Women

Thoughts after today's networking event:
* Why doesn't Rachelle's boss read the book?
* How soon can I read the book?
* Does not having on-site child care really prevent women from wanting to conceive?
* Do women feel like we have to choose between having children or having a career?
* Is motherhood the epitome of being a woman?
* Noticing women who don't have children showing obvious admiration for those who do during this event, why is that? Is that aspirational? Admiring women who "have it all"?
* What does it mean when a woman can't or doesn't want to have children? Are we less of a woman? I know the knee-jerk answer is "of course not," but other women aren't sitting around admiring US.
* As long as we're spending a lot of time talking about how our company supports pregnancy or maternity leave or working moms, what about our attitudes towards having children?
* Can we pre-schedule conversations about babies and motherhood so that I can avoid them if I'm feeling emotional that day?
* How can I speak up about my own concerns about infertility without making moms and moms-to-be feel bad?
* Why do I feel so bad when the women at work are always talking about their babies?
* Why should people be allowed to work from home just because they're parents? To be fair, everyone should be allowed to work from home the same amount of time as anyone else.

We talked about:
* brief introductions
* how much maternity leave our company/state offers
* how Orange County moms mostly stay home and don't work, according to local child care places
* the cost of child care in Irvine vs Mission Viejo
* how crappy our "quiet room" is
* how someone took initiative to improve the amenities in the women's bathroom
* how some women are used to a very private bathroom
* how feminine products are free in the bathroom
* on-site child care support, how to let our CEO know that there is a demand
* the book, Lean In, and how everyone should read it
* the composition of the group -- several men included, we can't exclude anyone
* HR afraid of belonging to the mailing list?
* whether you can share a breast pump
* why our company only buys a female employee mom a manual $20 breast pump when they spend TONS of money on champagne and other frivolities
* needing to prove your "(gamer) cred" when going to an electronics store or calling tech support