Everyone’s read the Anne-Marie Slaughter piece in the Atlantic on why there are so few women on the upper rungs of government and corporate ladders. Most of the discussion of the piece I’ve seen is about work/life balance, etc., but what resonated with me is Prof. Slaughter’s insight that the women we aspire to be (Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, etc.), and who advise us that we can have it all, are superwomen. I agree, except that I think we don’t have to look at the upper rungs to find them. I run into them all the time. And here are my observations from the field:
While the rest of the world sleeps soundly, the superwoman steadily advances science.
Late into the night:
or the wee hours of the morning.
If she has volunteered for an especially critical task, the superwoman does what must be done:
If she is deprived of sleep for another reason, well, that’s just another opportunity for the superwoman to advance science:
Unlike the rest of us, the superwoman does not need to catch up on sleep. The superwoman never naps… well, almost never.
And when duty calls for her to save another part of the world, the superwoman flies back on the weekends to take care of her responsibilities back home.
To the superwomen out there: you’re all my heroes. And to the supermen, you have my admiration as well!