‘Having it all’ at Harvard
Lately, three little words have the power to turn a conversation among women on a dime. Harvard, home to ambitious female faculty and staff of many ages, isn’t immune to the national debate over “having it all.” When the Atlantic published “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter’s 11,000-word manifesto on the myth of perfect work-life balance, earlier this year, it quickly became the most-read article in the magazine’s history. Likewise, when Harvard’s Committee on the Concerns of Women announced it would host a discussion of Slaughter’s essay last month, seats filled in record time. The committee, whose lunchtime meetings have been a fixture on campus for more than three decades, was a natural host for the event. But the level of interest in a work-life discussion surprised even longtime board members, who watched in real time as the event’s 150 seats were filled through online registration in minutes. (They...