The Wall Street Journal had an article about women in the workplace this month.

Here are some excerpts:

You would think the problem would be solved by now…”Almost nine in 10 CEOs agree that tapping female talent is important to ‘getting the best brains’ and competing in markets where women now make most of the purchasing decisions.”

…Companies are still bleeding female talent at an alarming rate…”

One executive they interviewed urges women:

“For God’s sake, nominate yourself for promotions. You’re holding yourself back.”

What are we waiting for, ladies? Corner offices, benefits and high pay are just begging for us to take them.

Right? Why on earth are we not jumping at these goodies?

Deep in the story, after we had to flip to page B9, they go on to say:

There is evidence that the U.S. is losing ground. Women are making huge strides in emerging economies such as India and China.

What could possibly be different between America and India and China?

You can wipe off the sarcasm I am dripping all over this post and see the answer here.

All the commenters mention childcare, or dependent care as the big reason to opt out.

I am pretty sure that China and India have a better system for providing childcare than America does. Maybe it is cheaper, maybe it is easier to obtain, maybe there is a greater social acceptance for an educated mama giving the children to the care of another person, but I am pretty sure that most of the reason “Companies are still bleeding female talent” is the very very female concern of the children.

There was mention of male executives having to learn to listen to female voices during meetings. However, there was no mention of the more obvious problem of how to adjust the workload to better accommodate female childcare concerns.

If we are in such demand, come where we live and figure out how to make it worth our while to run your companies