Customer Reviews

Sex & Power

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Professor Estrich has written a very fine book here that everyone will benefit from reading. She starts with the original feminist concept of eliminating legal barriers to women's progress in order open up the better jobs in the workplace, and describes what the legal scene is now. Then, she describes that the economic and political status of women has been little changed a result. She makes some excellent recommendations for what is needed now.

When I went school in the 1960s, there were relatively few women in my classes. In college, the percentage was about 30 percent. In law school, it was about 10 percent. In business school, it was about 3 percent. One could easily see why there were not as many women in top positions in society then, if appropriate education was so limited.

Since then, I have attended many reunions where women have spoken about career progress. About 20 years ago, I noticed something troubling. Successful women described themselves as never mentoring other women in the workplace and never seeking out women suppliers. In fact, most of these women indicated that it had never occurred to them to play these roles. How will the lessons of getting ahead ever be passed down to the newly-educated women?

Then ten years ago, women at reunions started talking about dropping off of the fast career track for more time with their children.

Ms. Estrich has done everyone a favor by taking these observations and addressing what more is needed to open up leadership roles. I was particularly impressed with her examples of how two or three women working together can make a big difference. In my over 30 years in the business world, I cannot remember a single instance of seeing women do this. On the other hand, I have often seen men successfully take on women's advocacy in the workplace beginning in the 1970s. I have also seen various male minorities effectively employ such advocacy.

Her observations suggest that the fundamental rules of the workplace need to change to reflect women's role in child-bearing and child-rearing. Few would disagree.

On the other, I think she misses some places where the progress is occurring and could be accelerated. In family businesses, there is always going to be the potential for a lot more flexibility. I see wife-and-husband and father-and-daughter enterprises easily accommodating this adjustment.

Professor Estrich also misses the more rapid progress of women in financial jobs than in other business roles. While controller, treasurer and CFO jobs usually don't lead immediately to becoming a CEO, most CFOs can get an operating job if they want one. And about one in 15 CFOs do become CEOs later in their careers. I suspect that this is going to be an important source of women CEOs in the future.

Product management and sales are two other areas that should have a high yield of future career progress for women. Companies where women are the primary customers should be particularly good places for women executives to advance.

Many of Professor Estrich's examples are in law, and that field is probably going to continue to be a problem. Working in a law firm as an associate has gotten to be tougher and tougher as a way to get ahead. Of my law school class, I doubt if even half are still practicing law. The men are just as disgusted as the women in most cases.

Medicine is also under severe stress due to cost containment pressures, and this is going to be a tough place to work and rise to the top. On the other hand, part-time physician roles have evolved that present a balanced life opportunity that will be attractive to many.

I agree that it will be a healther society that has many more women leaders in the political, business, and educational realms. On the other hand, at a time when it is more challenging and less psychologically rewarding to be a leader in these areas than ever before, I certainly can sympathize with women who don't want to grab for that particular brass ring. For themselves, they are probably making very good choices.

The real issue is how to help women who do want it all . . . or more than is available to them. I think that everyone needs to reach out for those women, and find reasonable adjustments to smooth and speed their progress to match their potential to contribute.

I also hope that these talented women who want to make more limited career commitments will decide to take on leadership roles in volunteer organizations. Their skills, insights, and energy are needed in innumerable ways there, and they will be welcomed to boards and other key roles with enthusiasm.

I suggest that you discuss the concepts in this book with the women you know well, to better understand how they see the issues from their perspective. Then ask how you can help them be a more effective leader. And follow through on their requests.

Achieve your full potential as a person by helping others succeed, as well!

This is a riveting book. I read it in two sittings. I am living some of what she describes and it was chilling to read that part. I have become complacent about the greater good. But I am teaching my daughter to love math, embrace technology and to be whatever she wants to be. Get this book now. Tell others about it too.

In Sex & Power, Susan Estrich explores the status of women in the workforce today, 'after' the feminist revolution, 'after' the playing field has been changed by all the hard-fought, hard-won gains women have achieved. And what she finds is that not much is different from what it was before. Yes, there are now a total of three women heading Fortune 500 companies; that's sure a gigantic leap from 20 years ago, when there were two. Estrich is hardly breaking new ground in revealing how women are still struggling for equal pay, promotions and fairness, among many, many other things, but her questions about and insights into these circumstances are fascinating, perceptive, sharp and brutally honest.

