In Spring 2013, an article in the magazine of the honor society Phi Kappa Phi grabbed my attention: “Can American Women Have it All and Be Happy?” by Lin-Yi Zhou.
In this very long and complicated article, it was hard to sort out which issues to address in a 400-word Letter to the Editor—and for a while it sat in my “to do” pile. But I finally sent off a letter, and soon heard from the magazine’s editor, Peter Szatmary, who worked with me through several rounds of revisions. My letter to the editor was published in the Fall issue of the Phi Kappa Phi Forum with the headline “Parenting is Vital Work.”
I agree with Professor Zhou that the U.S. needs better family policies, but as I wrote in my letter to the editor: “her focus on promoting policies for mothers who pursue full-time careers leaves out mothers as well as fathers who make other choices. Instead, policymakers could enact inclusive family policies that support parents regardless of the ways in which they meet their income-earning and caregiving responsibilities.”
If you’re interested in working with Family and Home Network on media and public policy issues, please let me know! You can reach me by email: cmyers@familyandhome.org
-Catherine Myers, Executive Director