Well, duh!

Dr. Claudia Goldin, Lee and Ezpeleta Professor of Arts and Science, Henry Lee Prof. of Economics, Harvard, has come out with this astounding bit of research:  Gender economics is real.  She has provided the first comprehensive account of women's earnings and labour market participation through the centuries.  It turns out that women's biological functions of pregnancy and birthing actually affect not only them, but also the whole economy.

Well, as I say, duh!

Gee, Goldin is smiling.  Wonder if she has any kids?

Elizabeth Renzetti had a column about this in Saturday's 'Globe and Mail' which outlined what all working women with children know:  The workplace penalizes us financially and career-wise.  I have written many blogs about this, but maybe I should have parlayed them into a PhD, like Goldin, or a book, like Renzetti?

Goldin says that the culprit is partly "greedy work" in a heterosexual partnership with children where one person is free to take on the demanding job that requires overtime, or be on-call all the time and the other is on-call for the kids.  "Hello, gender norms!  Nice to hear from you again," she quips.

My marriage broke up when my kids were three and nine months, so I was both parents.  That meant that when I was tapped to work in the Privy Council Office, I had to turn it down because I knew I could not put in the long hours any job there demands.  I had a nanny who clocked off at six p.m., so I had to be home.  No seven to seven for me.  Even if you weren't doing anything, you had to be seen in the office during those hours if you worked in the PCO.

Me for many years.

In spite of all that, I did well.  Made it to the DG level as an EX 01.  Not bad for someone who had to parent kids while pretending she didn't have any.  In fact the worst bosses I had were women.  Unlike my male bosses who were sympathetic, I had to lie to my female ones when a kid was sick, or had an appointment I had to take them to.  My female bosses were not nice.  Hello, welcome to envy in the workplace!  

Thank God for my sainted parents, who lived down the street and often took my kids when I travelled.  That's the reason we moved to Alberta, so I could be available for my grands.  And I have loved every minute of it!  

Sadly, I was only on my glorious own for two years.  Then I met B and he came with two kids and an ex-wife.  Everything changed when we got married because I ended up having to deal with four more people, one of whom was challenging, to put it mildly.

Somehow, we struggled and muddled through arguably successfully.  All four kids vote and none is in jail, if that's any indicator.  Ah, life.............