There are, according to Estrich, many reasons for the current state of affairs - complicated, multi-layered, systemic, social, surprising, frustrating, infuriating, understandable... Estrich's full grasp of the extent of the problems and her contact with women from all levels and walks of life enables her to view the probable causes from a variety of perspectives and to present a compelling argument in favor of her theories. I think that providing too much information about them would undermine the efficacy and interest of the book - no spoilers here - but she does provide support, both from her personal experiences and those of others, that explains many of the issues she addresses.

I highly recommend this book for anyone at all concerned with the status of women at the end of the 20th century, anyone who wants to see if 'we've come a long way, baby.' And it's refreshing that Estrich spares no one - including women - as she attempts to find the causes at the root of the apparent stagnation in women's progress. There is a certain amount of repetition for such a short book, and at times the chapters seem to blend into each other, but this does not, in any way, detract from the power of this important book. However frightening it is to learn about these things, it is crucial that women - and men - shed any sense of complacency if we are ever to achieve true equality. This book certainly doesn't hold all the answers or questions or even get much below the tip of the iceberg. But it is engrossing and, although it's enraging at the same time, Sex & Power is not a book to be missed.

This is a splendid book and Susan Estrich is a very sophisticated person, the kind of person who judges each case on its individual merits. Thus she could be for Anita Hill and against Monica Lewinsky. She is also the kind of person who is exquisitely sensitive to political power and its exercise, a person who knows both the importance and the limitations of political correctness. Thus she can defend Bill Clinton and find fault with Al Gore. She is also a terrific writer who can be vivid, candid, self-expressive and revealing, and very sharp with what she finds unacceptable. Thus she can lecture women on the necessity to speak up when they feel harassed or overlooked for promotion while recognizing that the "nuts and sluts defense" to rape (her coinage) sometimes has validity. She is not the kind of person you can pigeon hole. Thus she can write a book about Sex and Power that really is about sex and power, with herself as participant from her experience at the Harvard Law School and within the Democratic party at the highest level, a friend of both Hillary and Bill Clinton, to being a victim of an ice pick rapist. She can brag about her legs (p. 207) and admit that she calls her interns "sweetie," touches them and has them run for coffee (p. 191) while making the most cogent arguments about the reality of sexual harassment in the workplace and how it harms both women and men. She can be as political as the wiliest pol as she references a goody portion of the pantheon of feminist writers from Christina Hoff Sommers to Catharine A. MacKinnon, usually without letting us know where she might agree or disagree with them.

She begins with the observation that despite great strides made by women toward complete equality in our society there is still a tremendous disparity in the number of men and women in the top positions in corporate America, in the law, and in academia. Estrich makes this clear beyond any shadow of a doubt as she cites the numbers. The question is why. The implication is that sex discrimination is still rampant at the top and the old boy's network and conspiracy just as intrenched as ever. However, a more careful interpretation of the very statistics and observations that Estrich uses suggests that it is not sex discrimination alone that accounts for the lack of women at the top of Fortune 500 companies, but something else.

Call it smarts; not the lack of intelligence, but the possession of it.

The plain fact of the matter is that women have wisely chosen to put themselves and their families first, the pursuit of power and superfluous wealth a distant second. Estrich has not. That is her choice, and she wears it well, but it is not for everyone, or even for more than some of us.

Estrich understands this. She has managed a splendid career, but she hasn't given up motherhood to do it. She has a family, a son and a daughter. She argues that women have to be extraordinary to receive the same pay and rise to the same level as men. She laments that some women don't want to rise to the top, and she chides her sisters who have risen for not helping other women climb the corporate ladder, wisely pointing out that women together weld more power than a woman alone. She presents an agenda for "Changing the Face of Corporate America" (Chapter 7) by overcoming "Motherhood as Destiny" (Chapter 5) and easing the old boys off their "Comfort Factor" (Chapter 6).

What I think she may not completely understand is that women in general gain no reproductive advantage by being in positions of power. Men do. In fact the pursuit of power by men is largely motivated by a semi-conscious desire to maximize their reproductive power. In today's world this may not work as well as it once did, but the desire is still there within the male psyche, to some extent an evolutionary hangover. Even today with the extra money a man might make he can afford a second marriage and a second family, whereas a man of more modest means cannot. He can afford a mistress. In previously times, of course, he could, if he accumulated enough power and resources, acquire a whole harem. A woman, however, can gain a reproductive advantage only by conceiving and giving birth to and raising more children. Therein lies part of the reason that many women are not buying into the "success at any cost" mentality that corporations demand of their top executives.

