Here's A Shock for Women

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So maybe it's not only a glass ceiling that has kept so few women from reaching the upper tier of corporate America; only 6% of the FORTUNE 500's very top jobs-senior vice president and above-are held by women, according to Catalyst. Maybe it's that not enough of them have the luxury most of their male counterparts have had forever: a spouse at home. A year ago, when Catalyst asked 3,000 women in their mid-20s to mid-30s to name the biggest barriers to women's advancement, 68% cited personal and family responsibilities. That compares with 50% who blamed lack of mentoring, 46% who said lack of experience, and just 45% who cited stereotyping of women's roles and abilities. "A precondition to having more women in positions of power is to have more sharing in the burdens of parenthood," says Dublon. "It is crucial."

Nobody says it's easy. For all the progress women have made in the workforce-and men have made in accepting them there-many people of both sexes are uncomfortable with the outright reversal of gender roles. There is a price to pay for living a life that so defies convention. Women must adjust to the burden men have carried all along: the responsibility of being the primary (or sole) breadwinner. They give up not only precious time with their children but often intimacy too. Even as they struggle with that loss, they get a bad rap: They are bad mothers.