time with their kids may trump career ambitions, and for the women who feel
this way having a partner stay at home instead wouldn�t make them any happier or more fulfilled.
By questioning their preferences here, we actually undermine women as rational agents.
One way to address this is for businesses to give employees more flexibility in the
hours they work and the locations they work from. This would allow people to more effectively
balance their home lives and their careers. So to attract talented candidates, industries
may want to rethink grueling work hours, or conditions that prevent people of both sexes
from maintaining a work/life balance - like Google, for example, has done. But such proposals
are limited by the realities of some professions. Surgeons cant work from home, and politicians
must spend time with their constituents and their colleagues. And like other kinds of
change, these policies cant be mandated without causing unintended consequences. Ultimately,
you cant make every career compatible with a robust family life. Its not just women who
cant have it all in that respect. No one can. We all face difficult choices in life. While
we should fight prejudice wherever it persists and encourage women to pursue male dominated
majors, jobs, and leadership positons, there will still be many women and men who will
choose differently. And thats okay. Some people are comfortable working longer hours in exchange
for higher pay. Others prefer careers with more flexibility instead. Men and women should
be empowered to choose lives that meet their own standard of flourishing, not the standards
chosen by others. Supporting human freedom means supporting
the freedom of diverse individuals to choose the lives they believe to be the most fulfilling,
while eliminating official barriers wherever we can.
In case you missed it, watch my other video to learn why mandates wont fix the problem
of gender inequality.