I want to know why the Tribune found Rosalind Barnett`s so-called study of women in the workplace newsworthy (”Job stress hits single women more,”
April 6).
Ms. Barnett sampled 305 female practical nurses and social workers and then made the broad generalization that ”single, childless women are more likely to suffer job-related stress than working women who are wives or mothers.”
This is just another anti-feminism message Susan Faludi describes in her book ”Back-lash.” The message is simply this: Women are not happy unless they play the role of wife and/or mother. The underlying message is that women should stay out of ”male-dominated” professions and focus on their role as wife and/or mother.
It is difficult enough for professional women to break the ”glass ceiling” and advance into managerial and leadership roles without the media promoting archaic stereotypes that are out of touch with reality.
Why doesn`t the Tribune publicize studies on how job stress hits single men more, or that women who are advancing up the partnership or corporate ladder, not stagnating, find that role more rewarding than the role of wife/
mother? This would surely be newsworthy.
