Time is a feminist issue...

Herstorian apologizes deeply for her long absence. She has been working loads at a uninspiring, ill-paid bar job. This leaves little time to sort out the problems of the world.

But then again most women in the world spend their time doing uninspiring and ill-paid - and usually exploitative, dangerous, or abusive - jobs. Isn't it ironic that it is just these women that we need to hear from the most? These women have a perspective on gendered inequalities that is invaluable. And thus, usually invisible.

Anyways, no more moping, let's crack on. Jill Berry, president of the Girls' School Association, recently said that girls need to be taught to be 'realistic' about the difficulties of being both a good mother and career woman. Berry does well to highly the difficulties of balancing work and family. But why shouldn't men be taught to be 'realistic' about the difficulties of being a good father and a 'career' man (by the way career men are never called career men; they are either just men or - if they are good at it - good providers)? Most importantly, though, Herstorian wishes Berry had advocated a' dose of realism' for the state and society. She casts the difficulties of balancing work and family as an individual, female issue instead of as a crucial issue that affects society en masse and requires a mass solution. We need to provide more social services to help women - and men - to manage careers and family more easily. Flextime, job sharing, and state-sponsored childcare is a start. But to really make a difference we need to make it socially acceptable for men to be equally responsible for childcare and the running of a successful home. That is the 'dose of reality' we need. If we don't, we risk losing the brain power and social capital of half of the our population.