Compensation for Michelle Obama?
The woman in question is an Ivy League-educated lawyer who commanded a substantial salary as an executive in the University of Chicago hospital system. But much of what we're reading, viewing and hearing tries to predict which former first lady she'll most be like, as if these women, of widely varying backgrounds and experiences, constitute the universe of options for the newest to join their group.
An example of coverage falling short would be a Dec. 16, 2008, story on the "NBC Nightly News," reported by Andrea Mitchell, herself half of a Washington power couple that includes her husband, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman. The topic: Should first ladies receive a salary?
Given that Michelle Obama is obliged to give up her career because of inevitable conflicts were she to be a salaried employee in any organization outside the White House, this is an important question now and going forward, when we can assume that future first ladies also will be women of professional achievement.
What followed was a video retrospective of recent first ladies that offered glimpses of them in social, diplomatic and cause-related roles. Mitchell asked only two sources -- historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Lisa Caputo, former press secretary to Hillary Clinton -- if the position should be salaried.
Caputo said no, because it's not an elected position. Goodwin said that while the first lady's contributions deserve to be valued, the fact that they are not "is part, unfortunately, of women's work being devalued." Goodwin got to develop this more fully in a companion piece on the "Nightly News" Web site, but viewers of the newscast didn't see that.
Then it was on to a clip of Hollywood dance duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, with Mitchell noting that Rogers did everything Astaire did except backwards and in high heels. This is a well-known cliche that implies that women doing the same work as men have often been shortchanged, but does it even make sense when asking about compensation for the U.S. president's spouse?
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January 19, 2009
Compensation for Michelle Obama?
The woman in question is an Ivy League-educated lawyer who commanded a substantial salary as an executive in the University of Chicago hospital system. But much of what we're reading, viewing and hearing tries to predict which former first lady she'll most be like, as if these women, of widely varying backgrounds and experiences, constitute the universe of options for the newest to join their group.
An example of coverage falling short would be a Dec. 16, 2008, story on the "NBC Nightly News," reported by Andrea Mitchell, herself half of a Washington power couple that includes her husband, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman. The topic: Should first ladies receive a salary?
Given that Michelle Obama is obliged to give up her career because of inevitable conflicts were she to be a salaried employee in any organization outside the White House, this is an important question now and going forward, when we can assume that future first ladies also will be women of professional achievement.
What followed was a video retrospective of recent first ladies that offered glimpses of them in social, diplomatic and cause-related roles. Mitchell asked only two sources -- historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Lisa Caputo, former press secretary to Hillary Clinton -- if the position should be salaried.
Caputo said no, because it's not an elected position. Goodwin said that while the first lady's contributions deserve to be valued, the fact that they are not "is part, unfortunately, of women's work being devalued." Goodwin got to develop this more fully in a companion piece on the "Nightly News" Web site, but viewers of the newscast didn't see that.
Then it was on to a clip of Hollywood dance duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, with Mitchell noting that Rogers did everything Astaire did except backwards and in high heels. This is a well-known cliche that implies that women doing the same work as men have often been shortchanged, but does it even make sense when asking about compensation for the U.S. president's spouse?
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