The Blog @ Spolitics

Shining a Light on that Glass Ceiling

If you don’t see it yourself, it’s easy to believe that sexism is an anachronistic issue, a problem about as relevant today as the shortage of whale oil. But doors that are usually kept closed have been opened and America is getting a good look at what the interview process looks like from a woman’s point of view — a mother’s especially.

Instead of talking about her experience, her ideas, what she can bring to the job, she’s asked why she even wants to work when she has a baby at home; to defend herself against charges that she’s an unfit mother; whether or not her duty to her family will interfere with her ability to perform; and whether or not she’ll submit to a DNA test to prove she’s not lying about her recent childbirth.

The spectacle of the past few days has been disgusting, infuriating, and saddening. And you can’t help but realize that far too many women have seen it before and it’s what they’ve been talking about.

But perhaps what makes it even more disgusting is that, in a condescending, sarcastic and self-righteous way, the media is defending its actions. They still don’t see where they’ve wronged. “We’re supposed to ask questions,” they say. That’s true. But they’re supposed to ask the questions that matter.