Last week one of the most important women in Washington resigned in order to spend more time with her lawyer husband and 15-year-old son at their home in Austin, Texas. President George W. Bush’s most trusted adviser, Karen Hughes, may have a noble reason for leaving, but it is typically something that can only occur with the women of Washington. It could also point to the increasing marginalization of fathers.
A top White House advisor leaving is not unheard of; during the Clinton Administration, America saw the president’s domestic policy adviser, Bill Galston, leave for family reasons. What makes Hughes’ situation unique is that the media took her resignation (and her reason for doing so) at face value and did not spin it politically. When Galston left office, many in the media took it as a sign he was failing his job or was caught in a scandal. It’s true, when a man claims to leave his job to spend time with family, many suspect there is another reason. In the case of Hughes, however, I believe that she really does want to put family first.
The media’s acceptance of Hughes wanting to spend time with her son and husband is, in many ways, something that would not occur with a male counterpart. U.S. News and World Report’s Gloria Borger has asked the question on many minds: “Would Hughes have to leave if she was a guy?” Most men don’t have to leave work for family, and many times it is not even an option.
The media reaction to Hughes’ decision has me wondering about the perception of father figures in America. The media will jump on fathers wanting to leave their jobs for quality time with the kids, while it is almost expected from mothers. Father figures are often perceived as less important to the family structure than the mother figure, which is why Hughes is able to leave the political arena without much scrutiny. If Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wanted to leave office to spend more time with his children, he’d likely be criticized.
It seems to me mothers in Washington are expected to raise children and keep the family together while fathers continue their careers. As counter-feminist as it may seem, family men of Washington are usually asked to sacrifice family time for their jobs because the mindset is still focused on mothers looking after the family.
The idea that fathers are not important is something that the Bush Administration has expressed by letting Hughes leave her top White House position. Even after years of progress by the women’s rights movement, mothers are still expected to be the sole guardians and protectors of their children. Meanwhile, men are expected to provide for the family and continue their careers. Until that stigma has changed, and stay-at-home dads become more common, we can’t really say we’ve changed.