Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's Lives Aren't Getting Any Easier--And How We Can Make Real Progress for Ourselves and

by Carolyn Maloney

Book Overview

As a young woman, Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney asked her grandmother for career advice. She was shocked by the reply: "Get married." Though much has changed for women since then, more has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159486327X
• ISBN13: 9781594863271
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Modern Times
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Brave Step Toward Equality

"Rumors of our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated" by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney is a call-to-arms for women, and men who care, to begin the real process of creating equality of the sexes. This excellently researched book hits to the very heart of the problem of hidden prejudice that most people tend to, or perhaps, want to ignore. Maloney is superbly well-versed in the inequities that exist in the marketplace. Through her own personal story and the emotional stories of other women, she points out the subtle obstacles that face women who want both career and family life. Maloney also documents the double standards that apply to women (but not to men) with a careful hand that is both intelligent and feeling. And Maloney stresses that now is time to take real action and push for concrete results so that women are no longer second rate citizens. In fact the book is a guide on how to achieve this. I applaud this book and this visionary woman. Thank you.

FIVE STARS!

"Rumors of our Progress" is a must read for the women of all generations. Congresswoman Maloney does a fabulous job of presenting the issues that face women each day and the ways we can fight them. Her experience in Congress, personal stories about herself and other women, and the research behind the book paint a real picture about the modern world and the misconceptions about the gender gap. Maloney's book is captivating and inspiring to every woman, man and child of our nation. Keep up the good work Congresswoman! and Five Stars!

I will do this for my daughter

I'm not exactly Alan Alda, But I have tried to be sensitive to women's issues over the years. After all, I say things like "spokesperson", and "Congressperson". I was doing my bit for equality. But after reading this book, I realize I hadn't a clue about some of the barriers and obstacles that my mother, my sister, my wife and my daughter had to deal with - that I -a happy oblivious carefree successful white guy - would simply never encounter. And It all just makes my blood boil. I think about how my mom struggled so to make ends meet after my dad died - and I read in the book that the single most powerful predictor of poverty in old age - is motherhood. I think about how my wife learned to use her initials when she first started sending in applications for better jobs because she had learned that if the prospective employer leaped to the assumption that she was a guy - she was more likely to get an interview. More likely to get a job. And I read about issues in the book that she faced that I never even gave a thought to - after all - I was not likely to get fired because I was pregnant - or because I needed some flex time to take care of a sick child - or an ailing parent. I think about my sister - trying unsuccessfully to get that promotion at the Kennedy Space Center - and then I read in the book about how at Walmart 66% of all the workers are female and only 33% of the managers are women. Like what? Women managers would not be likely to understand the finer points of shopping? Puleez. And when it comes to good jobs for women in science, math, technology, fuhgehtaboutit. And darn it my daughter is gifted in math. I read about the issues of sexual harassment in the work place - and I don't even want to think about my incredible, talented, and funny daughter - heading out into a work place that is like - well - the ones I was part of when I was her age. But at least there is hope - because I also read in the book that there are realistic things we can do - steps we can take - to make it fairer - make it better - even make the economy stronger overall at the same time. I will give my copy of the book to my daughter with the dog eared pages about how to get information about comparable wages - so she is less likely to be a victim of the Gender Wage Bias effect when she graduates and heads to those first jobs. She is going to be a writer by the way - a great writer. I will buy another copy for my wife for her birthday - outside of the fact that it will earn me some major points - it will be a useful resource when she applies again for a promotion at the University - she can turn to the resources outlined in the book - maybe this time things will go a little better. Be a little fairer. i will get a copy to my sister. Who somehow managed it all back when she was a single mom for a while. I am too busy to get everything done on days when I don't even have to go into an office. For the life of me - I just don't see how single working par

Timely, Surprising and Amazing!

As many women have experienced, the workplace glass ceiling is a trickier concept than one might expect. As Congresswoman Maloney so aptly points out, bias has gone underground and is harder to pinpoint, but it is there all the same. Hilarious (and sad) stories of bizarre situations like the female state troopers who had to "prove" they were able to continue working during their pregnancies. The "tests" were 1) roping a cow and 2) mowing a lawn. You literally cannot make this stuff up. I'd like to see their male counterparts being asked to rope a cow. Is this why Hillary is facing so much subtle and not so subtle gender bias? She hasn't proven she can rope a cow. I'll bet she could if we REALLY believe that's the metric by which we should judge women's worth. This is a fantastic book that could not be more timely. It should be given to every member of the House and the Senate. Thank you Congresswoman, for bringing this dialogue into public debate.