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One of the most condescending articles I have ever read!
Rage. Can you imagine if something like this was written about "Daddys". Oh right, no one would do that!
http://ow.ly/kq3zZ
Heather Margaret --- Feb '07 and Todd Eldon --- April '09

Re: One of the most condescending articles I have ever read!
A nice response from one of the quoted women on the unfortunate way her comments were tailored to fit the skew of the article.
http://tinyurl.com/d52py5s
Yeah right... I wish my business trips allowed me to party, sleep till 8:45 and hit up the mini bar while lounging around in my hotel watching TV. Who could blame moms or dads for enjoying the occasional "conference" if that were the reality!
Too bad real life work trips repay me for my time away from my kids with working twice as many hours as my salary pays, waking at the crack of dawn, standing on my feet or running around all day and barely being able to stay awake for the evening social events, which often end with me going back to my room to catch up on email. Then return home to unpack and attend to the gazillion other things that piled up at home while I was gone. Where's that infographic?!
(ETA: not to mention traveling while you have a nursing baby, utilizing every spare moment to pump milk in a storage area or bathroom, all the while praying you'll be allowed to carry it onto the plane without incident and it won't spoil or spill before you get home)
Every conference I've gone to with sponsorship has included perks from the sponsors trying to get me to use their products - drinks, dinner, tours, etc. Some of the details are different (the French market theme?!), but none of what is described is atypical at a professional conference in many fields.
And on top if that we get the idea that women SHOULD feel guilty for leaving their kids for any reason, but at least when they go to these conferences their reason is legitimate. But of course, their business is really to serve social needs and isn't about the money or their intelligence or their abilities as business people.
So. Much. Anger.
http://tinyurl.com/ct2v9gc
The above might link to the infographic, I'm having trouble linking it from my phone.
Also, I just noticed that this article is in the "Life & Culture" section and not in Business.
**headdesk**
And someone please find me one of these conferences to attend!!
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
I was thinking the same thing. Although, I have been on business trips like this but they were car shows and dealers are drunks.
THIS. Very much this.
Yep!
After yesterday's discussion on this, I had to laugh when I opened my email today and saw the macaroni kid newsletter. at the top was a huge banner ad for The Mom Con.
One of the "conferences" Amy's article referenced is coming to the Greentree Doubletree next month. Now we all have a nearby excuse to get away
Really, the one coming here looks much different than the ones in the article. Blogher and the like, primarily attract women who have built a business or income with a blog or a home business. There are some hobby bloggers who attend, but the majority are entrepreneurs or who treat their blog like a small business. The one in Greentree looks more like "How to take care of yourself and be a better mom." And it is a one size fits all conference with no session choices. It's more of a "self-improvement day" than a conference...
The whole point is that the conferences mentioned in the article are about building businesses, but those conferences are minimized and made fun of because they are for WOMEN in business.
Agree!
For me, the point of this whole discussion is that, no matter what the conference deals with (employer sponsored, or blogger related), the article implies that women should feel guilty. Am I working 24/7 when I go to conferences? Of course not. Do I get to do dinner with other grown ups, and maybe even go have a drink at the end of the day? Yep. Do I feel guilty for doing this while my husband (aka-the father of my children) is home? not at bit.
That being said, I don't even love going to conferences. I get bored sitting through them all day, then when I come home, I feel behind there.
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11