Women in Business: Baby Boom (1987) Continues to Mirror the Challenges Women Face in Business Today
Through the books Through the Labyrinth, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, and the 1987 movie Baby Boom, Alice Eagly, Linda Carli, and Sylvia Ann Hewlett outline the perennial issues women face in business.
The bottom line? Not much has changed since 1987.
Baby Boom and these books provide invaluable information for women in business, many of whom will eventually face the problems of balancing/trading off their family lives with their work lives.
Baby Boom’s Message
Baby Boom depicts a successful New York business woman, J.C. Wiatt, that’s about to make partner in her firm. Known as the “Tiger Lady,” her life dramatically changes as she gets news of an inheritance from a relative from another country. Thinking it’s money, the inheritance is really a baby girl from a distant cousin that has just died. J.C.’s life changes as she struggles to become a new mother, loses a boyfriend, and manages career changes.
J.C. eventually chooses to remain the permanent guardian of the baby, much to the dismay of her employer. At work, she becomes distracted, her priorities change, and she’s forced to make a choice: she’s has a chance at becoming a partner in her firm, but they want her to continue to work at 110%, which she’s unable or unwilling to do.
J.C. is fired from the firm, and then strikes out on her own. She accidentally becomes an entrepreneur by producing her own organic baby food she brands Country Baby. She quickly becomes a local and state sensation, and eventually her former firm asks to meet with her, giving her the VIP treatment as they court her because her last client, a regional grocery chain, wants to acquire her business by offering a “world class deal that would make her richer” than she ever dreamed.
But the former Tiger Lady opts out of the deal, after realizing that her values and priorities have changed. She loves being a mother, running her business, and knows that she can grow her own business on her own.
Lesson learned from J.C. Wiatt’s journey?
Women can find success in business by making decisions based on their values and priorities. J.C.’s experience and knowledge perfectly position her to take her small startup to regional and national success.
The Challenges Faced by Women in Business
Baby Boom was made in 1987, and the movie reflects the decade (complete with Dynasty-era shoulder pads), but its message is just as relevant today. While some employers are becoming creative in how they manage women by offering flexible schedules, women still face career challenges.
Here’s how Eagly and Carli summarize these challenges in Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders:
- Glass Ceiling: the glass ceiling has been broken, but women now must find their way through a labyrinth to get to the executive suite.
- Prejudice: women face are discriminated against in promotions at all corporate levels.
- Career Path is Stymied: women who leave their jobs to raise children usually encounter corporate resistance when they want to go back to work.
- Networking: employers who require constant availability, after-hours socializing, and weekend outings discriminate against women and men who have significant parental duties.
The Barriers to Women’s Success in Business
Off-Ramps and On-Ramps also does an excellent job outlining the barriers that consign many talented women to the lower end of promotions and pay scales. Her research suggests that:
- Blocks to Career Advancement: women in the workplace face blocked “on-ramps” to career advancement.
- Off-Ramps from Success: they are penalized for taking the “off-ramp” for breaks from the workforce. More than 60% of top-tier female professionals have taken either voluntary time out or a flexible or reduced-hour option.
- Networking Challenges: regaining corporate status is difficult, and often impossible with high “face-time” demands, such as 10-hour workdays.
- A New Model is Needed: outdated, traditional (read: white male) career development models do not accurately measure the value of women in the workplace.
Fortunately, Hewlett highlights some innovative firms that are developing programs for recruiting and retaining talented women. Her book’s an excellent resource for learning how to recognize and define the impact of gender differences in your workplace, how employers can develop flexible work programs, how “off-ramp” career breaks affect women’s advancement, and how to adjust career models to meet the demands of today’s workplace.
Through the Labyrinth, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, and Baby Boom are excellent resources for up-and-coming women in business. Just say no to the shoulder pads.
