While everyone I know was watching the Oscars on Sunday night, I was busy doing all sorts of mundane stuff. Like rooting through the closets to find the kids some spring clothes that fit. And editing a dense document I'd been avoiding all week. Oh, and figuring out how to lose 10 lbs. and look 20 years younger before my law school reunion in six weeks. (More on that next month.)
Usually, I enjoy critiquing the fashions on the red carpet and waiting up for the Best Picture award as much as any one of the other 41.3 million Academy Awards viewers. (That's the number for the U.S. only!) But given the typical babysitter-to-movie cost/satisfaction ratio, I managed to miss every nominated movie this year. (My husband did see Up with our six-year-old daughter.) So, I didn't tune in.
But I did check out the video of Monday's International Women's Day celebration hosted by the Obamas. There were some actual entertainment stars. Like Kerry Washington. And American Idol singer Katherine McPhee. (See some photos here.) But mostly the stars were political celebrities of the Washington type -former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, current Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, members of Congress, and, of course, the Obamas themselves.
Now, I know most of you wouldn't put the White House's International Women's Day event in the same glam category as the Oscars. Even though I work in Washington, I wouldn't, either. But both were notable International Women's Day happenings.
Even though I didn't watch them, I was thrilled by the Oscars. The Academy Awards, of course, put on view Kathryn Bigelow's Best Director win for The Hurt Locker, a first for a woman. Ever! Now our daughters can become Oscar-winning directors, too.
The White House event showcased President Obama speaking about the need for full gender equality and women's economic empowerment. And about the three generations of working moms - his mother, grandmother, and wife - who influenced his life.
In his remarks, the President recognized his mother, who dedicated "most of her life to promoting the rights and well-being of women overseas; to empowering them to take more control over their economic lives and be able to empower their families as well."
He also told the story of his grandmother, who, despite her lack of a college education, worked her way up from secretary to vice-president at a bank in Hawaii. He saw how she "hit a glass ceiling, and had to watch as men, no more qualified than she was, rise up the corporate ladder."
And President Obama talked about the challenges his wife faced as a working mom in Chicago. (That was before the Obamas inherited the "extraordinary support" of the White House staff. Check out my Michelle Obama "staffed life" fantasy here.) The President noted that, for Michelle, "it wasn’t always easy balancing the responsibilities of being a hospital executive with those of being a mother, and sometimes worrying about the girls when she was at work, and sometimes worrying about work when she was with the girls."
He also talked about the fourth generation, his daughters, Sasha and Malia. And of "all of the glass ceilings that have yet to be shattered." (One less, of course, after Oscars night.)
Wow! The President's speech might not have had the razzle-dazzle of the Academy Awards, but I was captivated by the fact that our President has a first-hand understanding of the issues - from work-life balance to glass ceilings - that confront working moms. Of course, the real question is what policy shifts he'll be able to make on issues like quality, affordable child care and paid family leave. Especially in our tough political and economic environment.
Guess I'll have to tune in next year to find out!
Photo courtesy of gnews via flickr.com.
I watched the Academy Awards despite having seen few pictures (the Hurt Locker being one since it's out on DVD) but it wasn't the same as the good ol' pre-kid days where there weren't constant interruptions. I'm glad Bigelow broke the glass ceiling, but am astonished that it existed as of 2010. I am even more astonished that President Obama is articulating exactly how I feel about work and family in discussing the challenges his wife faced as a hospital executive. I love his empathy - but how is it resulting in a better world for us and our children?
Posted by: Jamie | Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 01:57 PM