Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Jessica Leigh Lebos

When Jessica Leigh graduated with a degree in creative writing, she figured she'd be slinging lattes for the rest of her life, so she shaved her head, moved into a VW bus and set off for Alaska. Good thing the van broke down just north of San Francisco, because she just hates cold weather. Her baris...

Monday, July, 7, 2008

I’m loving the Eggers-esque title of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney’s new book about how apathy and assumption are eroding women’s rights in this country.

I haven’t finagled myself a copy yet, but excerpts from Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated contain the real questions:

If women have made so much "progress," why haven't their lives gotten any easier? Why do most American women say they don't get enough sleep and that balancing work and family is getting harder? Why do they make 77 cents to a man's dollar? And why must Maloney still fight to preserve rights—such as educational equality and even birth control—that seemed secure in the 1970s?

Yeah, how come? Maybe I’ll squeeze in some time to read and find out after work, dishes, laundry, bedtime stories, the next day’s lunch-making ...