Three Books on Feminism

I previously sent an e-mail about some books about day care dangers here http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/two-books-about-day-care.html. Now I wanted to let you know about some books about various aspects of Feminism. The first talks about differences between the sexes. To some this might be obvious, but to others the only differences come from cultural conditioning. The next talks about the "biological clock" in women that they, and the men with them, need to be aware of. This is relevent to the declining fertility rate in so many Western countries. The final book talks about why women earn less than men and what they really can do about it. Part of the answer lies in the fields chosen by both. Anyway, I thought you might find these selections of books to be interesting reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Differences-Seriously-Steven-Rhoads/dp/159403091X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225812893&sr=1-1

Vive la difference,
By
William Muehlenberg (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taking Sex Differences Seriously (Hardcover) It might seem odd to have to pen a book like this, but we live in odd times. Throughout history people have known that men and women are different. But recently we have been told that men and women are not different after all. Perceived differences are due to society, not biology, and sex and gender differences are both interchangeable and malleable. In this view, gender is a social construction. Moreover, one can change one's gender like one changes one's clothes. Male today, female tomorrow, bisexual one day, homosexual the next. This is the brave new world of the gender benders.
The thesis Rhoads offers is simple: men and women are different, and these differences are basic, profound and rooted in our very nature. With a wealth of documentation and research, Rhoads sets the record straight, informing us of the clear scientific and biological case for male-female differences. http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Life-Sylvia-Hewlett/dp/1401359302/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225813939&sr=1-2
A real eye-opener for Thirty-Something Professional Women,
By A Customer
This review is from: Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest For Children (Hardcover) This book was very insightful and based on real-life research. I am thirty-one and have spent the last ten years focused solely on my career as a professional. This book opened my eyes to the fact that I really don't have forever to start a family. The book follows several successful women in a variety of fields and discusses the challenges they face with finding a spouse and starting a family as they get older. These women tell their tales of how they basically woke up one day and realized they were forty and single. Many of them faced personal challenges as they drained all options to get pregnant and were unsuccessful. This book is definitely an interesting read. http://www.amazon.com/Why-Men-Earn-More-Startling/dp/0814472109/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225814471&sr=1-1

Gets women to think forward, not inside their guts,
By
Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews This book seems to generate a lot of contradictory responses, especially from people who are quick to tear apart the author's statistics. While a lot of his statements are indeed based on the numbers (and I could quibble with a few of them myself), I think his premise and conclusion are clear enough: there are things women can do to move ahead in their career, and many women aren't doing those things. That alone makes this book worth your attention. For example, the author points out that there are some professions that are nearly all male, which women don't seem anxious to enter. Garbage collection, for example. Jobs that involve being outside, dirty, or in danger pay more... and those are held primarily by men. When women DO enter those careers, the professions tend to get safer. I've been a woman in the computer industry for a long time; I've written and spoken on the subject on a few occasions (including doing my own share of debunking statistics). One statistic offered by the author resonated with me: a person who works 45 hours a week earns 44% more than a person working 40 hours a week. I've seen more women drop their pencils at 5:01pm than I've seen men do so, in my industry; I'm convinced that women who put in a few extra hours will have more career opportunities than those who don't. All of which feels like a heck of a tangent from "is this a good book? should you fork over your own hard-earned clams to buy it?" But, to the contrary, I think it demonstrates how much this book demands that you RESPOND to it (particularly if you're a women, or work with any women). Even I, who try hard to write dispassionate reviews, feel compelled to give personal anecdotes. If you come to this book with preconceived notions, this book probably won't change them. However, if you're looking for ways to move your own career forward -- or to understand why some women you work with seem to be stalled -- I heartily recommend reading Why Men Earn More.