The Princess Paradigm

There was a great column by Laura Vanderkam in the Forum Section of USA Today on August 12, 2009.

It focused on the “Princess Problem”, which is society telling little girls that her prince will come and save her, when reality is that more women are the sole bread earner for the family.

The fact that caught my eye, as the father of a 7 year old girl who loves the Disney princess was “85% of men had an internal locus of control”. They determined their worth, and said it was their responsibility to ensure their employer paid up. Only 17% of women felt that way. More than 80% of women felt that their worth was determined by their employer chose to pay them. (Sara Lasherer and Linda Babcock: Women Don’t Ask). Society, and Disney, seems to say, “marry well, because that will determine your standard of living.

Lasherer and Babcock point out that young men are four times more likely to negotiate their first salary than young women.

Those are disturbing number is so many ways.

We all deserve to be compensated appropriately. Some of us trade pay for flexibility, but it is usually a choice we make.

Do I have the answer? No, as a Dad, I try to make sure there is balance in my daughters life. A little princess, some soccer, so that she is confident enough to ensure she is treated appropriately, both personally and professionally. She does have an advantage, as the daughter of a lobbyist and a lawyer, she will certainly be willing to argue for what she wants.