If Elena Kagan is confirmed by the Senate, there will be three women on the Supreme Court for the first time. This is a measure of how far women have come. Two will be single and childless. This may be a measure of something else entirely...
...Do parents make better Supreme Court judges? Are there different rules and obstacles for men and women who aim to reach the highest levels? There certainly won’t be a shortage of parents on the court...
Nor is it a given that for a woman to find a seat on the highest court she must choose career over children... The question, then — about the legal arena in particular and society in general — is what, if anything, has changed since the years when O’Connor and Ginsburg rose to the court.
The world got better for women, right? More accepting, accommodating and flexible?
What do you think? Has the world gotten better for women who want to pursue careers?
Although women's roles have changed tremendously ......... NO, women will always be treated as third class citizens ... and for black women it's lower... A Change Is Gone Come...
Tuesday, May 25th 2010 at 12:26PM
Cynthia Merrill Artis
Great Blog.... Sis!!! You keep me thinking!!!
Tuesday, May 25th 2010 at 12:57PM
Cynthia Merrill Artis
Thanks for your comments Sister Cynthia. Women's roles for all women today are different from the days before the Women's Right Movement when women were considered the same as chattle, but although I think the movement did alot of good (obtaining voting rights and providing women with opportunities to work the same jobs as men) I think that there was alot of harm (women putting off marriage and family, getting abortions when there is no life or death harm to the mother's life, allowing abortions when rape and incest are not involved, etc...)
There is so much wrong.
Although I posted the article, I don't agree with the journalists spin on Kagan making it about being a woman and women's dilemma. This isn't about women having to choose career over family for me, but about putting the right person on the bench. I'm a working mother and wife who puts my family first, but at the same time I have a career that has given me the experience to be where I am. Kagan hasn't any experience as a judge at all like Sandra Day O'Conner or Ruth Ginburg.
...and let me not forget Sotomeyor who has experience as a judge before being confirmed to the Supreme Court. Jen Fad | delete
Bro. Clark thank you for your comments to this blog. I would have loved to be further up the ladder with my career now, but there are some things that I can't afford to sacrifice. You have a point that some women do tend to use their career as a crutch not to have a family and I think their marriages have suffered (if they are even married.)
For me, 6 weeks MAT leave isn't a way forward for women who want to have familes and careers. I decided to quit fulltime work to be a decent mom to my kid. It's tough for women unless we have relatives near by or good child care to help raise our kids. I just don't trust other people with my kid. I guess if I did, I'd be that Nurse Attorney that I dreamed of being by now--- having my own consulting practice.
I don't regret a thing though. There is a time and season for everything.
Bro. Rob you really make me (((giggle))). Are you like this is person--- a real comedian?
Tuesday, May 25th 2010 at 9:46PM
Jen Fad
jenFad,
if you are between 18-120 and breathing you might think of me as a spiritual beacon bringing you safely home out of the Hurricane.
Thursday, May 27th 2010 at 9:14AM
robert powell
Brother Cow, I agree. The media gives off this subliminal image for women to take a subservient role because it helps to keep a male dominated world. I applaud Elena Kagan for standing up for what is right and for her desire to reach higher.
I fully understand that this is a male-dominated society. But I agree with the concept if male dominance is here to stay it can at least be a domination of what’s fair, right and just.