In the latter part of the book, Estrich focuses on sex and political power, per se. She acknowledges "the route to power when all others are closed," when a woman may, like the "great dames," use her sexuality (p. 206). But she warns, "sexuality takes you only so far. You don't run the world when you're on your knees" (p. 207).

She ends the book with a clarion call to feminism and a tribute to what feminism did for her. She laments the fact that many women today are choosing to be selfish and pursue their personal interests and needs before the "mission," as she calls it on page 265.

Estrich writes with great fluidity and power. She has the ability to express herself so that one understands every word. She cites statistics and spins stories in a way that makes her points vivid and the implications and impacts clear and accessible with little effort on the part of the reader. She is a great spokesperson for women's rights and feminist issues and she is someone to look up to and admire.

This is one terrific book. It should be required reading for all women in America who complain about their status in society. I had expected to find the usual complaints, the whining and moaning that so often accompanies the fact that women have yet to achieve gender equality. There are of course at least four thousand years of gender inequality for women to justifiably complain about. However, it is action that creates change, not whining and moaning.

If you are a woman in contemporary America and you want to better yourself, a feminist you should be. Susan Estrich, it proclaims on the cover of the book, believes that, "until women reach the seats of power - where the rules are made - the deck will continue to be stacked against them." In my book, Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies I write, "Authentic and certifiable progress in domestic violence will occur only when the majority of our public policymakers are women." The fact is, we are each right. Women are no longer victims of a patriarchy that can keep them out of the political area. I agree with Estrich that many men continue to want to keep women out of the political arena, however, those men can only make it difficult, they can not deny women their rightful place in society. Men often used muscles, guns, and unjust laws to achieve and hold on to power. Now power is found in the ballot box and women have just as much right and ability to achieve political power as men.

To be a victim you must be denied the ability to change the circumstance that creates your plight. Women now have that ability to create change and Estrich rightly concludes that too many women have yet to decide that they really want change. Estrich believes that society is not fair, is not just, and still does not provide a level playing field for women and men. And of course she is right. Most important she rightly concludes society is not going to change until women decide they want to make that change. Most people with wealth and power don't just give it up or give it away regardless of gender. It was a woman not a man that said, "Let them eat cake."

First the suffragettes and then the women of Estrichs' generation provided the tools. It is now up to women to decide if they want to use those tools or not. Estrich writes, and I agree, that too many women have decided that the task at hand is too hard. Too many women continue to settle for less. When I was a young man a husband could rape his wife any time he wanted to. Women did not sit on juries nor attend the same colleges. Women were in many instances second class citizens. If you don't think that women could be reduced to the role once again, you don't know much about history.

Estrich correctly concludes that women have achieved legal equality, but what they really need is change. Again she is correct. A complete equality of gender is an illusory goal that can not be precisely achieved. Women's basketball teams will not beat men's basketball teams no matter how much or how long they try because of the all too obvious physical reasons. Equality and equity are not the same. Equity is a conduct that provides for fairness and impartiality of behavior towards each other or as Estrich writes, "Its [feminism] gift is the faith that both my children - my daughter and my son - can be free to be their best selves." Further she writes, "But with the gift comes the responsibility to fulfill its promise, to stand up as a woman, if not for your own sake, then for the sake of those who come next."

The only weak argument is towards the end of the book when Estrich writes that she believes that two men, act like men not women, in the form of two Michael's. One Dukakis and the other Jackson, treat her unjustly. She fails to acknowledge that these two men had wives that not only agreed with their husbands' behavior, one of them might have actually fostered her husbands' behavior. Good and bad is not always an issue of gender. The divide of contemporary equity and the proper sharing of values is not always demonstrated by what is between the legs, but rather what is between the ears is most important.

My grandmother told me that that if I decide something isn't worth fighting for, then it probably isn't. If women do not heed the advice offered by Estrich they have no reason to continue blaming men for their plight. Political power is there for the taking. It is up to women to take it and yes it isn't going to be easy. If it were easy, it would already have been achieved.

I'm 21 and just about to start working toward a PhD in business and I had never realized that that so many women felt the desire to put their career on the back burner in order to have a family. I've always known I didn't want that left, but I never realized what implications the notion of being a potential "mommy" would have for me as I go forward.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to know about women and getting ahead in today's society.

Ms. Estrich tells women that if they want power, unite and use the power they already have. That's good for what's it worth. If you want more money and more power, this man will give it to you. I would rather see a society where we all reach for more lasting and important things, but if Ms. Estrich thinks the only way to obtain "equality" is to be greedy and power-hungry, more power to her. (Pun intended).

