Women are being forced into a choice between career and family, according to author and economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett. Her groundbreaking new book Baby Hunger: The New Battle for Motherhood is making big headlines on both sides of the Atlantic, and reveals some startling statistics about career choices and fertility. A Cambridge graduate, Hewlett will discuss her findings - and their implications for public policy - in two Cambridge talks.

Tomorrow, Thursday 25 April, she will open a discussion in New York City organised by Cambridge in America (an organization to promote the alumni affairs and development efforts of the University and the Colleges in the United States), and on 13 May she will speak at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

Hewlett's research has found that 42 percent of women in corporate America are childless, and the vast majority of these didn't plan it that way. Most expected to be able to get their careers firmly established before turning their energies to starting families, unaware of the sharp drop in fertility rates for women in their 30s and 40s.

On the other side of the coin, Hewlett has found that 22 percent of women with graduate degrees (MDs, MBAs, etc.) have stayed out of the workforce altogether. For many, the demands of family life just don't leave room for a career.

One source of support for Hewett's ideas is Girton College, where academics have conducted a study of a large sample of women attending Girton throughout the 20th century. The University and Life Experience project takes a life history approach: looking at women's family and educational background; their adult experiences of work, family and community; and their time at college.

Kate Perry, Girton Archivist, is one of the researchers and says that many of their findings reinforce Hewett's ideas:

"The priority now is to focus attention on the way the labour market is currently structured. Many of the women interviewed advocated a different organisation of the working lifecycle, rather than reverting to the simple choice between career or family, not least because the failure to make maximum use of their skills is a loss to the economy as well as to the women themselves."

In Baby Hunger, Hewlett proposes policy changes that she says would make a real difference to many women, and give them the ability to choose a balanced life.
"Finishing the feminist revolution will entail developing gender specific strategies for private life - for relationships and children," she says. "This new data tells us where to start."

Hewlett is the founder and chair of the National Parenting Association in the United States. Baby Hunger: The New Battle for Motherhood is published on 14 May by Atlantic Books.

Hewlett's talk at Lucy Cavendish College is a ticketed event; tickets are available free of charge from Heffer's Bookshop on 01223 568568.

Lucy Cavendish College was founded in 1965 for the specific advancement of women's education. The College exists to create a stimulating environment in which women can pursue academic excellence within the University of Cambridge, and includes both mature undergraduates and graduate students.

Hewlett's talk has been organised by the College's Centre for Women Leaders, which provides an opportunity for women at the top of their profession to return to an academic environment to work on their own projects.


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