by Mary Ann Mason, Eve Mason Ekman
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Product Description
In the past few decades the number of women entering graduate and professional schools has been going up and up, while the number of women reaching the top rung of the corporate and academic worlds has remained relatively stagnant. Why are so many women falling off the fast track?
In this timely book, Mary Ann Mason traces the career paths of the first generation of ambitious women who started careers in academia, law, medicine, business, and the media in large numbers in the 1970s and '80s. Many women who had started families but continued working had ended up veering off the path to upper management at a point she calls "the second glass ceiling." Rather than sticking to their original career goals, they allowed themselves to slide into a second tier of management that offers fewer hours, less pay, lower prestige, and limited upward mobility. Men who did likewise--entered the career world with high aspirations and then started families while working--not only did not show the same trend, they reached even higher levels of professional success than men who had no families at all.
Along with her daughter, an aspiring journalist, Mason has written a guide for young women who are facing the tough decision of when--and if--to start a family. It is also a guide for older women seeking a second chance to break through to the next level, as Mason herself did in academia. The book features anecdotes and strategies from the dozens of women they interviewed. Advice ranges from the personal (know when to say "no," the importance of time management) to the institutional, with suggestions for how the workplace itself can be changed to make it easier for ambitious working mothers to reach the top levels. The result is a roadmap of new choices for women facing the sobering question of how to balance a successful career with family.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 A depressing read, 2008-08-27
I was recommended this book by a fellow female colleague. Despite (or maybe because of?) having a 2 week old and 2 year old at the time, I read this book in one day. The book is well written and I enjoyed the bi-generational aspect from the two authors (the two forewards and afterwards were really interesting).
I'm glad I have the book (having access to the statistics is going to be useful for future conversations), but honestly, my one overriding thought associated with this book is how depressing it all is. How little progress has been made by women, how much harder we have to work to succeed at all.
The general advice they give to help you succeed is good, but too general.
I would say that the biggest thing you could do is get a mentor, someone who can give you advice that is more specific to your situation.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Great book for 30-somethings committed to their careers, 2008-04-14
I don't normally write reviews, but I do recommend this book to any mother (or father, I suppose) who knows they are committed to their career for the long haul. It is written somewhat like a textbook, but I actually liked that style for this particular book. I wanted concrete examples of women who have been through the child rearing years while also effectively climbing the corporate ladder, and their thoughts on how they made it all work. If anything, it was just nice to read about other women who faced some of the same struggles I am going through right now and that they came out of it all for the better and achieved the successes they wanted both in the office and at home.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
good for the high ranking few of us..., 2007-10-28
I found this book quite interesting and easy to read. There is a good deal of research behind the facts and claims made and it is brought together thoughtfully to formulate a way of moving forward for women contemplating life outside of the home after children.
This is not really a criticism, just a comment, but the book may not relate to some women as well as others. This is because there is a leaning towards women in the academic field (studying, lecturing) or women in high ranking, high paying jobs (hence "fast track" in the title"). I still found it interesting, and certainly insightful in the identification of the created "second tier" for women with families.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A book all men should read!, 2007-09-22
This is a book every man should read.
Even for those of us who have lived through and heartily supported the equality revolution, the book is full of stunning facts, both statistical and personal, that are a wake up call to a job not yet done. A male culture still dominates practices in business, the professions and the academy and does not fully address the implications of biology for the role of women in society and their struggle for a level playing field
The book is also a great read. Mary Ann Mason writes clearly, forcefully and personally. The stories of many women collected by Eve Mason Ekman are compelling and very well told. The book combines the best of social science and personal narrative, to make a convincing argument that our sisters, daughters and wives still have great challenges as women and mothers in the working world.
While we are living in times when more women are achieving high status position, this book reminds us of the costs to these women and tells us of the many powerful and talented women who choose, because of circumstance, to not go there. I have no doubt that this would be a better world if there were more women who running it. This book calls for a change that will benefit us all.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
insightful, relevant, and practical, 2007-08-14
This book has many strengths, and three stand out. One is that the book really shows the data relating to women's success and longevity in the workforce, as affected by children. (The data are very easy to understand as presented.) Second, the "hard data" are backed up by and given voice with insights drawn from interviews with many women who have tried, in one way or another and in various settings, to continue a career and have children. Third, the book addresses not just this topic in general, but how women with children fare in several types of professions; for instance, it is very interesting to learn that female doctors remain in their profession with a lower dropout rate.
And the book is full of insight from which any given employer--or any group of interested women in a worksite--could work to make real change happen, so that women have the chance to choose.
This isn't a cheesy "you can have it all" book, nor does it try to whip up or take sides in "mommy wars." It is not about blaming people or trying to prescribe which way is best to raise our children. Rather, it helps us see what we can do to broaden the opportunities and quality of life for mothers and their children.
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