I Don’t Know Jack (Welch) But I’m Mad At Him
July 15th, 2009 | by Leanne
I’m mad at Jack Welch. Which is a little silly as I’ve never met the man. But suddenly the debate on work/life in this country has taken a giant step backward for the last few days and I blame him. His comments about “women” needing to choose between having a great career and raising children in a speech in front of a conference of 6,700 human resource professionals is infuriating. And at the same time takes away from the actual important message of his speech…career choice.
I mean honestly, haven’t men been making that same choice for years. It has, until recently, just been implied what that choice will be – career first, family second. And haven’t some men been lamenting that choice later in their lives? Also, in that same time frame, women who have no desire to bear children – yes, they do exist and I know some of them – have been “mommy track’d” with no cause. They do not want nor will they be having children. That has been their choice. And yet they are still not part of the C-suite. Birth rates are falling, more women than men are getting college degrees, and yet, women still aren’t at the top…hmmm….seems to be more than “choice” on women’s part. It seems there may be some factors – such as sexist CEOs – working against them.
And now on to the substance of what people listening to Jack Welch’s speech could have heard if only he had not used that one word. You make choices in your career, those choices have consequences so make informed choices, and understand that you can’t have it all, all at once. That I believe is a good speech. And one that needs to be said over and over in today’s world with examples:
There is no such thing as Work-Life Balance: I agree. I hate the word balance – which most of you know. It’s about having the flexibility to understand which portion of your life should take precedence when and having the support system to move between those elements as needed. And for many of us, it is not only career. This week for instance I’ve had some good friends in town. I get to see them only occasionally and usually over a rushed meal. So I’ve taken some real time to spend with them and enjoy them this week…at the expense of work time.
There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences: Absolutely true. The recent press about how inflexible the White House is as a workplace has made it clear that people understand this. My opinion and that of others who have commented on the situtation is that there are roles that will not be very flexible…and that is a given. If you choose to be a senior staffer to the leader of the free world your ability to be flexible will be curtailed during that time.
Taking time off for family can offer a nice life but you might not get the corner office: Well I’m not sure a nice life and the corner office of a major corporation can work at the same time. Again, I don’t know Jack Welch, but many commenting on this story in the Wall Street Journal and on blogs have mentioned that he has been thrice married. I’m not sure that’s directly related to his career….but I’m guessing it’s a factor.
You can still have a nice career: Yes, you can. And for many people getting to the corner office isn’t the goal and maybe shouldn’t be based on this article on depression in this country.
Again, I’m thrilled the debate is raging with articles in the WSJ, Reuters, on Salon.com and throughout the blogosphere. The speech was a good one…just please take “women” out of the equation…and replace it with “workers” or “employees” or “people.”
5 Comments
Family is first and always will be – people find this out sooner or later – hopefully sooner. Sometimes it’s hard to remember, when you are sitting there, completely miserable in the corner office.
At the end of your life none of your materialistic crap, your job, or cash matters. No one remembers your job title or that you were a big shot or a little fish. They only remember if they were touched by you.
Leanne, your response is very measured
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Taking “women” out of the language in this case is a good idea, and there’s more to the battle. I think at the very least we should all be mentoring, coaching, blabbing, tweeting, posting with women about leading the charge and opening up the work-life balance dialog in their companies. Extra work to initiate, but talk about a leadership opportunity. Goal would be to generate dialog and discovery, and to develop “best practices” and policies.
I realize people are pitting fear of job loss w/work life balance issues. I may be inciting a riot, but I actually think loathing one’s work is more painful than losing a job.
From China Gorman, COO of SHRM on Facebook:
Well, I guess you had to be there. His point was not that women need to choose between carrer and life, his point was that when one makes choices one needs to be prepared for the consequences. We women may not like the current reality of the consequences of our choices, but I really did not hear him say that women need to choose between career and life.
Thanks, China for weighing in – especially as you heard it live. I was on twitter during the conference and heard no hue or cry until the WSJ article and the many articles, blogs & comments to follow. I do wish he had never mentioned “women” at all. Because I’d much rather talk about career choice and consequences than women in the workplace…that theme is getting old and hopefully tired!
I watched the video and was struck by the gap between what Jack meant and what he said. Nevertheless, I still think his words were ill-advised and reflect a thoughtless of way of discussing work-life balance.
I’m with you. It’s not about balance. It’s also not about Jack Welch telling me about the reality of the world because I’m not sure he can speak to a greater reality. He can speak to a wealthy, elitist, privileged position. I objected to the fact that he thought he could speak about choices with any credibility. He can’t. Jack Welch has lived a life of privileged choices based on the sacrifices of others.