SPECIAL REPORT | POWER WOMEN
Women’s issues are once again trending, but the current discourse over the ‘better half’ belies the true strength of female power BY ANNE H. KIM
MORE OFTEN KNOWN FOR COMMENTING ON THE DAY’S NEWS, Hilary Rosen, managing director of SKDKnickerbocker and a frequent political pundit, recently found herself in the unusual position of being the day’s news herself when she criticized Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s wife Ann for never having “worked a day in her life.” The Twitter-verse, blogosphere and traditional media were instantly abuzz over the resumption of the so-called “Mommy Wars,” made infamous by another Hillary’s similarly incendiary 1992 remark about working instead of staying home to bake cookies.While politicos argued about this most recent newsy piece of non-news, many women couldn’t help but wonder: Haven’t we laid this to rest already? Unfortunately, the answer is no, and as Election Day nears, there’s no sign that discussion of this coveted electoral demographic — a group that will likely decide who the most powerful person in the world will be in November — will cool down any time soon.This latest kerfluffle caps weeks of debate over everything from traditional gender roles to birth control (Sandra Fluke anyone?) and abortion. Coincidentally, Rosen’s unfortunate remark came just before National Equal Pay Day in which many women celebrated by taking home a paycheck that — despite President Obama’s 2009 signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — still pays women an average 77 cents for every dollar a man makes for doing the same job. Forty
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years after Ms. Magazine first gave many of these issues a public forum, it feels like the national discourse has traveled back in time. Of course the truth is that much has changed since women burned their bras and marched in the street. Despite these inequities, they are steadily chipping away large chunks of the proverbial glass ceiling. The latest Fortune 500 CEO and Forbes wealthiest lists include more women than ever before. Business watchers are also expecting 2012 to be the “Year of the Woman” in big tech as Meg Whitman attempts to get back to her roots at the helm of Hewlett Packard and Virginia Rommetty steps in to succeed Sam Palmisano as the CEO of IBM. On the campaign front, more women are running for high office thanks to organizations like Emily’s List and charismatic politicians like South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, whom many view as a rising star in the Republican Party. In Washington, the center of power, Christine Lagarde is settling in as head of the IMF, rounding out Washington’s growing female power club, which includes, of course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, U.N. Amb. Susan Rice and many more high heels filling posts in all fields (See our Power 100 list). In recognition of our Power Issue, we feature a few exceptional Washington women who are wielding the chisel day by day.
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