The Wall Between Women: The Conflict Between Stay-At-Home and Employed Mothers

Imagine a coffee klatch of upper-middle-class women with nuclear families, asked to discuss the barrier the author believes separates stay-at-home and employed mothers. Some might say there aren't problems because the two types of women's paths simply don't cross. Some might air grievances about the flextime or part-time work policies of their employers. Others might recount the demeaning remarks ("you stay home all day—what do you do with yourself?") made at cocktail parties by dressed-for-success career moms. Imagine a few more comments, and you can skip reading this tiresome pseudo-survey. Brykman, a mother who's worked in marketing, says she questioned some 100 moms about their feelings concerning this "wall" between women. She neither includes a copy of her survey nor describes how she located her contributors; and the book is rife with run-on sentences and grammatical errors. Still, Brykman's basic message—that women should define success for themselves, not feel guilty about it and be supportive of other women's choices—is a useful conclusion. (Mar.)