The frontierswomen

September 6, 2008

Sarah Palin should thank Gloria Steinem. Without the feminist leader and the movement she helped inspire, it's hard to imagine a mother of small children becoming governor of Alaska - much less a nominee for vice president of the United States.

But Ms. Steinem should be thanking Mrs. Palin too, despite the activist's many complaints about the governor's candidacy, outlined Thursday in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Why? Because after Mrs. Palin's nomination this week, the argument that feminists such as Ms. Steinem have long fought to overcome - that women with youngsters should stay at home - is effectively over.

As the world knows, Mrs. Palin is a mother of five, including an infant with Down syndrome; shortly after his birth, she returned to her demanding job. She now seeks an office that is not only highly challenging and 3,000 miles from home but also could easily cast her into, literally, the most important job in the world.

Rosario Marin, a Republican, former U.S. treasurer and mother of a disabled child, spoke for many when she said of those who would question Mrs. Palin's work and family decisions: "They would never dare to say that about a man."

But some who are celebrating Mrs. Palin's candidacy now - James Dobson of Focus on the Family is prominent among them - have criticized working mothers for years, often citing dubious data about the supposed harm caused by day care. As the long-running Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development shows, there are few significant differences between children cared for exclusively by their mothers and those in any form of day care.

Of course, the working mother is hardly a recent phenomenon. Although social conservatives pine for a return to the "traditional family" of ages past, professor Andrew J. Cherlin, an expert on families at the Johns Hopkins University, points out that "the history of women's work demonstrates how atypical the single-earner family was."

True, feminism (and for the record, Mrs. Palin calls herself a "pro-life feminist") has opened many doors for women in the world of work in recent decades. But feminists have always known that to achieve full equality, they would also have to change the workplace itself and men's roles at home. Here, they have been less successful.

Few companies acknowledge the needs of families by offering options such as flex time, job sharing and telecommuting. And few men share equally in parenting and housework - although, as Mr. Cherlin observes, most men are doing more now than in the past. Much work remains if we are to be a society where the needs of the workplace and the needs of the home are equally valued. But we're a step closer to that day, thanks to the example of the woman from the Last Frontier.

So congratulations, Mrs. Palin, for your achievements. And congratulations, social conservatives, for finally acknowledging that no woman who sets her sights high deserves anything less than praise.

- Michael Cross-Barnet