AIF Blog

Anne-Marie Slaughter Discusses 'Having it All' at Aspen Ideas

Jul 01, 2012
CATEGORY: Society

A Google search this morning for recent news about Anne-Marie Slaughter turned up over 300 mentions. Clearly, her Atlantic cover story about women's work-life balance dilemma has rekindled the longstanding debate that is resonating with women and men alike.

Just prior to this session, Shelly Lazarus and Gillian Tett were on stage discussing advertising and new media along with Lazrus's long and successful career in advertising. Tett asked Lazarus about this debate.

"I actually believe that women can have it all, just not all at once at one time," said Lazarus at an Aspen Ideas session just prior to Slaughter's. "I don’t think we have to prove it anymore...The question is, what do you personally want to trade off to have what you want? It’s not a question so much that it’s a myth, it’s not a myth, I think it’s true. Look at my own life, I have three children and a husband of 40 years, we have four grandchildren…I have not been thwarted at all in my career." (See video clip at end of post.)

Katie Couric joked that when she expressed interest in participating in the Festival this year, she asked Aspen Ideas Festival Director Kitty Boone to please give her a topical session to moderate. Couric clearly got her wish.

Here is a short clip of Slaughter offering some solutions.

 

 

More clips available.

Here's a short list of the press that's spawned from Slaughter's story.

Atlantic cover story. (July/August issue.)

Followup story by Clive Crook about Lori Gottlieb's reaction. (June 28)

Slaughter responds to the public's reaction to her piece. (June 29)

Aspen Ideas speaker Jeffrey Goldberg wrote a reaction for Newsday.

Sylvia Ann Hewett's reaction in Bloomberg. (June 30)

Ruth Marcus responds in The Washington Post.

Susan Chira's opinion piece in The New York Times' Sunday Review.

Watch Lazarus briefly address the topic just prior to Slaughter taking center stage.

***Update: Check out the Storify from the event!