The most under-discussed aspect of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is her recommendation to pay attention to your choice of partner when planning your career success. We don’t talk about it much, but I agree with her that it’s the dynamic between working women and their support network – especially their life partner – which holds the key to not only the woman’s success, but women’s success in our society. And how can we make this dynamic a healthy one if we don’t include our men in the discussion? How can it work if they don’t feel honored for their choices to include in their definition of manhood with a big dose of fatherhood? That’s why I’m so glad to have discovered this post on the dilemma of many modern fathers – and proud to announce that its author, Conor Williams, will be joining our video discussion next week on how our choice of life partner/husband can impact our career success. I hope you’ll join us and enjoy Conor’s most recent post on The Daily Beast. ~ Dana Theus
Guest post by Conor P. Williams
She was smiling as she shook her head at my crying daughter, but her tone was pure sneer: “Does Mom know that Dad has you out in this heat?”
Then she looked at me. “It’s too hot for an infant to be outside today.”
It was hot. Probably 85 degrees in the sun. I involuntarily put my hand to my daughter’s head as I took stock of my critic. The contrast between our appearances was stark. She was free of children. She was dressed like she’d just come from the office, with a leather bag slung over one shoulder of a dark, formal suit, and an iPhone in her hand. Enormous sunglasses obscured much of her face—but not her condescension.
Read the rest of this post at the Daily Beast’s Women in the World Channel.
Please join the video panel discussion next week on how our partners can impact our career success. Register here to receive a reminder and be entered to win a drawing for a free ebook!
