Archive for June 5th, 2009

Katie Couric had some interesting words for the Princeton class of 2009 when she spoke at the recent Class Day, with a special message for the ladies:

“I’m sure you are all graduating with big career goals. You may also have a dream of being married and having a family, and at some point the career may take a backseat. There is no more challenging, rewarding or important job than being a mom. I just want to say this — sometimes dreams of domestic bliss are interrupted by reality. People get divorced. People die. You need to protect yourself. I was very happily married to a wonderful man. He was diagnosed with colon cancer and nine months later, he was gone. I was a single mom with two very young children. This was not part of the plan. Luckily, I had a career and therefore the financial independence to support my children. Many women in my situation are not nearly as fortunate. And while I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, I want you all to be prepared for the unexpected and approach some of the big life decisions you’ll be making with your eyes wide open.”

For what it’s worth, I tend to agree with her. You can, of course, buy a hefty life insurance policy, and sign a contract with your husband guaranteeing compensation in the event of a divorce for lost earning power. But breadwinners can simply lose their jobs, too, as we’ve been seeing frequently in this recession. If mom then has to go back to work at a much lower compensation level than she would earn if she’d been fully employed the whole time, the whole family can be in dire financial straits. Apparently some people in the audience thought it was inappropriate for Couric to direct this statement mostly at the graduating women, but given that one recent survey of young Princetonians found that most women planned to dial down their careers while raising their children, and most men did not, it seems fine to me.

By the way, one of the key messages of 168 Hours is that there really doesn’t need to be any dialing down. You can dial up your career and family life at the same time. I’m glad to see Couric at least pointing out some financial reasons to do so!