One of the intellectual low points of the book is when Ms. Estrich tells us that she doesn't believe Juanita Broderick when she alleges Bill Clinton raped her because in essence, Bill Clinton can get babes anytime and he doesn't need to rape anybody. WHAT??!! Earlier in the book, Ms. Estrich tells us how hard it is for her daughter's generation to believe that in the bad old days, people thought some women lied about being raped. Perhaps I'm out of the loop, but when did it become an intellectually tenable position that powerful men who can get lots of sex don't commit rape and therefore their accusers should be summarily ignored without an examination of the evidence. One more example of a feminist willing to sell out one of the "little people" in order to keep liberals in power. In her defense, Ms. Estrich does partially admit that her defense of Bill Clinton's sexual rampage on many women is political. But it's not a virtue to admit the stupidness of one's arguments and then continue espousing the same arguments.

Another intellectual lowpoint: Ms. Estrich tells us that there are studies that back her up and she knows that people can find other studies that say the opposite and her favorite studies can be attacked by others for their bad research methods. But she just wants to rise above all that bickering. Can't we all just get along? She just wants to fix the problems, ignoring the fact that perhaps the problems she's fixing don't exist and intellectuals need to have a true honest discussion about such studies and the validity of their findings. Ridiculous!!

Estrich makes some very good points in this book, but leaves one critical factor out. Women who do make it to the top not only don't mentor other women - they forget to put a little "personal publicity" into their career plans! It's always the "first woman" here, and the "first woman" there. Being first only lasts as long as making the "first mistake" which also hits the business page headlines. Achieving corporate and community visibility needs a consistent and planned effort. To really take charge of your career, whether you are still climbing the so-called ladder, or have reached the top rungs - there is no substitute for creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan. Your boss won't do it, and neither will your mentor (if you have one!). It is up to YOU. People have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should hire you, promote you, or do business with you. That's really taking charge of your career.

Susan Estrich's book is informative, factual, and powerful. I have quoted from it several times for articles and am very happy to support this work. I recommend it to women who may be teaching (I teach in an MBA program) and who are helping to mentor women who WILL succeed in the world of business.

About half this book is a rambling rant about the lack of women on corporate boards, at the upper echelons of politics, and/or as CEO's of Fortune 500 companies. Another quarter is about how younger women don't seem to be interested in carrying on the cause of feminism; and the other quarter is basically political name-dropping, gossip, and reminiscing. But it's all mixed in in a somewhat chaotic manner which jumps back and forth among the various topics.

As far as the first topic goes: Estrich, like many (if not all) feminists, tends to think that men at the top of institutions rule like tyrants -- the way women in fact tend rule over their children. By focusing all her attention on success-object men, she's really no different in her basic outlook from a Monica Lewinsky -- she just has different objectives and uses for men. Men without formal power are invisible to her. And the vast amount of informal female power extant is barely at the edge of her radar screen. In other words, this book is not about the real topic of sex and power, namely female sexual power. Looking at all the men in business (and politics) and saying men have all the power is about as simple-minded as looking at all the slaves in the pre-Civil War South and saying blacks have all the cotton.

Estrich confuses the earning of money with its real power, which is in its spending -- which is female-dominated, and thus invisible to her. It never occurs to her that the American woman, as powerful consumer-in-chief, is actually the boss of the male corporate CEO. All those factories, strip-malls and shopping centers weren't built (often at the expense of male lives) so *men* could go shopping for fashion accessories and home furnishings. "Follow the money", as they say...

As far as her second topic is concerned, there's a fairly substantial body of decent work already out there on the feminist's recruiting problem. Not only doesn't Estrich mention it, but she appears to be unaware of its existence. In other words, she hasn't done even a minimal amount of research and therefore doesn't have anything to say of interest on the topic. This is fairly characteristic of the book's first topic also.

The war stories from her glory days may be of minor interest to hardcore CNN and C-SPAN types...

I give it one star above the minimum for its brief exposition on sexual harassment law and the reasonable person/woman concept, which isn't all that bad. The author is a lawyer, after all. But I don't think she fully grasps that this yet another arena in which women can't lose; only men can (and they can lose big), which is hardly equality. I still think Warren Farrell's phrase "if it works it's courtship, if it doesn't it's harassment" sums the basic situation up best.

Estrich's opinions seem about fifteen years out of date, so this book is basically a waste of good trees. She should have tried reading others' books before writing one of her own. This ... book's existence (and the hype it got) alone testifies to the power women have in this country.