By now, you’ve probably heard about the New York Times‘ recent piece, which originally ran with the headline: “Did women ruin the workplace?”
This was a podcast conversation between columnist Ross Douthat and Helen Andrews and Leah Libresco Sargeant, two women he describes as “conservative writers, both critics of feminism, … with different views of what a right-wing politics of gender should look like.”
In the days since the piece gained attention and generated blowback, its headline has changed to “Did liberal feminism ruin the workplace?” and some of my favorite women writers have weighed in on what is its outlandish premise. A few responses so far:
– From Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First: “No, women didn’t ruin the workplace. We just demanded it be fixed.”
– “Everybody panic! The workplace has become too ‘feminized,” from Arwa Mahdawi at the Guardian
– And a fitting, viral post on Threads: “I see your, ‘Did women ruin the workplace? And raise you one ‘Did men ruin the entire world?’”
Reading or listening to the NYT conversation, it quickly becomes apparent how thin of an argument is being debated. The kinds of questions being asked are not serious ones that deserve an hourlong roundtable, like “Are women the problem with wokeness?” and “What is toxic femininity?”
There are some false assumptions worth pointing out. One that stood out to me was this exchange:
Andrews: “It’s correct that we have not yet had a female president. On the other hand, it’s also true that the White House staff was 60% female under President Biden. So does the one prove definitively that we don’t live in a feminine society, or does the other prove that we do?”
Sargeant: “It’s always the junior levels that are a lot more female-tilted, and they’re moving gradually up, so you can expect that trend to continue.”
If anything, over recent years, we’ve learned that we definitely cannot expect that trend to continue. For every moment of progress, there’s backlash. Women moving gradually up in the workforce until we reach the top is anything but guaranteed.
Women are very much still the exception among Fortune 500 CEOs, and a female-dominated workforce in the executive branch clearly does not mean a woman is any closer to winning the White House. What’s more, after years of post-pandemic gains, women are leaving the labor force again amid the collapse of workplace flexibility.
But one takeaway from this conversation is that we need to learn how to have it. Conservative women are a growing force in society — just look at the power of the MAHA movement or the rise of Erika Kirk. This kind of thought is influencing the future of the country. It’s satisfying to laugh at a silly headline, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. If a traditional feminist thinker — not a critic of feminism — had been part of this conversation, it would have been far more productive.
So, no, women didn’t ruin the workplace. The rise of working women over several decades, however, has certainly changed the workplace. Exactly how is a conversation worth having, hopefully with better framing — and more diversity of thought — next time.
Written by Emma Hinchliffe for Fortune as “Women didn’t ruin the workplace. They did change it—and that’s a conversation worth having” and republished with permission.
