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– The WSJ rounds up some of the new home gel manicure treatments; Pretty Shiny Sparkly posts an updated opinion after a year of getting shellac manicures. (Readers, what are your thoughts?)
– Racked is intrigued by the idea of Donna Karan New York's new “wellness” line of hosiery, Evolution.
– Capitol Hill Style looks at professional black flats — and some common mistakes ladies make with them.
– The Daily Beast suggests that women should stop trying to be perfect (in a guest post by Barnard College president Debora Spar). The Careerist thinks we should admit that we're all an unholy mess.
– Ask a Manager has a nice reader discussion going about whether career coaching helps.
– Forbes Woman interprets your workplace anxiety dreams.
– What do applicants need to get in to business school? The WSJ investigates. (Meanwhile, the WSJ also has a story about how colleges are declining some applicants because of Facebook and other web activity.)
– Savvy Sugar suggests some ways to start learning about personal finance.
– Men's Health rounds up 11 foods that end bad moods.
– Whoa: Shopping's My Cardio alerts us to the fact that the NYT has finally collected its “36 hours” travel series into books. Awesome.
– Wow: honored to be included in Stylitics‘ picks for the top 10 fashion blogs for women.
Did we miss anything? Add 'em here, or send them to news@corporette.com. Thank you!
Lizbet
Evolution hints at why women lag behind men in the workplace. How to fix the discrepancy? Simple: compulsory paternity leave… http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1139342.ece.
Just read this fascinating book review that made me think of the ongoing discussions about how childbearing fits with careers. It’s lengthy but great! (Thanks to Arts & Letter Daily, my home page, for the synopsis/teaser and the article.)
Lyssa
I would be incredibly offended if someone decided that they know better than I whether or not (or how much) I should take maternity leave, and it would be unacceptable to compel women to take it. It wouldn’t be right to compel it of men, either. Please let us all – male and female – make our own choices about how we live our lives.
Honey Pillows
But the capitalistic nature of our society pressures women to sell themselves at a lower rate -ie, not taking any maternity leave, or taking almost no leave, and in order to stay competitive, women forgo the rest and recuperation they need and the bonding and nurturing their babies need. Removing the option of coming back to work immediately after birth -say a compulsory 3 weeks, for both parents, would remove that competitive problem.
Are you also against mandatory health and auto insurance? Just curious, not trying to offend.
Lyssa
It offers a trade-off, you make the choice whether or not to accept the pressure. I don’t need options removed to make myself make the right choices; that’s for children. Some may see more benefit to a leave or longer leave; some may not. It’s not really anyone else’s business, and certainly not something that you should be forcing on others.
What would be the point of a mandatory 3 week leave? It wouldn’t make things more “fair” between the sexes – most men would still take the minimum and most women would still take much more. Most people still take some leave (many people here, who obviously work in high pressure and competitive jobs, still seem to take several months), so I don’t buy this whole argument that there’s some sort of compulsion to not take any leave at all.
Auto insurance mandates are a different issue – they are to protect others that you could injure on the public roads. (I would certainly be against mandatory non-liability insurance, but I’ve never even heard of someone even suggesting that.)
Health insurance is a harder issue; I certainly don’t like the mandatory insurance issue, but I can understand the economic reasoning that may make it necessary policy. However, if there is going to be a mandate, it should be as narrow as possible, such as for catastrophic care, not broad coverage, with the intent only to protect others (in this case, taxpayers), from having to cover things for you. But that’s a very different topic.
agal
i think it’s a fabulous idea to make some amount of leave (whether for vacation, maternity leave or paternity leave) mandatory. the problem with non-compulsory leave is that some people never use it, which can make those who do use it look bad. and it’s not really fair that someone has to worry they’ll look bad for actually using their vacation days or full maternity leave.
agal
here’s an interesting piece i saw recently on this —
http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/10/new-power-maternity-leave.html
Lyssa
I don’t understand why it is not fair to have someone else out-perform you or contribute more to the company. You may not like it, of course (who likes to be out performed?), but it’s not unfair that some people make choices to contribute more to the company (presumably in an effort to get a better payoff), while others put more value on their leisure (or other) time.
Lyssa
To add, we all went into competitive jobs for a reason – to be competitive. It hurts my head to hear people say that they now don’t want to compete, so no one else should be allowed to, either. I find it shocking how much people want to force their choices on others.
Katie
More men need to step up and insist on taking time off. And the way we get that to happen is to say to our husbands, “No, honey, I can’t leave to pick him up because he has a fever. I have an important meeting at my job, too. You go get our baby, this time.” And, Lyssa, yes, some people make choices to sacrifice their family for their jobs. But, it isn’t always a choice, either. Some people end up having to care for disabled spouses or elderly parents. Are you one of those people who doesn’t need people?
cici
So if I dont have children, I’ll have an advantage. Mandatory leave is one of the most ridiculous ideas I’ve heard in a while.
Katie
We all benefit when children are nurtured and cared for my a mom and a dad. All of us, even those of you who don’t have time for normal human activities such a sex and marriage and love and family bar-be-ques, and kids. Because one of these days, you may need my kid to take care of your selfish little ass.
CHS
Do y’all agree with CHS that the shoes on the left were unprofessional? I would be fine with wearing all but the bottom style (elastic at the heel). And I do. I work in a bizcas biglaw, and others in my department get away with really crazy shoes (like, spikes coming out of them, and feathers/sparkles), so perhaps my judgment is skewed. But I don’t think that a bit of texture/bow/quilting/etc. makes something un-work-wearable.
vks
I just skimmed the article, but I think she did say that “unless you work in a place that is bizcas all the time” the shoes on the left are two casual. I thought the quilted ones were fine, but could see she was trying to draw line between structured and unstructured shoes. I work in bizcas biglaw too, and I would be fine wearing any of those in my office.
PharmaGirl
I don’t agree with much that CHS says, this one included.
marriedwithoutchildren
Yeah, I like many of her picks but really can’t stand how she rails against what other people choose to wear.
Lyssa
I wouldn’t say that they were completely unprofessional, but I definitely think that they are somewhat less professional. But I have an enormous bias against rounded toes and think that they tend to take down the professional-ness of almost every outfit (which is obviously not a majority opinion!)
I’ve been looking like crazy for a pair of flats that are almond-toed, and they’re nearly impossible to find. (She had some good recs, but I really would prefer to buy in person- I cannot translate shoes online to shoes IRL)
petitesq
I started to expound, but realized you hit the nail on the head for me, Lyssa. Agree completely.
Honey Pillows
Precisely. I don’t think round toe generally works, either.
Herbie
Nope, don’t agree with CHS.
Anon
Paralegal temp work?
I know an attorney that took time off to raise her kids and is now looking for temp paralegal work while she gets her license. She’s located in Chicago. Thought I’d post on here and see if anyone knows of any openings. If you are interested, leave your email and I’ll send you her resume.
Thanks!!
Natasha
I am a huge fan of shellac/gel nail polish. I just recently made the investment of a UV light and several shades of polish so I can do them at home. It will pay for itself after a few manicures, and I can do it myself in less time than it takes to drive to the salon and back.
Heather
Love the Shellac polish, but it is important to get a properly trained nail tech. I was going to a salon that buffed my nails with a dremel tool before the application, but went to the Shellac website and learned that this is not needed. Wish I’d known this before they damaged my nails. I switched to a salon recommended on the website and they do the application properly-no dremel-and love the results.