Marissa Mayer, the much-lauded first-female CEO of Yahoo, who was recently lauded for shattering a tech industry glass ceiling, just watched the tables turn this past week.
Mayer co-drafted a memo which ended the practice of telecommuting, or phoning it in, after company logs found that employee efficiency dropped precipitously by having people work from home.
Employees are especially livid because Mayer “has paid to build a nursery right next to her executive suite, something…few women have the money or clout to do.”
Overnight she went from feminist hero to oppressive harpy.
Shannan Higgins, a lawyer from the company, is one of those telecommuters.
And yet, as a feminist studies major, Higgins admits she is torn over the biting reaction to Mayer’s ban on telecommuting.
“It feels yucky to me to hear this story,” she says. “I’m not happy with it. But on the other hand, if she were a man, I think the tone would be slightly different.”
So she’s saying that because she’s a woman, Mayer is being unnecessarily criticized for this decision?
I think that’s what she’s saying. I can’t translate this deep into the rabbithole.
When a feminist makes a choice that’s considered anti-feminist, yet criticizing her is anti-feminist, it’s time to call the game and walk home.
